| Competent authority | Global Affairs Canada — Authentication Services (Ottawa) |
| Government fee | No government fee (free) |
| Typical processing | ≈ 20 business days + mail |
| Submission | Mail only — no in-person or expedited service |
What to know
- Global Affairs Canada is free but slow (about 20 business days, plus mail both ways) and offers no rush option whatsoever.
- Documents from the five designated provinces (QC, ON, BC, AB, SK) must go to their own provincial authority — GAC will not process them. Sending to the wrong authority is the single most common cause of lost weeks; our routing check prevents it.
- RCMP criminal record checks for use abroad are a very frequent request — we handle the full chain: record check guidance, apostille at GAC, worldwide return shipping.
Verified June 2026 against the authority's published requirements; re-confirmed for every order at pre-check. Government fees and delays are outside any provider's control — including ours.
Have a Federal & other provinces document?
Upload a scan — we'll confirm the routing, screen it for refusal risks and send a fixed quote within one business day.
Free pre-check