How to Get a Document Notarized in Ontario (Online or In Person)

Last updated: October 8, 2026

How to Get a Document Notarized in Ontario (Online or In Person)

Quick answer: To get a document notarized in Ontario, first ask whoever wants it exactly what they need: a signature witnessed by a notary, a sworn affidavit or statutory declaration, or a certified true copy. Then bring the completed, unsigned document and valid government photo ID to a notary public, in person, or by secure video when it is an affidavit or declaration that the receiver accepts in that form.

An email from a credential evaluator, an embassy on Sussex Drive, a bank or your employer's HR office says "please have this notarized", and nothing else. You have one document, a deadline, and no idea where to start. This guide walks through how to get a document notarized in Ontario, step by step, using the province's own rules: what to ask first, which of the three notarial services your document needs, where you can go, what to bring, and what happens at the appointment and after it.

Minute Notary is a notary practice in Orléans, in the east end of Ottawa, Ontario. We commission affidavits and statutory declarations by secure video for clients wherever they are, and we witness signatures and certify copies in person, on a mobile visit where the notary comes to you. If you already know what you need, the online notary service and our notary fees page have the details. If you do not, start with step one; it is the step most people skip.

Key Takeaways

How to Get a Document Notarized in Ontario, Step by Step

There are seven steps, and the order matters. Most of the problems we see come from skipping the first two.

Step 1: Ask the receiving party exactly what it needs

The office that asked for the document decides what counts, not the notary. Before you book anything, try to get answers to these questions, by email if you can:

• Does it need a notary public specifically, or will a commissioner for taking affidavits do?
• Which act does it want: your signature witnessed, a statement sworn or declared, or a certified copy of an original?
• Will it accept a document commissioned by video, or does it want a paper original with a wet-ink signature?
• Is the document going outside Canada, and does the destination want an apostille?
• Is there a form or wording it wants used on the document or on the notary's certificate?

Forward that email to the notary when you book. A two-line reply from the receiver prevents a second appointment more often than anything else in this guide.

Step 2: Work out which service your document needs

People use "notarize" for everything, but Ontario's law separates the acts. Section 3 of the Notaries Act gives a notary public three main powers:

1. Witness or certify, and attest, the execution of a document. In plain words: the notary watches you sign and records that it happened. This is what most people mean by a "notarized signature".
2. Certify and attest a true copy of a document. The notary compares a copy with the original and certifies that it matches.
3. Exercise the powers of a commissioner for taking affidavits. This is how an affidavit or a statutory declaration is sworn, affirmed or declared.

A commissioner for taking affidavits can only do the third. Ontario's guide for commissioners says plainly that the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act does not itself authorize a commissioner to certify true copies. The decision table after these steps matches common documents to the act they usually need. If the receiver's instructions do not say, the document itself usually does, and it is one of the things we confirm with you before you book.

Step 3: Complete the document, but do not sign it

Fill in every blank that applies and write "N/A" in the ones that do not. Attach every page. Leave the signature line empty.

For an affidavit or declaration, the Ministry of the Attorney General's guide says the document "must be signed before" the commissioner, and the commissioner has to satisfy themself that the signature is yours before completing the jurat (CTAA s. 9(3)). For a witnessed signature, the whole point is that the notary sees you sign. A document already signed at the kitchen table usually has to be printed and signed again.

Blanks matter too. Ontario's guidance for notaries says a notary should not notarize a document that is, on its face, incomplete or misleading, so an empty field can end the appointment early. If you are not sure what the document should say, that is a question for the person who gave it to you, or for a lawyer; a notary will not fill it in for you.

Every person who signs has to attend, each with their own ID. On a video appointment, signers can join the same call from different places.

Step 4: Check your ID before the day

Bring valid, unexpired government-issued photo ID, such as a passport, a driver's licence or an Ontario Photo Card. Reviewing "a valid piece of government-issued photo identification" is listed among a notary's duties on the province's information page for notaries.

