Document certification is necessary for embassies, foreign customs, bankers and freight forwarders/customs brokers.
All documents requiring certification by Mississauga Board of Trade must first be sworn to by a Commissioner of Oaths, a Notary Public or a Justice of the Peace.
For your convenience, a Commissioner of Oaths is available at the MBOT office. All documents requiring a Commissioner’s stamp must be signed in front of our Commissioner of Oath. If this is not possible, the person bringing the documents in will be asked to sign/initial the documents again on your behalf.
NOTE: There are some documents that require a Notary Public’s signature and cannot be signed by Mississauga Board of Trade’s Commissioner of Oaths. These include: Wills, Power of Attorneys and other legal documents.
Business-related documents that can be certified/commissioned by MBOT include:
- Certificates of origin for export shipments*
*Must be dated within 30 days from the date they are brought in to be signed. - Invoices, Packing Lists, Bill of Lading, etc.
- Invitation Letters/Business Visa requests*
*Proof that the business is a registered business in Canada must be presented, (i.e. Business Registration, Certificate of Incorporation, Business Number, etc.) before the documents can be signed.
Exceptions: Mississauga Board of Trade will not certify or commission:
- Certificate of Origins that refer to a “Free Trade Agreement” (e.g. NAFTA)
*Regular shipments printed on Free Trade templates are also unacceptable - Government documents (eg. Passports, Birth Certificates)
- Personal documents (eg. Bank or School documents)
- Legal documents (eg. Wills, Power Of Attorneys)
- Any documents MBOT deems unacceptable for certification or commissioning
Documents must…
- Be original. No faxes or photocopies are accepted.
- Be typed on a computer or typewriter. Handwritten documents will not be accepted.
- Be written in English. Documents written in another language will not be accepted.
- Have an original signature on them IN BLUE INK.
Documents with errors on them which are brought in to be corrected will be charged as a second set regardless of the day they are brought in. We apologize for any inconvenience.
We encourage companies to contact us prior to coming to our office to ensure documents are acceptable. Mississauga Board of Trade reserves the right to refuse certifying of documents should they be deemed unacceptable.
