How to Become a Notary Public in Ontario: Who Qualifies and How to Apply

Last updated: October 29, 2026

How to Become a Notary Public in Ontario: Who Qualifies and How to Apply

Quick answer: To become a notary public in Ontario, you apply to the province for an appointment under the Notaries Act. Lawyers and paralegals licensed by the Law Society of Ontario apply to ServiceOntario's Official Documents Services for a one-time fee of $145, and the appointment lasts as long as they stay in good standing. Anyone else must show that notarizing documents is a required part of their current job, and applies to the Ministry of the Attorney General for a 10-year term ($110). No course or exam is required for the appointment itself.

This guide is for a lawyer or paralegal in Ontario who wants a notary appointment, an employee whose job needs one, and anyone who saw a "notary course" ad and wonders what it leads to. The legal facts come from the official sources listed at the end.

If you came here because you need a document notarized or commissioned, not a notary appointment of your own, contact us or call (613) 434-5555.

Caption: The Ministry of the Attorney General says every notary must use an embossed notarial seal. Lawyer and paralegal notaries also file a specimen of it with Official Documents Services.

Key Takeaways

What a Notary Public in Ontario Does

Section 3(1) of the Notaries Act lists the powers. A notary public may:

• witness or certify, and attest, the execution of a document (watch someone sign and confirm it with a notarial certificate);
• certify and attest a true copy of a document;
• exercise the powers of a commissioner for taking affidavits in Ontario; and
• exercise any other powers the regulations add.

The Ministry's page puts it simply: a notary "has all the powers of a commissioner for taking affidavits, and can also verify that signatures, marks and copies of documents are true or genuine." An affidavit or statutory declaration only needs a commissioner; a certified true copy or a notarial certificate on a signature needs a notary. See notary public vs commissioner of oaths in Ontario for which document needs which, and what a notary public does in Ontario for the client's side.

What a notary can and cannot do: An Ontario notary can witness and attest a signature, certify a true copy, and take affidavits, oaths and declarations. A notary cannot commission or notarize their own documents, and cannot notarize documents remotely. A notary appointment is not a licence to give legal advice either: under section 26.1(1) of the Law Society Act, subject to the exceptions the Act and the Law Society's by-laws allow, only Law Society licensees may practise law or provide legal services in Ontario, and the Act counts advising someone on their legal rights, or drafting many kinds of documents for them, as legal services (s. 1(6)). See notary vs lawyer in Ontario for where that line sits.

Acting outside your authority can bring a fine of up to $2,000 (s. 6(1)), and the Attorney General may revoke an appointment after a conviction or for conduct that makes the person unfit for the office (s. 7(2)).

Who Can Be Appointed

The Attorney General "may appoint such persons as he or she thinks fit as notaries public for Ontario" (s. 1(1)). Two groups follow two different routes.

Law Society licensees. Under section 2, a person "other than a licensee under the Law Society Act" must meet requirements set by regulation before being appointed. A licensee is anyone licensed to practise law as a barrister and solicitor or to provide legal services in Ontario (Law Society Act, s. 1(1)), so lawyers and paralegals both skip those requirements. ServiceOntario adds: "Only Ontario lawyers and paralegals working in Ontario can apply." A lawyer licensed only in another province does not qualify this way.

Everyone else. The Ministry of the Attorney General sets the test for non-lawyers. To apply, you must:

• be eligible to work in Canada; and
• "demonstrate that notarizing documents in Ontario is a required part of your job (for example, as an Ontario corporation taking part in trade or commerce outside Ontario)".

The Ministry adds that notary appointments "are not granted to people who only require the powers of a commissioner", and are not granted to let applicants "enter a new line of business or employment and/or expand services currently available to clients."

How to Become a Notary Public in Ontario, Step by Step

If you are an Ontario lawyer or paralegal

1. Be licensed and in good standing with the Law Society of Ontario, and working in Ontario.
2. Submit a request to ServiceOntario's Official Documents Services, either online through the notary public portal or on the printed service request form, in person or by mail to 777 Bay Street, Lower Level, Toronto, Ontario M7A 2J8. Applications are not accepted by fax.
3. Pay the fee: $145, one time, with all taxes exempted; government lawyers and paralegals pay $0. In person you can pay by cash, credit card, debit, certified cheque or money order. By mail, send a cheque or money order payable to the Minister of Finance, with your Law Society number and service request confirmation number in the memo if you applied online.
4. Receive the Notice of Approval. If your request succeeds, it arrives by mail within 15 business days.
5. Return the specimen form. The package includes a form for a specimen of your embossed seal and your signature. Official Documents Services uses it to authenticate documents you notarize later; if you do not send it, it "will be unable to authenticate documents you notarize." If your seal or signature changes, update the specimen.

