Document Certification
Toronto Board of Trade's signature on Certificates of Origin and
other export shipping documents is recognized worldwide wherever
certification by a chamber of commerce is required.
Service is provided for the following documents: Certificates of Origin,
Commercial invoices and other shipping documents; Agent/Representation
Agreements; Business Visas.
Hours and Locations
Weekdays:
Downtown Centre
1 First Canadian Place
9:00 a.m. - 12 noon
2:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m. (by appointment only) Click here to request an afternoon
appointment**
Tel: 416.862.4533 Fax:
416.366.2483
bizservices@bot.com
West End
Skyway Business Park
170 Attwell Drive, 3rd Floor, JPR Suite
9:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon
1:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Tel: 416.798.6811 Fax:
416.798.2499
doccertww@bot.com
New Clients
Document certification clients are required to
fill out a “Letter of Waiver" PDF (82kb) that will be kept in a
secure file at Toronto Board of Trade.
Please note:
- The Letter of Waiver must be notarized.
A Toronto Board of Trade Commissioner of Oaths cannot sign the
waiver.
- The company's signing officer cannot
notarize/commission his/her own signature.
- The company is required to supply a copy of
either the company's "Articles of Incorporation" OR a ”Business
Licence”.
- If the company has moved, we require a copy of
a government document that confirms the new address (e.g. Revenue Canada
tax form cover page) or a lawyer should provide a letter/amendment of
why the address on Articles/Licence is different to the firm's current
address.
Contact: bizservices@bot.com or call
416.862.4533
What You Need to Bring
- You must provide the Board of Trade with one
additional copy of all documents presented for certification. Each copy
must be originally signed by a company officer or duly authorized agent
and a Commissioner of Oaths, Notary Public or Justice of the
Peace.
- The documents need to have two original
signatures, in blue ink: the exporter’s and the Notary
Public’s/Commissioner of Oaths’.
- All signatures must be original. Photocopied
signatures will not be accepted.
- These two signatures need to be from two
different people. The exporter cannot notarize/commission his/her own
document.
- Toronto Board of Trade requires an original
copy of all documents to keep on file.
- Any Certificate of Origin that refers to a
"Free Trade Agreement" (e.g. NAFTA) cannot be
certified.
- If the document is written in a foreign
language, it must be accompanied by an English translation signed by a
signing officer of the company.
- If the exporter is not a Canadian company, a
Canadian representative's (e.g. freight forwarder's) company name and
address must be specified on the Certificate of
Origin.
- The Consignee's (or Notify Party's) full
company name and address must be included on the Certificate of
Origin.
- Toronto Board of Trade’s template for a
Certificate of Origin is available in "pdf" format or in "excel"
format available from Document Certification Officers.
Commissioner of Oaths
Service
All documents requiring certification by
Toronto 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 Board's West
location and Downtown Centre. All documents must be signed in front
of our Commissioner, and a valid ID (such as a driver's license) must be
on hand. There are some documents that require a Notary Public's
signature and cannot be signed by Toronto Board of Trade's Commissioner
of Oaths. Toronto Board of Trade's Commissioners of Oaths are only able
to witness signatures on the following types of documents:
- Certificate of Origin
- Business Visa Letter
- Government-issued Manufacturer's
Declaration
To have signatures witnessed on other
documents, please refer to the Notary Public / Commissioner of Oaths of
your choice.
As there can only be one Commissioner of Oaths on staff at each of these
locations, we recommend that you call
ahead to confirm their availability.
Certificate of Origin
A certificate of origin is a document stating the origin of goods being
exported. Whether the exporter requires a certificate of origin depends
on a variety of factors: where the goods are being shipped, what the
goods are, if it is requested by the bank or financial institution
involved in the export sale.
The Board of Trade requires the following to be completed on the
certificate of origin:
- Complete Address of the Exporter- (if not
Canadian a complete address of the Forwarder must be specified on the
document)
- Consignee's/Notfiy Party's complete
address
- Description of Goods, quantities and
weight
- Country of Origin
- Place and Date
- Company's official Signature (original
signature required on all documents)
- Notary, Commissioner of Oath, or Lawyers
Signature (original signature required on all documents)
Business Visa Letters for Saudi Arabia
These are letters written by the company on
letterhead, stating that the individual is a member of their company and
will be doing business while in Saudi Arabia. The company’s
president, with a company seal should sign them if possible. They should
also be notarized/commissioned. The Board of Trade retains an original
notarized copy.
The letter should include the following information:
- Name of applicant
- Nationality
- Religion
- Passport #
- Date of issue of passport
- Expiry date
- Place of birth
- Date of birth
- Occupation
- Name of inviting company
- Period of Stay
- Company official’s signature
The client is required to a complete
a visa application form from the Embassy of Saudi Arabia.The client
will be required by the embassy to provide a valid passport for at least
6 months from current date and will be asked for two passport size
photos.
Government-issued Certificates
We will attach a short letter on Toronto Board
of Trade letterhead to the effect that, based upon our examination of
the certificate, we believe it to be genuine. This letter can be
stamped, signed and sealed.
Fee Schedule
| Service |
Members
|
|
Non-Members
|
|
Online Certification
|
$28.00 |
|
$38.00 |
|
Certification Only
|
$11.50 per set
|
|
$19.47 per set
|
|
|
Certification &
Commissioner of Oaths
|
$27.43 per set
|
|
$38.94 per set
|
|
(plus 13% HST)
|
|
|
|
A "set" is a group of documents with the same
invoice number belonging to an individual shipment not requiring more
than 12 signatures. There is a further charge of $11.43/$19.05 for each
additional 12 signatures. Repeats of certification due to loss of
documents, change of information, or for any other reason, will be
charged an additional fee.
Payment
Members
Members can charge their Toronto Board of Trade club account
number.
Non-Members
Non-members are required to pay by cash, credit card or by company
cheque, payable to The Toronto Board of Trade, at the time of
certification.
