Hi guys, yesterday one of my students in Nikolaev came with an American guy who had some trouble, he was looking for the marriage registry office in Nikolaev. That guy was going to marry a Ukrainian Lady and he brought the needed papers for marriage from US. The very important one was the reference that he isn't currently married. This document was certified by notary officer in US, but that wasn't enough.
Just be aware that such a document must be apostilled. Most of the people have never heard of such a thing. Apostille is a special international stamp which proofs the authenticity of the document. It is given by the authorities of your State. So don't forget to ask your legal man for the Apostille, otherwise you'll waste your time, money and efforts as the guy I met did. Now he needs to go back to the US and apostille that reference.
Not all countries use apostle. This is a agreement for notarizing documents in a group of countries.Canada is not part of this group. Best idea is to contact Embassy of the country you are being married in. Or look up what you need on internet. Embassies usually have this info on line. Each country will have a exceptable type of notarization
Armin is correct the apostle is done by a state representative. Just google it in your state, There are only a few people in each state that can perform it and it takes a few days to get it mailed of and returned.
Armin is only partly right not all countries are part of the apostille accord. depends on country. In Canada you must go through Ministry of foreign trade. And if all is done properly you should have no problem. Again Apostille is notarization by a group of counties mostly Europe, USA is also part of this accord. When I got married I learned all about this notary stamp