Provincial Authentication
Once the British Columbia Birth Certificate and Registration of Live Birth are received from Vital Stats – we need to have these two documents “Authenticated by the Province“. Provincially authenticated British Columbia birth certificates will be missing the third signature and seal necessary for complete Authentication Status, they will need to be sent off to Global Affairs Canada for federal authentication. Below are the Provincial authentication process and Federal authentication process page links for your convenience.
- You can order original BC Vital Statistics documents from the BC Vital Statistics Agency.
- If your original BC Vital Statistics document was issued before 1985, is laminated or is wallet size, it will not be accepted for authentication and you must order an updated original BC Vital Statistics document from the BC Vital Statistics Agency.
- Photocopies of a BC Vital Statistics document will not be accepted for authentication, even if notarized.
Click the link to follow the authentication instructions for British Columbia:
British Columbia Authentications website: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/government-id/guide-to-the-authentication-of-documents/process/vital-stats-docs
Be sure to follow the mailing instructions provided below before sending any certificates out, to document this process correctly for your records!
Federal Authentication
As provincially authenticated British Columbia birth certificates will be missing the third signature and seal necessary for complete Authentication Status, they will need to be sent off to Global Affairs Canada for federal authentication.
Here is the link to the Federal Authentication page.
Mailing Instructions:
Your mailing packages will include:
- 10×15 white or brown envelopes: (sending & returning) 2x package
- Cover letter completed with your information
- Registered mail stickers: up to 2x package
- Birth Certificates/ROLBs
- Authentication fee money order
- Stamps for sending and return envelopes (check for what is needed for sending and returning envelopes when at post office)
Follow these instructions below when sending to British Columbia Authentications, be sure to fill out the authentication cover letter template accordingly and complete this British Columbia authentication request form to send with your package for Authentication, as per their request.
- In the top left-hand corner of the Sending envelope in blue ink, write:
First Middle,
Near: Your home address,
[Postal code in square brackets]
- Put the correct sending address in the middle of the Sending envelope in blue ink (Authentication address).
- In the center of the Return envelope, in blue ink, write:
First Middle, Grantee
Near: Your home address,
[Postal code in square brackets
(We want the Ministry to rubber stamp their address into the top left-hand side of the return envelope, so do not put their address there, leave blank)
- Put the folded Return 10X15 or 9×12 return envelope into the sending envelope. – folding this 10X15 envelope so they do not have to fold your notarized/ Authenticated documents. If you can not find one, you can use a 9X12 envelope and they will fold the bottom 2 inches of your documents backwards in order to fit them into your return envelope.
- Put one of the long Registered Mail stickers on the top right hand side of your authentication cover letter, attach the other one to the receipt you get at the post office when sending and put the cover letter into the sending envelope.
- Include the correct fee in the sending envelope.
- Go to the Post Office and send Registered Mail.
- When your provincially authenticated documents come back, keep that Return envelope! This will serve as evidence later.
Put the envelope and your new provincially authenticated documents in your long 8.5X14 Estate binder when you get it, in order to keep them in good shape!!
This is a sample of the Certificate that will Annexed to your Birth Certificate and ROLB:
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