Legalization of Documents
On April 30, 2001, the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, drafted in The Hague on October 5, 1961, entered into force for the Republic of Bulgaria. The Convention provides for a unified method of certifying a certain category of documents (public acts) intended for use abroad - by affixing a special authentication certificate (apostille) directly onto the document itself or as an attachment to it. The authentication with an "apostille" represents the legalization of the document by the competent authority in the country where it was issued. Documents furnished with the original "apostille" are exempt from any further forms of certification and legalization (by other higher local authorities in the issuing country, as well as by the diplomatic or consular representation of the country-party to the convention, in whose territory they are to be presented).
As of January 11, 2024, Canada is a party to the aforementioned Convention, therefore legalization is carried out in accordance with the procedure described below.
1. Documents originating from Bulgaria
The competent authorities to affix an "apostille" on Bulgarian public acts are:
- For acts of the courts and notaries:
Ministry of Justice
Slavyanska Str. 1
1040 Sofia
Tel.: 02 92 37 352
- For educational and certification documents issued by higher education institutions, institutions within the system of public education, and by the Ministry of Education and Science and its departments:
Ministry of Education and Science
Knyaz Alexander Dondukov Blvd 2А
1000 Sofia
Tel.: 02 92 17 799
- For all other official documents (documents on civil status and address registration from municipalities; various certificates, licenses, and others from ministries, state agencies, and commissions; documents on acquired qualifications and legal capacity; documents from NSSI, NSI, and similar), an apostille should be affixed by:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Consular Relations > Attestations and Legalizations
Alfred Nobel Str. 2
1040 Sofia
Only the translator's signature is certified.
2. Documents originating from Canada
- Before being legalized by the Consulate General in Toronto with a view to their use in Bulgaria, documents issued by Canadian institutions and officials should be legalized by the Global Affairs Canada or by Regional Offices of the Ministry of Global Affairs of the receiving country, considered from 04/07/2023:
Authentication Services Section
Authentication services in Canada
Until January 10, 2024, Global Affairs Canada issued authentication certificates for documents issued or notarized anywhere in Canada.
Since January 11, 2024, the competent authorities of certain provinces are exclusively responsible for the authentication and issuance of apostilles for documents issued or notarized in their respective province. Global Affairs Canada will continue to authenticate and issue apostilles for documents issued by the Government of Canada and for documents issued or notarized in specific provinces and territories. Below, you will find full details of the changes.
Documents for which the Authentication Services Section at Global Affairs Canada will issue apostilles
You will send the following documents to Global Affairs Canada (Ottawa):
• Documents issued by the Government of Canada. This includes federal agencies and bodies such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
• Documents issued or notarized in the following provinces and territories:
◦ Manitoba
◦ New Brunswick
◦ Newfoundland and Labrador
◦ the Northwest Territories
◦ Nova Scotia
◦ Nunavut
◦ Prince Edward Island
◦ Yukon
If your document was notarized (for example, a notary public made “true copy” of your document) in the provinces and territories listed above, you will send it to Global Affairs Canada no matter where it was originally issued.
Some documents need to be notarized before a competent authority can authenticate them. This may include some documents issued by the Government of Canada. Since the Apostille Convention came into effect, the province or territory where your document was notarized is what determines the competent authority where you must send it. Check the existing requirements before submitting them.
Authentication at Canadian offices abroad
Canadian embassies, high commissions and consulates may also offer authentication services on behalf of the Authentication Services Section for those located within their respective consular jurisdiction. The Canadian offices abroad may authenticate the same type of document as the Authentication Services Section, as well as documents issued by the Vital Statistics office of any Canadian province or territory. To find out if your nearest Canadian embassy, high commission, or consulate offers authentication services, please check with them directly.
Documents for which the provincial competent authority will issue apostilles
As of January 11, 2024, competent authorities in the following provinces will be responsible for issuing apostilles for documents issued or notarized (for example, a notary public made a “true copy” of your document) in their respective provinces:
• Alberta (Ministry of Justice of Alberta)
• British Columbia (Ministry of Attorney General of British Columbia)
• Ontario (Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery of Ontario)
• Quebec (Ministère de la Justice du Québec)
• Saskatchewan (Ministry of Justice and Attorney General of Saskatchewan)
You will send documents issued in the provinces listed above to that province’s competent authority.
Regardless of where your document was issued, if your document was notarized in Alberta, Ontario, or Saskatchewan, you will send it to that province’s competent authority.
In British Columbia and Quebec, the Competent Authority can authenticate a notarized document only if the original document was issued in the province.
If we receive these documents after January 11, 2024, we will return them to the applicants without being authenticated.
Information about current authentication requirements
Some of the information above is provided by the Canadian Government. For more details, please visit the official website here.
- For use in Bulgaria, a translation of the document legalized by Global Affairs Canada is also required. The translation can be done EITHER:
1) by a translator registered with Consulate General in Toronto (in this case, certification of the translator's signature in the Consulate General is required),
OR
2) by an authorized translation and legalization company in the Republic of Bulgaria, certified by a notary or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The fee for certifying the translator's signature in the Consulate General in Toronto is 23 Canadian dollars (for 3 working days) or 45 Canadian dollars (for 4 working hours) per document, payable by debit or credit card VISA/MC, money order, or certified cheque to the name of the Consulate General of the Republic of Bulgaria in Toronto.
If services are provided by mail, the documents should be accompanied by a self-addressed envelope with all postage paid.
The Consulate General of the Republic of Bulgaria in Toronto is not responsible for documents lost by postal services. Certification and legalization through postal services are at the expense and responsibility of the applicants.
* Documents submitted to Bulgarian municipal authorities remain in their archives.