Who Can Certify Documents in the US?

[Keith Moon]

Hi Friends,
My wife and I live in the US and are trying to acquire Certificates of Canadian Citizenship for our kids. I am American but my wife is dual US-Canadian and so although our kids were born in the States our understanding is that they are birthright citizens of Canada as well as the US.

The process seems straightforward enough but we're running into trouble with copies of the supporting documents. Copies of documents like the kids' photo IDs and my wife's proof of Canadian citizenship must be "certified". The Canadian Immigration website has some specific requirements for certifying documents and says that in the US a notary must certify them. But notaries in the state where we live (North Carolina) have balked at doing this - they say they are only allowed to affirm that the person who signs any document(s) is in fact that person, and that's all they can do. Maybe other states have different laws re: notaries but that seems to be the case here in NC. So I'm very confused as to who can actually certify these documents and how I would go about doing this. Certainly for something like a birth certificate you can request a certified copy from the issuing authority, which for us would be the Register of Deeds in the county where they were born. But that doesn't help us for (for example) the copy of my wife's proof of Canadian citizenship or the kids' photo IDs. We have US passports for them and the Canadian Immigration web site says photocopies of those are OK but again we would run into the problem of how to get them certified.

Has anyone else run into this situation?

Not sure what to do here.



Best,

km

 

[alphazip]

I agree that your kids are Canadian citizens IF your wife was born in Canada. If she is a dual because one of her parents was born in Canada, then the kids may not be Canadian. If that's the case (wife not born in Canada), please provide more info (her date of birth, kids' dates of birth, etc.).

As to having things certified, that mainly applies to birth certificates, which you seem to have covered. If your wife was born in Canada, you would send her birth certificate, not her citizenship certificate.

Also, copies of IDs (photo or otherwise) don't have to be certified, per checklist here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/citizen/CIT0014E-2.pdf

 

[Keith Moon]

I agree that your kids are Canadian citizens IF your wife was born in Canada. If she is a dual because one of her parents was born in Canada, then the kids may not be Canadian. If that's the case (wife not born in Canada), please provide more info (her date of birth, kids' dates of birth, etc.).

As to having things certified, that mainly applies to birth certificates, which you seem to have covered. If your wife was born in Canada, you would send her birth certificate, not her citizenship certificate.

Also, copies of IDs (photo or otherwise) don't have to be certified

My wife was born in Viet Nam but became a Canadian citizen in 1983. She is no longer a citizen of Viet Nam. So according to the checklist we DO have to submit a certified copy of her Certificate of Canadian Citizenship. Still not sure how we get one of those. She's dual because she obtained US citizenship in 2016. Our kids were born in the US in April 2008 and October 2009, respectively.

 

[alphazip]

My wife was born in Viet Nam but became a Canadian citizen in 1983. She is no longer a citizen of Viet Nam. So according to the checklist we DO have to submit a certified copy of her Certificate of Canadian Citizenship. Still not sure how we get one of those. She's dual because she obtained US citizenship in 2016. Our kids were born in the US in April 2008 and October 2009, respectively.

OK, yes, since your wife is a naturalized Canadian citizen, the kids are Canadian citizens. And, yes, you do need to send a certified copy of her citizenship certificate. This document can be certified by a Canadian consulate, the closest to you being located in Georgia. You may want to call them to see what you can arrange. Otherwise, you could go to a state, such as Virginia, where notaries CAN certify copies. See list of states here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certified_copy I would imagine that IRCC would also accept a "true copy" statement from an attorney there in the U.S., so that's also something you can look into.

 

[alphazip]

Thinking more about this issue, since you're sending IRCC a document (certificate of citizenship) that they already have in their records, it seems quite unnecessary to go to a great deal of trouble to have a certified copy made. I would suggest that you simply use the method described here under "true copy": https://www.sosnc.gov/authen/samples.aspx

 

[Keith Moon]

OK, yes, since your wife is a naturalized Canadian citizen, the kids are Canadian citizens. And, yes, you do need to send a certified copy of her citizenship certificate. This document can be certified by a Canadian consulate, the closest to you being located in Georgia. You may want to call them to see what you can arrange. Otherwise, you could go to a state, such as Virginia, where notaries CAN certify copies. See list of states here: I would imagine that IRCC would also accept a "true copy" statement from an attorney there in the U.S., so that's also something you can look into.

Can you elaborate on the "true copy" statement? Is this where somebody has to write the following(?):

• “I certify that this is a true copy of the original document”,
• the name of the original document,
• the date of the certification,
• his or her name,
• his or her official position or title, and
• his or her signature.


As per the web site I thought only notaries could do this outside of Canada. No?

 

[alphazip]

Can you elaborate on the "true copy" statement? Is this where somebody has to write the following(?):

• “I certify that this is a true copy of the original document”,
• the name of the original document,
• the date of the certification,
• his or her name,
• his or her official position or title, and
• his or her signature.


As per the web site I thought only notaries could do this outside of Canada. No?

Yes, that's the basic certification that they're talking about, and yes it does say that a notary is the person who would certify a document outside of Canada. However, as you discovered, notaries in many states in the U.S. cannot make a true copy certification. Others have reported that they went to a Canadian consulate and had their documents certified there. If that doesn't work for you, I mentioned some other options. (Here in Ontario, a notary is almost always a lawyer, so I'm sure that if you find a lawyer to certify the document, that would be accepted.)

As I mentioned, you're sending a copy of something (citizenship certificate) that IRCC already has in their records! To require that you travel out of state to have such a document certified is unreasonable. That's why I would just go with the method outlined here under "true copy" (https://www.sosnc.gov/authen/samples.aspx), which is that your wife certify that her document is a true copy, then a notary certifies her signature. I think (but don't know for sure) that that would be accepted.

