You can have an affidavit or statutory declaration commissioned online using only your phone. Book, upload, join the video call, swear, sign with your finger and download the sealed PDF. Every step, and what to do if the camera does not work.
Last updated: October 14, 2026
How to Get a Document Commissioned Online From Your Phone: No Printer, No Scanner
Quick answer: You can have an affidavit or statutory declaration commissioned online with nothing but your phone. You book and upload the unsigned document in your browser, join a short Google Meet video call with an Ontario Notary Public and Commissioner for Taking Affidavits, hold up your photo ID, speak the oath or affirmation, sign with your finger through a secure link, and the sealed PDF arrives by email. Nothing is printed and nothing is scanned. It costs a flat $24.95 per seal plus HST and takes 3 to 4 minutes on average. The only in-person jobs are certified true copies, wills, powers of attorney and witnessed signatures, which we handle on a mobile visit in Ontario.
Most people who search for an online notary are not worried about the law. They are worried about the printer they do not own, the scanner they have never used, and whether they will be able to work the video call. This guide is for that reader. It walks through the appointment exactly as it happens on a phone, from booking to the finished PDF, and ends with what to do when the camera will not start.
If anything below is unclear, contact us or call (613) 434-5555 before you book. For the legal side of what can and cannot be done by video, see what you can notarize online in Canada; this article stays with the practical steps.
Key Takeaways
| Step | On your phone | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Book | Choose the document, add signers, pick a time, review the price, pay | 5 to 10 minutes |
| 2. Upload | A PDF or clear photos of the unsigned document, plus a photo of your ID | 2 minutes |
| 3. Join the call | Tap the Google Meet link in your confirmation email | 1 minute |
| 4. Swear and sign | Show your ID, speak the oath or affirmation, draw your signature with a finger | 3 to 4 minutes |
| 5. Download | The sealed PDF arrives by email with a completion certificate | shortly after |
| What you need | A phone with a camera and microphone, valid photo ID, the unsigned document | |
| What you do not need | A printer, a scanner, a computer, a stamp, an envelope | |
| Price | $24.95 per seal plus HST and a card processing fee; $8 if the slot starts within 20 minutes |
Can I really do the whole thing on my phone?
Yes. Four of the five steps happen in your phone's web browser: booking, uploading, signing and downloading. The video call itself runs on Google Meet; on a phone that means the free Google Meet app, which the link opens for you, while a laptop or desktop joins in the browser. There is no account to create with us and nothing else to install.
What makes this lawful is that the online act is remote commissioning under Ontario Regulation 431/20: the notary administers your oath or declaration over live video, confirms your identity, uses a modified jurat that records where each of you was, makes sure you understand what you are signing, and keeps a record. The regulation does not care whether the camera is on a phone or a desktop. It cares that you and the notary can see, hear and talk to each other for the whole transaction.
Step 1: Book in your browser
Open the booking page and work through six short screens. Our booking guide shows each one with the exact questions it asks.
- Choose your service. Pick the document type: affidavit, statutory declaration, a named IRCC form, a travel consent declaration, a vehicle transfer statement. If you are unsure, pick the closest match; the notary checks eligibility before the appointment.
- Add your details. Your name as it appears on your ID, your email and phone. Add any other signer here; each signer joins from their own device and signs through their own link.
- Upload documents. See Step 2 below.
- Choose a time. The calendar shows open slots seven days a week, 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM Toronto time. A time starting within 20 minutes of checkout adds a flat $8 instant booking fee plus HST, which you accept before paying; a time booked further ahead never carries it.
- Review your booking. Every line of the price is shown: seals, any exhibits, any instant fee, HST and the card processing fee.
- Complete payment. Pay by card. The appointment is confirmed only when payment succeeds, and the confirmation email arrives with the video link.
Step 2: Upload the unsigned document and your ID
You need two things on your phone: the document and a photo of your ID.
The document. If someone emailed you a PDF, save it to your phone and upload it. If you only have paper, photograph each page flat on a table in daylight, straight on, with all four corners in the frame. Clear phone photos are fine; the notary places the signing fields on what you upload. Make sure every page is there and that the document is unsigned where a signature is needed. A declaration signed before the call cannot be commissioned; you would re-sign a fresh page.
Your ID. Photograph the front of a valid, unexpired government photo ID: a passport, a driver's licence, a provincial photo card, a PR card or a citizenship card. The notary still asks you to hold the real card up on the call; the photo lets the office prepare the file.