Look at the name. If the name on your ID is not the name on the document, because of marriage, divorce or a different spelling, bring the document that connects the two, such as a marriage certificate or a change of name certificate. The full list of what a notary accepts is in our guide to which ID a notary public accepts in Ontario.

Caption: Two minutes the night before, checking the ID's expiry date and the spelling of the name, saves most failed appointments.

Step 5: Choose online or in person, and book

The act your document needs decides the route.

• By secure video: affidavits, statutory declarations and other oaths, under Ontario's remote commissioning regulation, O. Reg. 431/20. You can join from wherever you are, and at Minute Notary the call averages 3-4 minutes once it starts, because the document is read beforehand.
• In person: certified true copies, witnessed signatures, wills, powers of attorney and anything going for an apostille. We do these on a mobile visit anywhere in Ontario, where the notary comes to you, by appointment, every day from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM.

When you book, tell us what the document is and what the receiver asked for. We confirm the route before you pay. If the deadline is tight, our guide to a same-day notary in Ottawa explains what is realistic.

Step 6: What the notary does at the appointment

The appointment itself is short. A notary or commissioner will:

1. Check your identity against your photo ID, and confirm you are the person named in the document.
2. Make sure you understand what you are signing and are signing of your own free will. On a video call, O. Reg. 431/20 requires "reasonable precautions", including making sure you understand what is being signed.
3. Do the act itself: watch you sign; or administer the oath or affirmation and then watch you sign; or compare your original with the copy.
4. Mark any exhibits attached to an affidavit, one by one.
5. Complete the notarial certificate or the jurat, sign it and apply the seal. For an affidavit taken in Ontario, the seal is not legally required (Notaries Act, s. 3(4)), but receivers outside Ontario usually expect to see it.

On a video appointment, the jurat is modified to say the oath was taken under O. Reg. 431/20 and to record where you and the notary each were, and the notary keeps a record of the transaction (O. Reg. 431/20, ss. 1-2).

Step 7: After the appointment

• Online: a digital copy of the signed document is included, and a printed copy can be mailed if the receiver wants paper.
• Submit it the way the receiver asked, as a paper original or an upload. Keep a copy for yourself.
• Going abroad: the document may need an apostille before you send it. See documents going outside Canada below.

Notarize, Commission or Certify: Which Service Does Your Document Need?

Find your document in the left column. The last column is where to read more, or to book.

Two rows surprise people. First, a will needs two attesting witnesses, not a notary (Succession Law Reform Act, s. 4(2)), and both kinds of power of attorney are signed before two witnesses (Substitute Decisions Act, ss. 10(1) and 48(1)). Ontario law also allows those witnesses to attend by video, signing at the same time, when one of them is a lawyer or paralegal licensed by the Law Society (SLRA s. 4(3); SDA s. 3.1). At Minute Notary we sign wills and powers of attorney in person, which is our practice rather than a legal requirement. Second, the travel consent letter: travel.gc.ca says any adult may witness it, but strongly recommends a notary public, and says original signed letters are best.

What about a "notarized letter"?

A "notarized letter" is usually a letter you sign in front of a notary, who then attests your signature: an employment letter, an invitation letter, a consent letter, or a letter authorizing someone to act for you. That is notarial witnessing, so it is done in person.

Some receivers accept the same statement as a statutory declaration instead, and a declaration can be commissioned by video. Whether yours will is the receiver's decision, not the notary's. Our guide to notarizing a signature online explains when a letter can take that form, and the guide to a notarized letter of employment walks through the most common one. Either way, write the letter yourself, or have the person asking for it give you the wording; the notary witnesses it but does not write it.

Where Can I Get Something Notarized in Ontario?

The province's own page, Find a notary public or commissioner of oaths, sends people to different places depending on the document. Here is that advice in one table, with the limits that come from the regulation that names who is a commissioner, O. Reg. 386/12, as amended in 2026.

A few notes on that table.