 

[alphazip]

Look at the list of people in Canada who can certify documents for IRCC: http://www.immigroup.com/news/what-are-certified-copies#outside For outside of Canada, the list is much smaller. However, usually the U.S. is treated the same as Canada for such things. So, if you can find (say) a teacher to do the certification, there's a good chance it would be accepted.

 

[Keith Moon]

Yes, that's the basic certification that they're talking about, and yes it does say that a notary is the person who would certify a document outside of Canada. However, as you discovered, notaries in many states in the U.S. cannot make a true copy certification. Others have reported that they went to a Canadian consulate and had their documents certified there. If that doesn't work for you, I mentioned some other options. (Here in Ontario, a notary is almost always a lawyer, so I'm sure that if you find a lawyer to certify the document, that would be accepted.)

As I mentioned, you're sending a copy of something (citizenship certificate) that IRCC already has in their records! To require that you travel out of state to have such a document certified is unreasonable. That's why I would just go with the method outlined here under "true copy" (I can't post links), which is that your wife certify that her document is a true copy, then a notary certifies her signature. I think (but don't know for sure) that that would be accepted.

What you're saying sounds reasonable but the web site also specifically states that a family member cannot certify any documents, so going by that my wife would NOT be able to certify her doc. Might just do that anyway, because it certainly seems to be a grey area.

Was hoping someone here would have some actual experience with this - nobody?

 

[Mrparker]

I need help with the this too. There is no contact at Canadian immigration to ask and this is the only forum I have found that address the issue. Has any one gone through the process successfully that can share info?

 

[hawk39]

I need help with the this too. There is no contact at Canadian immigration to ask and this is the only forum I have found that address the issue. Has any one gone through the process successfully that can share info?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certified_copy#In_the_United_States

 

[bford]

I'm having this problem too. My father is Canadian, I was born in the US, and I'm currently living in California. Getting a certified copy of a birth certificate was not an issue but getting certified copies of my DL and Password has been a royal pain. My application was sent back to me because I made a copy of the docs in the presence of a notary, wrote out the required statement, signed it and attached a notarized jurat. They want true certified copies. The Embassy of Canada in responded to my email by saying I need to get certified copies from the US Passport Office and DMV. I can't find anything online indicating the US Passport Office or CA DMV will provide certified copies so I'm hesitant to waste time in their offices trying to get an answer. I'm considering having a notary from Nevada certify the copies. Has anyone had a NV notary do this or gotten certified copies from CA DMV or the US Passport Office?

 

[nyguy2]

I'm having this problem too. My father is Canadian, I was born in the US, and I'm currently living in California. Getting a certified copy of a birth certificate was not an issue but getting certified copies of my DL and Password has been a royal pain. My application was sent back to me because I made a copy of the docs in the presence of a notary, wrote out the required statement, signed it and attached a notarized jurat. They want true certified copies. The Embassy of Canada in responded to my email by saying I need to get certified copies from the US Passport Office and DMV. I can't find anything online indicating the US Passport Office or CA DMV will provide certified copies so I'm hesitant to waste time in their offices trying to get an answer. I'm considering having a notary from Nevada certify the copies. Has anyone had a NV notary do this or gotten certified copies from CA DMV or the US Passport Office?

That shouldn't apply. I filled out CIT 0001 E for Proof of Canadian Citizenship (as someone who got it by descent via birth to a Canadian parent).

Your birth certificate listing both parents must be an original or certified copy, and the proof that your parent is a Canadian Citizen must be a certified copy or original.

The two IDs, one of which must list your photo - these just need to be copies. They don't need to be certified.

I applied with a certified copy of my father's birth certificate (from British Columbia) and a certified copy of my own (from New York) and had the certified true copies signed by a notary in Ontario. The two IDs I sent (my NY State Drivers license and my US Passport Card) were both just plain copies with no signatures or certification on them or anything. I had my application sent, reviewed, and certificate sent to me within two months total.

Look at the document checklist. Claiming citizenship by birth outside of Canada to a Canadian parent (scenario 3), you need a certified copy of your own birth certificate and a certified copy of the proof that your parent was a Canadian citizen at the time of your birth. But on page 1 for the identity documents, the two pieces of personal information merely need to be copies.

My sibling applied for a certificate in the exact same way (had the birth certificates certified at the same time when I was in Ontario, copies of his IDs were just photocopies that were not certified), he applied separately months later, and he too had no trouble getting his certificate. His application was not returned either.

 

[r40135]

I am having the same problem. I live in bay area in California. I am looking the threads in this forum for few days. I appears that the notary will not compare the photocopy and original copy. How to get citizenship card certified in this area? maybe go to NV notary which is nearest? any one has any experience? please help! Thanks!

 

[alphazip]

I am having the same problem. I live in bay area in California. I am looking the threads in this forum for few days. I appears that the notary will not compare the photocopy and original copy. How to get citizenship card certified in this area? maybe go to NV notary which is nearest? any one has any experience? please help! Thanks!

Read the other posts in this thread to get ideas. As shown here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certified_copy), Nevada notaries will not certify public records, such as birth certificates. However, it's not clear to me whether you are trying to have a birth certificate certified or a "citizenship card." (Call a Reno Notary and ask. Here's one: 775-200-8617) If it is a citizenship card, since you are just sending them information that they already have in their files, I would say (but can't guarantee) that the self-certification process I mentioned in an earlier post should work. You could call the Canadian consulate in San Francisco (415-834-3180) and see about having your documents certified there. If we're talking about birth certificates, the simplest thing is just to send originals, though they will not be returned.