Canada is one of the leading countries that offer the best-in-class flight training. So, it is common for Canadian-trained pilots to work in various countries around the world. If you are also required to have your Canadian pilot license and other documents recognized in another country, then working with an attestation agency will make the whole process much easier.

When you are asked for Canadian pilot license attestation, you must first understand what exactly that means. In Canada, attestation (as well as apostille) refers to the authentication and legalization of your pilot’s license. It is done to make sure that your pilot license can be accepted abroad when you decide to fly an aircraft in another country. The process typically involves three steps – document preparation, authentication, and legalization to obtain a stamp and signature on the pilot license.

The process “apostille” is used for document legalization in countries that are part of the Hague Convention. Since Canada is not a signatory to the Hague Convention, the apostille is not performed for pilot licenses or any other documents. Only attestation is used when there is a requirement of authenticating and legalizing a Canadian certificate, license, or document.

What You Must Know About Pilot License Attestation

• The original Pilot License is not attested as it is too small to place the stamps and doesn’t contain a signature identified by Global Affairs Canada. You can authenticate and legalize only a certified true copy made by the Canadian Notary Republic.

• Not all countries require attested or apostilled licenses and certificates. So, first, find out whether the country where you are planning to operate an aircraft requires you to authenticate and legalize your pilot license or not.

• It is mandatory to get your pilot license’s true copy notarized by a Canadian Notary Public to complete the process of pilot license attestation.

How much time does it take to get a Canadian Pilot License attested?

The process of pilot license attestation can take one day to two weeks.

The time frame of completing the authenticating and legalization of pilot licenses varies depending on various factors. For instance:

• If the process will be handled by mail
• The processing time it takes at different points, such as notary, embassy, or consulate
• The service of an attestation agency

If you want to handle the process yourself by mail, it might take a minimum of 15 business days at Global Affairs Canada alone and an additional time of 1 day to 2 weeks for completing the legalization process at the embassy or consulate, given that you have submitted all the required documents and completed all the steps correctly.

So, if you want to complete the pilot license attestation in a minimum time, it is always best to hire the services of an attestation agency. They know the complete process by heart and do it on an everyday basis. So, there are negligible chances that the attestation process of your pilot license is denied or delayed. In short, it will save you from the hassle of visiting authorities now and then and free you from any worries regarding attestation.