Lawyers, paralegals and notaries are not the same list. Every lawyer and paralegal licensed in Ontario is a commissioner for taking affidavits by virtue of their licence. But Ontario's information page for notaries is explicit that "there are no notaries by virtue of office": lawyers and paralegals have to apply to be appointed notaries, like everyone else. So a law office can always swear your affidavit, but can certify your diploma copy only if someone there holds a notary appointment. Our comparison of a notary public vs a commissioner of oaths goes through which one each kind of document needs.

Who should do it is a separate question from where. Our guide on who can notarize a document in Ontario covers it, including whether a relative can. The short version: use someone with no family tie to you and no stake in the document.

Private and business documents go to a notary or commissioner in your community. For a contract, an invitation letter, or a copy of a degree for an employer abroad, the province's page says to find a notary or commissioner locally. Even Official Documents Services, which issues apostilles, says it "does not have an in-house notary public".

Ask about the fee and the hours before you go. For the courthouse, ServiceOntario and city hall, the province's page says "a fee may be charged", and Ontario does not set a schedule of what notaries charge; its notary regulation, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 831, only sets the fees for appointing notaries. Each office posts, or quotes, its own price.

Caption: For a private document, the province's own advice is to find a notary public or commissioner in your community.

Online or In Person: Which Route Fits Your Document?

The split comes from two different laws. An oath or declaration can be taken without being in the same room when the conditions in O. Reg. 431/20 are met: a live audio and video connection for the whole transaction, your identity confirmed, a modified jurat recording where each of you was, the stamp information, and reasonable precautions. Nothing in those conditions limits where you are, so you can join from another province or another country, unless your document's own rules say otherwise.

The notarial acts are different. The Notaries Act allows a notary to act remotely only if a regulation says so, and none does. Ontario's information page for notaries puts it directly: "Remote notarization is not permitted under the Notaries Act."

The last row is the one people miss. The Ministry of the Attorney General's guide notes that nothing in the Act or the regulation "obliges a party or receiving organization to accept a document that has been commissioned remotely", and tells commissioners to suggest in-person service when the receiver is unsure. Our guide to what you can notarize by video lists the online documents one by one.

Caption: On a video appointment the notary sees and hears you for the whole transaction, as O. Reg. 431/20 requires.

Documents Going Outside Canada

If the receiver is in another country, it may ask for an apostille (for countries in the Hague Apostille Convention, which Canada joined effective January 11, 2024) or a certificate of authentication (for countries outside it). In Ontario, both are issued by Official Documents Services (ODS).

ODS checks the notary's signature and seal against the specimen it holds on file. It does not check what the document says. Its rules decide how your appointment should be booked:

• Paper only. "Soft copy (electronic) documents will not be authenticated."
• A notary, not a commissioner. ODS lists "documents commissioned by a Commissioner for Taking Affidavits" among those it cannot authenticate, and Ontario's information page for notaries adds that documents notarized remotely are not authenticated or apostilled.
• Signature and seal on the same page, clearly displayed.

So if your document is going abroad for an apostille, book an in-person appointment and say so when you book. In Ottawa, ODS has a counter at the ServiceOntario location in the Ottawa Courthouse, 161 Elgin Street, fourth floor, open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., where you can book an appointment. Its fee is $16 for each notarized document, and mail-in requests go to Toronto and are processed within 15 business days, according to ODS.

Some Ontario documents can go to ODS without a notary at all, such as birth certificates and Ontario public post-secondary diplomas and transcripts issued since January 1, 2019; ODS's eligibility portal tells you which. If you would rather not deal with the counter, our apostille and authentication service files the document with ODS for you, and our guide to apostilles in Ontario explains the process from start to finish.

What a Notary Can and Cannot Do

What a notary can and cannot do: A notary public in Ontario can confirm your identity, watch you sign, administer an oath or affirmation, certify a copy against its original, mark exhibits, and complete and seal the certificate or jurat. A notary does not write or change your document, tell you what it should say, give legal or immigration advice, check whether the facts are true, or promise that a receiver will accept it.

The seal speaks to the signing, not to the contents. It records that an identified person appeared, signed or swore, and did so in front of the notary. Our guide to what a notary public in Ontario does explains what the seal does and does not promise.

