Authentication of documents: Check the status of your request to authenticate documents
The purpose of this form is to request a status update on a request you have already mailed to the Authentication Services Section at Global Affairs Canada and which has not yet been processed. If you need to submit a new authentication request, please follow the instructions outlined in steps 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Please note that documents sent by regular mail or from overseas may take significantly longer to receive.
Below you will find the required minimum wait time before we are able to provide a status update for a request submitted to the Authentication Services Section at Global Affairs Canada. If you have asked us to forward your documents to an embassy, high commission or consulate, check the status of your documents with them first. Please note that due to the high volume of enquiries we receive, we regret that we are only able to respond to status update enquiries for requests whose requests have exceeded the times indicated in the table below.
| Minimum wait time before you can request a status update | |
|---|---|---|
If no alternative was available to you* | If one or more alternatives were available to you* | |
If you submitted your request from Canada | 40 business days (approximately 8 weeks) | 55 business days (approximately 11 weeks) |
If you submitted your request from abroad | 55 business days (approximately 11 weeks) | 70 business days (14 weeks) |
*If any of the options that are listed in the Alternatives to authentication by the Authentication Services Section at Global Affairs Canada page were available to you, such as provincial authentication, the processing time that will apply to your request will be longer.