Caption: The Notice of Approval is the official proof of the appointment. The Ministry no longer issues certificates of appointment to non-lawyer notaries and commissioners.

If you are not a lawyer or paralegal

1. Check that you qualify: eligible to work in Canada, with notarizing in Ontario a required part of your current job.
2. Complete the interactive application. Since January 9, 2026, the Ministry accepts only its new interactive application; older application forms, and renewal, change or revocation requests on business letterhead, are not accepted. You complete it in one continuous session, which the Ministry says takes 10 to 30 minutes.
3. Assemble the package: the notary application form, a self-assessment questionnaire, a self-declaration and consent form, a security check consent form, a letter of authorization from your employer and any occupation-specific documents.
4. Sign it electronically and email it to appointments@ontario.ca. Each applicant sends a separate package.
5. Wait for the review. A complete package usually takes 4 to 6 weeks. If the Ministry decides you are eligible, it emails instructions to pay $110 by cheque or money order. Electronic payment is not available.
6. Keep your Notice of Approval. Since January 1, 2026, it is the official document confirming your authority to act.

Non-Lawyer Notaries: The Limits

Becoming a notary public in Ontario as a non-lawyer gets you an appointment for a job, not a career. In the Ministry's words, it "is not considered a profession, new business, new employment or volunteer opportunity". It is meant to give you the powers your existing job duties need.

That shapes the appointment itself:

• Limits on territory and cases. Your powers are subject to any restrictions in your appointment that limit where and for what you may act (s. 3(2)).
• A stamp under your signature. You must use a stamp approved by the Attorney General showing the date your appointment expires and any limits on territory and purpose (s. 5(3)). Breaking a restriction or skipping the stamp can bring a fine of up to $1,000 (s. 6(2)).
• Tied to one employer. You need a new application if your appointment was for a different business or organization, or if the business's name changed because of a change in ownership. If you leave the job, or your employer no longer needs the appointment, you ask the Ministry to change or revoke it. Revoking costs nothing.

Terms, Renewal and Fees

Two regulations set the fees and the terms: Regulation 831 under the Notaries Act and Regulation 76 under the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act. Since January 1, 2026, both set a 10-year term for appointments that expire (O. Reg. 338/25 and O. Reg. 337/25). Before that, the Acts' default was three years.

Notes on the table:

• Lifetime, with a condition. Licensees are outside the expiry rule (s. 5(1.1)), but their notary appointment is suspended while their licence is suspended or in abeyance, or after it ends (s. 7(1)).
• Renew on time. Send the request at least two months before expiry, and no earlier than six months before. If the appointment expires in under four weeks or has expired, you need a new application.
• Renewals go by mail or courier with a cheque or money order to the Ministry of the Attorney General, Legal Appointments Office, 77 Wellesley Street West, Box 720, Toronto, Ontario M7A 1N3, unless you are fee-exempt, in which case you email them. No hand deliveries, and no HST.
• The $17 stamp fee is recent. It comes from amendments to Regulation 831 and Regulation 76 in force on October 28, 2026 (O. Reg. 336/26 and O. Reg. 335/26).

How to Become a Commissioner of Oaths in Ontario Instead

The legal name is commissioner for taking affidavits; "commissioner of oaths" is the everyday term. A commissioner can take affidavits and administer oaths, affirmations and declarations, but cannot notarize documents or certify true copies.

Commissioners automatically. Under section 1 of the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act and O. Reg. 386/12, some people are commissioners by virtue of their office, with no application: licensed lawyers and paralegals; articling and law practice program students (only for that work); members of the Legislative Assembly; judges and justices of the peace; municipal clerks, treasurers and some other municipal officials within their area; ServiceOntario staff when serving the public; and a few other listed office holders.

Everyone else applies. The Attorney General may appoint any person aged 18 or over (s. 4(1)). The Ministry asks that you be eligible to work in Canada and work at a registered Ontario business or organization that needs commissioner services as part of its current and regular business. Summer law students can apply if a law firm or legal organization employs them under a licensed lawyer's supervision. The fee is $75, the term is 10 years, and renewal is $50 (Regulation 76).