Ontario's guidance draws the same line. The commissioner's guide says a commissioner is "not authorized to act or present yourself as a lawyer or paralegal or provide legal advice", and must recommend a lawyer or paralegal when someone asks for it. The information page for notaries says a notary should not notarize a document that is, on its face, incomplete, misleading, suspicious or fraudulent, and that notaries may question a client about a document, especially before certifying a copy.

What we can do is help you avoid practical mistakes: booking the right act, bringing the right original, leaving the document unsigned, and checking whether your receiver accepts a video appointment. If something on the document stops us, we will tell you before the appointment rather than during it. Our article on why a notary might refuse to notarize a document covers the usual reasons.

When to Call a Lawyer or Paralegal Instead

A notary is enough when you already know what the document says and only need it signed, sworn or certified. Speak to a lawyer, or a paralegal licensed by the Law Society of Ontario, first when:

• You need the document written or changed. A notary witnesses and certifies; drafting is legal work.
• The matter is contested, such as a family case or a civil claim where the other side will answer your evidence.
• It is a real-estate purchase, sale or refinance and you are unsure which pages need a notary; the lawyer acting on the transaction will tell you.
• It is a will or power of attorney and you need help deciding what it should say, or someone's capacity to sign is in doubt.
• You want to be represented in an immigration matter. IRCC says a representative you pay must be authorized: a lawyer or paralegal in good standing with a provincial or territorial law society, a notary of the Chambre des notaires du Québec, or a member of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (canada.ca). A notary appointment on its own does not make anyone an authorized representative. At a notary appointment we commission, witness and certify the documents you file; we do not advise on the application itself.
• Someone is pressuring you to sign or swear something you are not sure about.

Lawyers and paralegals are commissioners themselves, so the person who prepares a contested affidavit can often commission it too. Our article on the notary vs lawyer in Ontario sets out where each one fits.

What to Bring to Your Appointment

For a video appointment, add a laptop, tablet or phone with a working camera and microphone, a quiet private room, and the document ready to share. If the receiver wants a paper original, say so when you book.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Signing before the appointment. It is the most common reason a document has to be printed again.
• Bringing a photocopy for a certified copy. Bring the original; we make the copy.
• Expired ID, or a name that does not match. Check both the night before.
• Booking a video appointment for an in-person act, such as a certified copy or an apostille-bound document.
• Assuming a remotely commissioned document will be accepted. Ask the receiver first.
• Using a commissioner for a document going abroad. ODS will not authenticate a document commissioned by a commissioner for taking affidavits.
• Asking a relative to notarize or commission it. Use someone with no tie to you or the document.
• Leaving blanks. Fill them in, or write "N/A".

What It Costs

Ontario's notary regulation sets the fee for appointing a notary, not what a notary charges you, so every practice posts its own price. At Minute Notary it is from $24.95 per seal plus HST, the same online or in person.

• A document signed or sworn once is one seal, however many pages it has.
• Each additional signer, and each exhibit to an affidavit, adds one seal. Booked online, exhibits cost less from the sixth one on.
• A mobile visit adds a $60 travel fee, charged once per trip, not per document.
• Wills and powers of attorney are signed in person and priced as a bundle, from $115 for one document.
• The full amount is shown before you pay.

The notary fees page has worked examples. If the document then needs an apostille, ODS charges its own fee ($16 per notarized document), separately.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get a document notarized in Ontario?

Ask the person or office that wants the document which service it needs: a signature witnessed by a notary, a sworn affidavit or statutory declaration, or a certified true copy. Complete the document but leave it unsigned, check that your government photo ID is valid and matches the name on the document, then book a notary public. Affidavits and statutory declarations can be commissioned by secure video under O. Reg. 431/20; witnessed signatures and certified copies are done in person.

Where do I get a document notarized in Ottawa?