If you are commissioning a form that another person must also sign, such as the common-law declaration IMM 5409, each person uploads their own ID.
Step 3: Join the video call
The confirmation email has a Join the appointment button. Tap it a minute before your time.
- On a phone, the link opens in the Google Meet app. If you do not have it, your phone offers to install it; it is free.
- Allow the camera and the microphone when your phone asks. If you tapped "Don't allow" by mistake, open your phone's settings for the Meet app and switch both on, then tap the link again.
- Prop the phone up at face height, in a quiet, private room with the light in front of you rather than behind you.
The notary joins, greets you and asks you to hold your ID to the camera. Take your time; the notary needs to read the card and compare it with your face.
Step 4: Swear or affirm, then sign with your finger
The oath is spoken, out loud, on the call. The notary asks whether the contents of the document are true and whether you swear or solemnly affirm that they are. You answer. Only after that do you sign.
The notary then sends a secure signing link to the device you are on. It opens in your browser and shows your document with every place you must sign highlighted. Our signing guide shows each screen; in short:
- Open the link and check that the signer name shown is yours.
- Sign each highlighted field by drawing your signature with your finger. Draw it once; the page lets you place that same signature in each field.
- Confirm when every document shows a signed status, then return to the video call so the notary can see you have finished.
If there is more than one signer, you do not wait for each other. Each person signs through their own link as soon as the documents are ready, and the notary signs last. The notary completes the modified jurat, applies the seal, and the appointment is over.
Step 5: Download the sealed PDF
Shortly after the call, the completed PDF arrives at the email address you booked with, together with a completion certificate. You can open it, save it to your phone, upload it to an IRCC or court portal, or forward it. The receiving party can confirm the notarization at our verify page.
If the organization receiving the document wants paper, print the PDF yourself, or add a mailed copy at checkout: $20.99 regular (8 to 10 business days) or $49.95 expedited (3 to 4 business days), plus HST, sent anywhere in Canada. Still no printer on your side.
What if my camera or microphone does not work?
The notary cannot commission a document without seeing and hearing you for the whole call, so the call has to work. Before the appointment, run our free device check on the phone you will use: it turns on your camera and microphone in the browser so you can see and hear yourself, and nothing is recorded or sent. If something still fails on the day, work through this list in order:
- Permissions. When the phone asks to use the camera and microphone, allow both. On iPhone: Settings, then the Meet app, then switch Camera and Microphone on. On Android: Settings, Apps, Meet, Permissions.
- Other apps. Close any app that might be holding the camera, such as a camera or video app running in the background.
- Sound. Turn the volume up, unplug headphones you are not using, and check that the phone is not on mute.
- Connection. Switch from Wi-Fi to mobile data or the other way round. Video needs a steady connection more than a fast one.
- Another device. If the phone will not cooperate, join from a tablet or a laptop and open the signing link from your email there.
- Light and framing. The notary must read your ID and see your face. Face a window or a lamp; do not sit with the light behind you.
If the problem is on our side, or the appointment cannot go ahead for a reason that is not yours, you are offered a new time or a full refund.
Not comfortable with technology? Have someone set it up
Plenty of our clients have never made a video call. A family member or friend can do the booking, prop up the phone, open the link and then step out of the picture. What they cannot do is answer for you or sign for you. The notary speaks with you directly, confirms that you understand what you are signing, and watches you draw your own signature. If you cannot hear well, put in your hearing aids before the call; if you need your reading glasses to see the screen, have them beside you.
If a video call is simply not going to work, the in-person route is a mobile visit: the notary comes to you anywhere in Ontario for a $60 travel fee once per trip (up to 30 km from our nearest office in Ottawa or Toronto; beyond that, an additional travel fee applies).
What you cannot do from a phone
What a notary can and cannot do online: Over video, the notary commissions oaths, affirmations, affidavits and statutory declarations. Over video, the notary does not certify a true copy of a paper original, witness an ordinary signature on an agreement, or handle a will or power of attorney; we do those in person, on a mobile visit in Ontario. And whether on a phone or at a table, the notary does not draft your document or give legal advice.
If your form says it must be "signed in the presence of a notary public" rather than sworn or declared, ask us before you book; some can be re-prepared as a statutory declaration and then commissioned online, and some cannot.