A commissioner can also act by video. A notary cannot, as the next section explains.

Online Notarization in Ontario: What the Law Allows Today

Commissioning by video is allowed. The Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act requires every oath and declaration to be taken in the physical presence of the person administering it, unless a regulation provides otherwise (s. 9(1) and (2)). O. Reg. 431/20 does: everyone must see, hear and talk to each other in real time for the whole transaction, the commissioner confirms identity and makes sure the person understands what they sign, and a modified jurat records that the regulation was followed and where each person was. The commissioner keeps a record of each remote oath (s. 2). A notary uses this commissioner power for affidavits and statutory declarations.

Notarizing by video is not. Section 3(3) of the Notaries Act would let a notary act without being in the person's physical presence "if the regulations made under this Act so provide". No regulation does: Regulation 831 deals only with fees, fee exemptions and the term of appointment. The Ministry's page states that notaries "cannot notarize documents remotely". The Law Society of Ontario's notice of February 26, 2025, "Online notary services are not permitted under the Notaries Act", warned that licensees offering online notary services may face regulatory action and that documents notarized this way "may be invalid and may not be useable for their intended purpose."

In practice, witnessing a signature with a notarial certificate or certifying a copy of an original still needs the person and the document in the room.

Caption: Ontario lets a commissioner take an oath or declaration by video under O. Reg. 431/20. No regulation does the same for notarizing a signature or a copy.

British Columbia and Quebec: Different Professions

An Ontario appointment makes you a notary public "for Ontario" (s. 1(1)). The word "notary" means something else in two other provinces, so do not follow Ontario's steps there.

• British Columbia. A notary public is, in most cases, a member of the Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia, a separate profession under BC's own Notaries Act (R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 334, s. 16(1)).
• Quebec. A notary (notaire) is a legal professional who gives legal advice, drafts legal documents and acts as a public officer. The Government of Quebec lists registration with the Chambre des notaires du Québec and its professional training program among the requirements.

In any other province or territory, check with that government or its law society.

Notary Public Courses and Certificates: What They Are and Are Not

Paid programs advertise a "notary public course" or "notary public certification". Here is what the Ontario sources say:

• No course, exam or private certificate is required. The Notaries Act, Regulation 831 and both government application pages list none.
• There is no Ontario "notary certificate" to buy. The official proof is the Notice of Approval, which has replaced the Ministry's certificates of appointment.
• There is no separate notary licence. Ontario grants an appointment; the licence that matters is the Law Society licence.
• Acting without an appointment is an offence. Holding yourself out as a notary public, or doing a notary's work, without an appointment can bring a fine of up to $10,000 (s. 6(3)).

A course can teach good habits, like checking ID and keeping records. It cannot appoint you.

Already Appointed? Work with Minute Notary

If you are a Law Society licensee with a notary appointment, or about to apply for one, our careers page lists contract positions. They cover commissioning appointments by secure video and in-person notarial appointments in your own region, with clients, booking, scheduling, identity capture and record keeping handled on our platform. We also post positions for notaries in Quebec and British Columbia.

A non-lawyer appointment is tied to the job it was granted for, so in practice our Ontario positions suit lawyers and paralegals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a non-lawyer become a notary public in Ontario?

Yes, but only for a job that needs it. The Ministry of the Attorney General appoints a non-lawyer, non-paralegal notary only if you are eligible to work in Canada and can show that notarizing documents in Ontario is a required part of your current job. It does not grant an appointment to start a new business, take on new work or expand the services you already offer, and it does not grant a notary appointment to someone who only needs a commissioner's powers.

Can a paralegal be a notary in Ontario?

Yes. A paralegal licensed by the Law Society of Ontario is a "licensee" under the Law Society Act, and the Notaries Act lets licensees be appointed without meeting the extra requirements set for everyone else. Paralegals apply the same way as lawyers, through ServiceOntario's Official Documents Services, for a one-time fee of $145. A licensed paralegal is also a commissioner for taking affidavits automatically.

How long does a notary appointment last?

For a lawyer or paralegal, it is a lifetime appointment as long as you stay in good standing with the Law Society of Ontario. It is suspended while your licence is suspended or in abeyance. For anyone else, terms have been 10 years since January 1, 2026, and they can be renewed for further 10-year terms.

How much does it cost to become a notary in Ontario?

