Valid proofs of Canadian citizenship

You can use these documents to prove your Canadian citizenship:

A proof of citizenship (such as a citizenship certificate) is not a travel document. If you’re travelling abroad, you must have a valid passport or travel document.

Exception: Children 15 and under don’t need a passport to enter the United States or return to Canada by land or sea.

Documents children 15 and under can use instead of a passport:

  • original or copy of their birth certificate
    • It should be issued by the vital statistics department from the province or territory where they were born.
  • original Canadian citizenship certificate
  • Canadian citizenship card

When they turn 16, they need a passport if they’re going to enter the US.

Learn more about travelling to the US from Canada.

 Citizenship certificates

A citizenship certificate is a paper or electronic document that proves your Canadian citizenship.

Paper certificates

A paper certificate is an 8½ x 11-inch document that has

How to get a citizenship certificate

Example of a paper citizenship certificate

Example of the new citizenship certificate (front, back)

Older paper citizenship certificates

We gave out different citizenship certificates in the past. These older certificates are still valid as proof of Canadian citizenship.

Examples of older citizenship certificates

Example of a special citizenship certificate to commemorate Canada’s 150th anniversary (front, back) Example of an older certificate (front, back) Example of an older certificate (front, back)

Electronic certificates (e-certificates)

Starting January 4, 2023, you can choose to receive an e-certificate or a paper certificate if you

Applications submitted before January 4

We’re offering the e-certificate option to some applicants who submitted their applications before January 4, 2023.

If we offer you the e-certificate option, you

  • will receive an invitation by email
  • may accept or decline the invitation
    • If you accept the invitation, follow the email’s instruction for your next steps.
    • If you decline the invitation, you’ll get a paper certificate (if we approve your application).

You’ll only receive an e-certificate if

  •  you accept the invitation
  •  you meet the application requirements
  •  we approve your application

We cannot guarantee that we’ll approve your application or process it faster.

Citizenship application for an adopted person born outside Canada

We’re still testing the e-certificate with some applicants who already submitted an application for an adopted person who was born abroad(opens in a new tab) .

How the pilot (test) works

If we select you to participate in the pilot, you

  • will receive an invitation by email
  • may accept or decline the invitation
    • If you accept the invitation, follow the email’s instructions for your next steps.
    • If you decline the invitation, you’ll get a paper certificate (if we approve your application).

You’ll only receive an e-certificate if

  •  you choose to participate in the pilot
  •  you meet the application requirements
  •  we approve your application

You do not need to contact us. We’re working to make the e-certificate available to all successful applicants in the future.

Participating in the pilot does not mean we’ll approve your application or process it faster.

The new e-certificate is an electronic version of the current paper citizenship certificate. It’s a valid proof of Canadian citizenship that has

If you have an e-certificate, you can

Accessing your e-certificate

  1. If your application is successful, we’ll give you a letter with instructions to download the certificate. We’ll either send the letter to your email or add it to your IRCC secure account.
Citizenship application How you’ll receive the letter
  • Becoming a Canadian citizen (online and paper applications)
  • Citizenship certificate (paper application)
  • Resuming your Canadian citizenship after you gave it up
We’ll send it to the last email address you gave us.
Citizenship certificate (online application) We’ll send you a message in your IRCC secure account(opens in a new tab) 
  • In some cases, we may also email the letter.
  • For example, we may email the letter to your representative (if you have one).
  1. Follow the letter’s instructions to download your e-certificate.

    If you applied online for a citizenship certificate, the letter in your IRCC secure account will tell you to create an IRCC portal account. These are 2 different online accounts.

    To download the e-certificate, you must create an IRCC portal account(opens in a new tab) .

    When you create an IRCC portal account, you must use the last email address you gave us.

    After you’ve successfully downloaded your e-certificate for the first time, you can access your e-certificate from your IRCC portal account(opens in a new tab)  at any time.

Printing your e-certificate

Print both pages of your certificate

  • on white letter size (8.5 x 11 inches) paper
  • in colour or black ink
  • in portrait orientation

The information on the printed certificate must be

  • legible (clear and easy to read)
  • fully visible (not cut-off)

If you have any issues with your e-certificate

If you’ve already received an e-certificate, it will always be available in your IRCC Portal account (opens in a new tab) .

If there’s a mistake on your e-certificate

Find out how to have it corrected and replaced.

Contact us

You can contact us if you

  • have any issues or questions
  • have trouble accessing benefits and services with your e-certificate (for example, you can’t get service from an organization because they’re unfamiliar with the electronic format of the certificate).

How you contact us depends on what you applied for.

Type of application How to contact us

Becoming a Canadian citizen (citizenship grant) for

  • adults
  • minors 14 and above
  • Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members

Email the office that sent you the ceremony invitation. If possible, reply directly to your invitation email, so we can answer you faster.

In your email, tell us

  • Minors 13 and under who applied for Canadian citizenship
  • Proof of citizenship (citizenship certificate)
  • Resuming Canadian citizenship after giving it up

Email us at IRCC.ECertificatePilot-PiloteCertificatE.IRCC@cic.gc.ca.

In your email, tell us

We’ll respond to emails

  • from Monday to Friday (except for statutory holidays)
  • between 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time

Example of an e-certificate

e-certificates

 Citizenship cards

We stopped giving citizenship cards and the commemorative certificates that came with them in February 2012.

Example of a citizenship card

Example of an older citizenship card

stop Do not re-laminate your citizenship card

A re-laminated card is not valid as proof of citizenship because it

 Other documents we accept

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