A travel consent letter is a signed statement confirming that a child has permission to travel outside Canada from every parent or guardian who is staying home. No Canadian law requires you to carry one, but Global Affairs Canada strongly recommends it whenever a child travels with only one parent, and border officers in Canada, the United States, and many other countries can ask to see it at any crossing.
Here is the short version. Prepare the letter before the trip, have the parent staying home sign it in front of a notary public, and pack the original with the child’s passport and any parenting orders. The free builder on this page creates a complete draft in about three minutes, and our team notarizes travel letters at our Toronto and Ottawa offices in English, French, and Turkish.
How Do You Write a Travel Consent Letter? Use the Free Template Builder
The builder below creates a complete draft that follows the Government of Canada recommended format. Fill in the child, the travelling adult, the person giving consent, and the trip details, then preview the letter, download it for Word, or print it. Everything runs in your browser and nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere.
Free tool from Insight Law
Travel Consent Letter Builder
Answer a few questions and download a draft letter for your child’s trip, ready to sign in front of a notary. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
A few required fields are missing. Check the highlighted boxes above.
Ready to have it notarized?
Bring the unsigned letter and two photo IDs to our Toronto or Ottawa office, or call 647 300 8391.
This builder creates a general draft based on Government of Canada guidance. It is general information, not legal advice, and requirements at your destination can differ. Do not sign the letter until you are in front of the notary. If your family situation is complicated, have a lawyer review the letter before your trip.
One warning that saves people a second appointment. Do not sign the letter at home. The whole point of notarization is that the notary watches you sign, so bring the letter unsigned along with two photo IDs for every person signing.
What Is a Travel Consent Letter?
A travel consent letter is a written statement showing that a child has permission to travel abroad from any parent or person with decision making responsibility who is not going on the trip. Global Affairs Canada publishes the recommended format, and border authorities in most countries recognize the document.
The letter exists because a passport only proves who the child is. It says nothing about whether the adult standing beside the child has the other parent’s permission to take them out of the country. Border officers screen for parental child abduction, so one parent travelling alone with a child, especially where surnames differ, is exactly the situation they look at twice. A consent letter answers their question before they ask it.
A complete letter identifies the child, the accompanying adult, the destinations, the travel dates, and the person giving consent, and it carries that person’s signature made in front of a witness or notary. One letter covers one trip. If several children are travelling, we prepare a separate letter for each child so that every child carries their own document.
Need Help with Your Travel Consent Letter Notarized?
Speak with an experienced lawyer to get assistance with your notarization needs.
Online Booking Available
Same Day Availability
Reasonable Pricing
Do You Legally Need a Consent Letter to Travel With Your Child?
No statute in Canada makes the letter mandatory. Global Affairs Canada describes it as recommended rather than required, which is technically true and practically misleading, because the people who can ask for it hold real power over your trip. Canadian border officers, foreign immigration officials, and airline staff may each request proof that the absent parent agreed to the travel, and the federal guidance warns that failing to produce a letter can lead to delays or a refusal to let the child enter or leave a country.
The United States is where Ontario families feel this most. U.S. Customs and Border Protection strongly recommends that a child crossing the border with one parent carry a letter from the other parent, and it advises having the letter notarized because notarization proves the identity of the person who signed. Some destinations go further and publish their own consent rules, so check the entry requirements for your destination country on travel.gc.ca before you finalize the letter.
So treat the letter as mandatory in practice. The cost of preparing one is a short appointment. The cost of not having one can be a missed flight, a secondary inspection room, or a child refused boarding.
Who Counts as a Minor for a Travel Consent Letter?
In Ontario a child is anyone under 18. The Age of Majority and Accountability Act sets the age of majority at 18, so a traveller stops being a minor for these purposes on their eighteenth birthday.
Federal travel guidance recommends the letter for any child under the age of majority in their home province, and it goes one step further. To avoid complications abroad, Global Affairs Canada suggests that any traveller under 19 carry a consent letter, because several provinces and some destination countries treat the age of majority as 19. A 17 year old with an adult passport still benefits from carrying one.
Age does not create exceptions at the young end either. Babies and toddlers need the letter just as much as teenagers, since border screening applies no matter how small the traveller is.
Does a Travel Consent Letter Need to Be Notarized?
Strictly speaking, no. The federal guidance says the letter may be signed before any witness who has reached the age of majority. It then recommends signing before a notary public or a commissioner of oaths, because border officials are far less likely to question the authenticity of a notarized document, and that recommendation is the one to follow.
The two roles are not the same, and this is a detail generic articles usually skip. A commissioner of oaths takes affidavits and declarations for use within Ontario. A notary public holds those powers and can also verify signatures and certify documents for use outside Canada, which is exactly what a travel letter is for. When the document is heading across a border, notarization is the safer choice, and for trips to the United States it is what U.S. Customs and Border Protection specifically advises.
