Apostille is a French word which mean a certification. It is a commonly used in English to refer to the legalization of a document for International use under to terms of the 1961 Hague Convention, Abolishing the Requirements for Legalization by a consular officer of foreign Public Documents.
With this certification by the Hague Convention appostille, the document is entitled to recognition in the country of intended use, and no legalization by the embassy or consulate of the foreign country where the document is to be used is required.
In other words, when a document is to be used in a foreign country, it may be necessary to authorization or certification. Foreign countries often require documents to be authenticated before the documents will be accepted in the foreign jurisdiction. An “authentication” certifies the signature and the position of the official who has executed, issued or certified a copy of a document.
The sole function of the apostille is to certify the authenticity of the signiture on the document; the capacity in which the person signing the document acted; and the identity of any stamp or seal affixed to the document.
The United States of America is a signatory to the convention but Canada is not. Canadians, do have the equivalent of this type of document,it is a Certificate of Authentication or Form 10 – International Certificate of Identity which is almost similar like apostille recognition and you must have the documents certified by Canadian Foreign affairs and then take the documents to the Mexican Embassy or Mexican Consulate. For more info….
The Foreign Affairs does not charge a fee to certifying the document but the Mexican Embassy/Consulate office does charge a fee. Bring small bills and change as the Embassy/Consulate never has very early in the day as you will be asked to come back to get your documents. If you are fortunate you may get the certified document back the same day.