For anything a notary does, go to a notary public, which can be an independent notary practice or a lawyer or paralegal who has also been appointed a notary. For an affidavit only, Ontario also points people to the courthouse for court documents, a ServiceOntario centre that offers commissioner services for vehicle and provincial matters, and city hall for municipal business. Minute Notary commissions affidavits and declarations by video and handles in-person work on a mobile visit anywhere in Ontario.

Can I get my document done by video instead of in person?

If it is an affidavit, a statutory declaration or another oath, usually yes: O. Reg. 431/20 lets it be sworn or declared over a live video call that meets five conditions, and it does not limit where you are. A witnessed signature and a certified true copy are notarial acts that Ontario does not allow to be done remotely, so those are in person. The receiving organization also has to accept a remotely commissioned document, so check with it first.

Should I sign the document before my appointment?

No. An affidavit or declaration must be signed in front of the person administering the oath, after you swear or affirm it, and a notary witnessing your signature has to watch you sign. Fill in everything else, leave the signature line blank, and bring it as it is. A document signed in advance usually has to be printed and signed again.

Do I need a notary public, or is a commissioner of oaths enough?

For an affidavit or statutory declaration used in Ontario, a commissioner for taking affidavits is usually enough, and every Ontario lawyer and paralegal is one. You need a notary public for a certified true copy, a notarially witnessed signature, or a document that is going abroad for an apostille, because Ontario's Official Documents Services does not authenticate documents commissioned by a commissioner. When the receiver names a notary public, use one.

What ID do I need to get something notarized?

Bring valid, unexpired government-issued photo ID, such as a passport, a driver's licence or an Ontario Photo Card, for every person who signs. The name on the ID should match the name on the document. If it does not, because of marriage or a spelling difference, bring the document that connects the two names, such as a marriage certificate or a change of name certificate.

Can a notary help me fill out or write my document?

No. A notary confirms who you are, watches you sign or administers your oath, and completes the notarial certificate or jurat. Ontario's guidance tells commissioners to decline requests for legal advice and recommend a lawyer or paralegal. If you need the document written, or need to know what it should say, speak to a lawyer or a licensed paralegal before the appointment.

How long does it take to get a document notarized?

At Minute Notary an online appointment averages 3-4 minutes once the call starts, because the document is read beforehand. In person, a witnessed signature usually takes 5 to 15 minutes and certified copies 10 to 15 minutes, longer with several signers or many pages. Allow extra time afterwards if the document then needs an apostille from Official Documents Services.

How much does it cost to get a document notarized in Ontario?

Ontario does not set what a notary charges, so each practice posts its own price. At Minute Notary it is from $24.95 per seal plus HST, the same online or in person. Each extra signer or exhibit adds a seal, a mobile visit adds a $60 travel fee once per trip, and wills and powers of attorney are priced as an in-person bundle from $115. The full amount is shown before you pay.

Book Your Appointment

Have one document and a deadline? Minute Notary commissions affidavits and statutory declarations by secure video wherever you are, and witnesses signatures and certifies copies in person on a mobile visit anywhere in Ontario, from $24.95 per seal plus HST.

• Book an appointment: Contact us
• Call: (613) 434-5555
• Not sure which service you need? Send us the document and the receiver's instructions, and we will confirm before you pay.
• 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. 1-3
• R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 831 (Notaries Act, General)
• Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.17 (Ontario), ss. 4, 5 and 9
• O. Reg. 386/12: Commissioners and Other Persons Who May Take Affidavits (as amended by O. Reg. 20/26)
• O. Reg. 431/20: Administering Oath or Declaration Remotely
• Ontario: Find a notary public or commissioner of oaths for taking affidavits
• Ontario: Information for notaries public in Ontario
• Ministry of the Attorney General: Guide for newly appointed commissioners for taking affidavits in Ontario
• Ontario Official Documents Services: Authenticate a document for use outside Canada
• Succession Law Reform Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.26, s. 4
• Substitute Decisions Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c. 30, ss. 3.1, 10 and 48
• Government of Canada (travel.gc.ca): Recommended consent letter for children travelling abroad
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada: Learn about representatives