Pricing
| Service | Fee | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Affidavit or statutory declaration, online | $24.95 per seal | Same rate on a phone, tablet or computer; each signer beyond the first adds one seal |
| Instant booking (slot starting within 20 minutes) | $8 | Flat, accepted before payment; never on a later slot |
| Exhibits, online | $24.95 each (1st–5th) | $20 each for the 6th to 10th, $15 each from the 11th |
| Printed copy by mail | $20.99 / $49.95 | Regular / expedited, anywhere in Canada, postage included |
| Card processing fee | 2.9% + $0.30 | Shown as its own line before you pay |
Note: prices are before HST. Students and low-income families save up to 15% on an online appointment on request; email us for a code before booking. See every posted rate on our pricing page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I do the whole online notary appointment on my phone?
Yes. You book, upload your document and ID, join the video call, swear or affirm, sign with your finger and download the sealed PDF, all on one phone. The only thing a phone needs that a computer does not is the free Google Meet app for the video call; booking, signing and download happen in your phone's browser.
Do I need a printer or a scanner?
No. You upload a PDF or clear photos of the unsigned document when you book, sign on the screen with your finger, and receive the sealed PDF by email. Nothing is printed for an online appointment. If the organization receiving the document wants paper, print the PDF yourself or add a mailed copy at checkout.
How do I sign with my finger?
After the oath, the notary sends a secure link to the device you are on. It opens in your browser and shows your document with each place you must sign highlighted. You draw your signature with your finger in each field, then confirm. Our how-to-sign page shows every screen.
What if my camera or microphone does not work?
Run our free device check first: it turns on your camera and microphone in the browser so you can see and hear yourself, and nothing is recorded or sent. Then allow the browser or the Meet app to use the camera and microphone when the phone asks, close other apps that might be using the camera, check the volume, and try switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data. If it still fails, join from another device and open the signing link from your email there. The notary cannot commission the document without seeing and hearing you for the whole call.
Is it hard for someone who is not comfortable with technology?
It is a video call and a few taps. A family member can set up the phone, prop it up and open the link, then step out of the frame while you speak with the notary and sign. The notary speaks with you directly, not with the helper.
Which photo ID works on a phone camera?
Any valid, unexpired government photo ID: a passport, driver's licence, provincial photo card, PR card or citizenship card. A passport is the easiest to read on camera. You upload a photo of it when you book and hold the real card up during the call.
What can I not do from my phone?
Anything the notary must do in your physical presence: a certified true copy of a paper original, a will, a power of attorney and a witnessed signature on an agreement. We handle those in person on a mobile visit anywhere in Ontario.
How much does an online appointment cost from a phone?
The same as from any device: $24.95 per seal plus HST, plus a card processing fee of 2.9% + $0.30 shown before you pay. A slot that starts within 20 minutes of checkout adds a flat $8 instant booking fee plus HST.
Final Recommendation
If your document is an affidavit or a statutory declaration, your phone is enough. Save or photograph the unsigned pages, photograph your ID, book a time, and join the call from a quiet, well-lit room with the phone propped at face height. Speak the oath, draw your signature once, and the sealed PDF is in your inbox a few minutes later. Keep a printer out of it. The only time you need to leave the couch is for a certified copy, a will, a power of attorney or a witnessed signature, and for those the notary comes to you.
Book Your Appointment
Need an affidavit or statutory declaration commissioned from your phone? Minute Notary commissions it by secure video, seven days a week, for $24.95 per seal plus HST. No printer, no scanner.
- Contact us: Ask a question or request an appointment
- Call: (613) 434-5555
- Service page: Online Notary
- Related guides: How to book and How to sign
- Hours: Every day, Saturday and Sunday included, 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM (Ottawa time)
Sources
- O. Reg. 431/20: Administering Oath or Declaration Remotely (Ontario)
- Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.17 (Ontario), s. 9
- Notaries Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. N.6 (Ontario), s. 3
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This article was written using AI.
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Online notary in Ontario: eligible affidavits and statutory declarations commissioned over a secure video appointment under O. Reg. 431/20.
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About the author
Kai Mai
Co-founder & Chief Technology Officer, Minute Notary
Kai Mai writes and edits the Minute Notary guides, working from the published federal and Ontario guidance each article links, and from what Ottawa clients actually run into with certified copies, affidavits, statutory declarations, travel consent letters, and immigration paperwork. These guides are general information written by our editorial team — not legal advice, and not a professional opinion on your document. The receiving authority always has the final say.