In our practice we notarize travel consent letters rather than merely witnessing them, because the notarial seal is recognized internationally, and the few dollars saved by using a neighbour as a witness are not worth an argument with a border officer at six in the morning.
What Should a Travel Consent Letter Include?
The letter should answer every question a border officer might ask before they ask it. Cover these details.
- The child’s full legal name, date of birth, and passport number, written exactly as they appear in the passport
- The full name and contact details of every parent or guardian giving consent
- The name of the accompanying adult and their relationship to the child
- Every country on the itinerary, including connections and stopovers
- The departure date and the return date
- Where the child can be reached during the trip
- Signature lines and a block for the notary or witness to complete
Specific beats general. A letter that says the child may travel to Türkiye with their mother between March 6 and March 20 reads as a family that planned. A letter that says the child may travel anywhere at any time reads as a form somebody found online, and open ended letters invite exactly the questions you are trying to avoid.
What if You Are Separated, Divorced, or the Other Parent Will Not Sign?
Separation changes who signs, not whether you need the letter. Since the 2021 amendments to the federal Divorce Act, Canadian family law speaks of decision making responsibility and parenting time rather than custody and access, and the person who should sign is any parent or guardian with decision making responsibility who is staying home.
Here is the point that surprises separated parents most. Global Affairs Canada recommends a consent letter even when your parenting order lets you make travel decisions alone. Border officers and airline staff may still ask for proof that everyone with decision making responsibility agrees, so the safest package is a consent letter from the other parent whenever that is possible and safe, plus a copy of the relevant court order or parenting plan.
If the other parent refuses to sign, do not simply hope the question never comes up. A judge can authorize the travel, but courts need lead time, so speak with a family lawyer months before the departure date if you expect a dispute. If the other parent has died, carry a copy of the death certificate. If only one parent is named on the child’s birth certificate, carry the birth certificate itself. Each of these documents answers the question the missing signature would otherwise raise.
What Other Documents Should Your Child Carry?
Federal guidance suggests pairing the consent letter with documents that prove identity and parenting arrangements. This table sets out what we recommend for the most common situations.
| Situation | Who signs the consent letter | What else the child should carry |
|---|---|---|
| Child travels with one parent | The parent or guardian staying home | Passport, a copy of the birth certificate, any parenting order or agreement |
| Child travels with a grandparent, relative, or friend | Both parents or all guardians | Passport, a copy of the birth certificate, contact details for both parents |
| One parent has sole decision making responsibility | The other parent where possible and safe | A certified copy of the court order together with the letter |
| The other parent has died | No second signature is needed | A copy of the death certificate |
| Only one parent is named on the birth certificate | No second signature is needed | A copy of the birth certificate showing one parent |
| Child travels alone or with a group | Both parents or all guardians | Passport, the letter naming the group or trip leader, any medical consent the organizer requires |
Carry the notarized original rather than a photocopy, and keep a scanned copy in your email in case the paper version goes missing during the trip.
Frequently Asked Questions About Travel Consent Letters
Does my child need a consent letter to travel with one parent?
No law requires it, but Global Affairs Canada strongly recommends one whenever a child leaves Canada without both parents. Border officers, foreign immigration officials, and airline staff can all ask for it, and the federal guidance warns that travelling without one can mean delays or a refused entry or exit. Treat it as required in practice.
Does the letter have to be notarized in Ontario?
Any witness who has reached the age of majority can legally witness the signature, but Global Affairs Canada recommends a notary public or commissioner of oaths, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection advises notarization for trips to the United States. A notarized letter is far less likely to be questioned, so it is the standard we follow.
How far in advance should we sign the letter, and how long is it valid?
The letter covers only the trip it describes, so it stays valid for those dates and expires in practice when the trip ends. Sign it once your itinerary is fixed, ideally two to four weeks before departure, and book earlier around March break and the winter holidays when notary calendars fill quickly. Write a fresh letter for every trip.
What if the other parent refuses to sign the consent letter?
Do not travel and hope nobody asks. If discussion fails, a court can authorize the trip, but that takes lead time, so get family law advice well before the departure date. Carry any existing parenting order either way, since federal guidance recommends the letter and the order together whenever obtaining a signature is possible and safe.
Can one letter cover several children or several trips?
Keep it to one trip per letter, with the exact dates and destinations, because open ended letters attract questions. For children, a single letter can name all of them, but we prepare a separate letter for each child so every child carries their own document if the family splits up during the trip, for example when one child flies home early.
Will an Ontario consent letter work for any destination country?
It is widely recognized, but some countries add their own requirements, such as a translation, an official form of their own, or extra documents for a child they consider one of their citizens. Check the entry rules for your destination on travel.gc.ca before your notary appointment so the letter you sign matches what the border expects.
The information provided above is of a general nature and should not be considered legal advice. Every transaction or circumstance is unique, and obtaining specific legal advice is necessary to address your particular requirements. Therefore, if you have any legal questions, it is recommended that you consult with a lawyer.