The government fee for a lawyer or paralegal is $145, paid once; government lawyers and paralegals pay nothing. For a non-lawyer, a new appointment is $110 and a reappointment before it expires is $75. Changing the wording on your stamp is $17. No HST is charged on these fees. Employees of the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, an Ontario municipality or a First Nation band in Ontario are exempt from the appointment fee.

Do I need to take a course to become a notary in Ontario?

No course, exam or notary public certification is required for the appointment. The Notaries Act, its regulation and the government application pages list none. Lawyers and paralegals qualify through their Law Society licence; others qualify through their job. A course can teach you the practice, but it cannot appoint you, and only an appointment lets you act as a notary.

Is a notary the same as a commissioner of oaths?

No. A commissioner for taking affidavits, often called a commissioner of oaths, can administer oaths and take affidavits and statutory declarations. A notary public has all those powers and can also witness or certify the signing of a document and certify true copies. Every Ontario notary can act as a commissioner, but a commissioner cannot notarize.

How do I become a commissioner of oaths in Ontario?

Lawyers, paralegals, judges, justices of the peace, members of the Legislative Assembly, municipal clerks and some other office holders are commissioners automatically. Anyone else applies to the Ministry of the Attorney General: you must be eligible to work in Canada and work at a registered Ontario business or organization that needs commissioner services as part of its regular business. The fee is $75 for a 10-year appointment and $50 to renew.

Do Ontario notaries need a stamp or a seal?

Every notary must use an embossed notarial seal. A non-lawyer notary must also use a stamp approved by the Attorney General that shows the date the appointment expires and any limits on it (s. 5(3)). Lawyer and paralegal notaries need no stamp.

Can an Ontario notary notarize documents online?

Not today. The Notaries Act allows remote notarization only if a regulation provides for it, and no such regulation has been made. The Ministry's page says notaries cannot notarize documents remotely, and the Law Society warned in February 2025 that documents notarized online may be invalid. Affidavits and statutory declarations are different: they can be commissioned by video under O. Reg. 431/20.

How long does it take to become a notary in Ontario?

Official Documents Services says a successful lawyer or paralegal receives the Notice of Approval by mail within 15 business days. For non-lawyers, the Ministry says a complete application usually takes 4 to 6 weeks to process, and it asks for payment only once it decides you are eligible. Incomplete packages are returned, which adds time.

Final Recommendation

How to become a notary in Ontario depends on who you are. If you hold a Law Society licence as a lawyer or paralegal, becoming a notary is a short request to Official Documents Services, a $145 fee and a specimen of your seal, and you are already a commissioner. If you are not licensed, a notary appointment is open to you only when your current job requires notarizing; if the job only needs affidavits, apply as a commissioner. Do not pay for a course expecting it to make you a notary; only the appointment does. Whichever route you take, Ontario allows commissioning by video but not notarizing by video.

Book Your Appointment

Need a document notarized or commissioned, rather than a notary appointment of your own? We can help.

• Contact us: Ask a question or request an appointment
• Call: (613) 434-5555
• Service pages: Commissioner of oaths and Mobile notary
• Notaries looking for work: Careers at Minute Notary
• Related guide: Notary public vs commissioner of oaths in Ontario
• Hours: Every day, Saturday and Sunday included, 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM (Ottawa time)

Sources

• Notaries Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. N.6 (Ontario), ss. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7
• R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 831: General (Notaries Act), ss. 1 to 3
• O. Reg. 338/25, amending Reg. 831 (10-year term, in force January 1, 2026)
• O. Reg. 336/26, amending Reg. 831 (stamp wording fee, in force October 28, 2026)
• Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.17 (Ontario), ss. 1, 4 and 9
• R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 76: General (Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act), ss. 1 to 3
• O. Reg. 337/25, amending Reg. 76 (10-year term, in force January 1, 2026)
• O. Reg. 386/12: Commissioners and Other Persons Who May Take Affidavits, s. 1
• O. Reg. 431/20: Administering Oath or Declaration Remotely, ss. 1 and 2
• Law Society Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L.8 (Ontario), s. 1(1) "licensee", s. 1(6) and s. 26.1(1)
• Ministry of the Attorney General — Becoming a commissioner for taking affidavits or a notary public (non-lawyer and non-paralegal)
• ServiceOntario — How to become a notary public (Ontario lawyers and paralegals)
• Law Society of Ontario — Notice to the Professions: Online notary services are not permitted under the Notaries Act (February 26, 2025)
• Notaries Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 334 (British Columbia), s. 16
• Government of Quebec — Notaries (trade and occupation profile)