Name Change Certificate Authentication and Legalization Following a Legal Name Change
Name changes are a common occurrence. Whether you want to change your name due to a change in your marital status, simply out of the desire for a different name, or even to correct the spelling of your current name, your legal name can be altered at any time through a simple application granted you meet Ontario’s two criteria for requesting the change. First of these is a minimum age requirement of 16 and the latter is residence in Ontario for a period of at least 12 months prior to the application. Granted you meet these two criteria, a simple form, fee, and police record check is all you need to officially change your legal name. More information on the process of changing your name can be found here.
If you have gone through the process in Ontario, you may know that the application submitted to Service Ontario undergoes a review to determine whether your new proposed name will be accepted. Once the change is granted, the province provides you with a certificate showing your previous name and your new name. You should keep this certificate safe, as you may need to provide this as proof of the change should you ever need to update other documents or records with your previous name. If you were born in Ontario, you may also request an updated birth certificate reflecting the change.
Name changes are often perceived as complicated and rightfully so – you not only have to go through the application process to have the change approved and recognized, but it requires you to update your identifications following the change to reflect your true legal name. Moreover, most people change their names much into adulthood and as a result, have many documents asides from identification that also have their previous name, such as property titles, Powers of Attorney, or other legal documents. Add in the factor that you may have moved to Canada from another country, and you may also have documents in your country of origin that require updating with this new name.
While updating your documents within Canada may be simple, if you have documents outside of the country that must also be updated, the process requires a few extra steps. In order to update your documents from other countries, you will need to have your name change certificate authenticated and legalized and submitted along with the document that must undergo the update.
Once you have all of your documents in order, you will need to submit them to Global Affairs Canada in order for your certificate to be authenticated. Once it is authenticated, it must be submitted to the embassy of the country that your document requiring the update is from. Each individual embassy often has their own forms and processes for having specific documents legalized and as a result, you will need to be aware of your embassy’s particular process. After submitting the certificate along with any relevant forms and fees to the embassy, they will legalize your document. Once the certificate has been authenticated and legalized, it may now be used as valid proof of your name change.
While the process of authentication and legalization of name change certificate may appear simple, going through a professional service provider such as Legalization Service Centre can save you time, hassle, and significant due diligence. The authentication process through Global Affairs Canada alone can take weeks, if not months, if the documents are not prepared as per their guidelines. Contrarily, we can speed up the process to have your documents authenticated in less than a week. Moreover, embassies often have changing requirements which make the legalization process daunting and difficult to keep track of. Because our office is located minutes from most embassies in Ottawa, we are able to keep up-to-date information on embassy requirements and make in-person submissions and tracking of your documents. Once your documents are fully authenticated and legalized, we send them securely to the destination of your choice.
With the benefits of choosing a professional to complete your authentication and legalization needs regarding this matter, including the ease and quickness with which the process can be completed, it almost does not make sense to do it yourself. Give us a call at Legalization Service Center at 1-800-857-1215 for a phone consultation to answer any remaining questions or to discuss your specific needs. Our experts will guide you through the process and make this complicated ordeal as simple and efficient as possible!