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Ontario remote commissioning

Can this document be commissioned online?

Type the document. The answer comes from the same list our booking page uses, with the reason and the regulation behind it.

Every document gets one of three answers.

The split below is the booking catalog counted today: 88 documents, each placed by what the law lets a commissioner do over video and what the notary has to hold in their hands.

Yes, by video

67documents

Upload the unsigned document when you book. On the call the notary checks your photo ID, you swear or affirm that the contents are true, and you sign on screen while the notary watches. The sealed PDF arrives by email after the call.

Start online, we confirm

3documents

Book it online and upload the unsigned document. The notary reads it before the appointment and confirms whether it can be commissioned by video. If it cannot, the payment is refunded.

In person only

18documents

This one is done face to face: the notary comes to you on a mobile visit anywhere in Ontario, and the document is signed in wet ink while they watch.

O. Reg. 431/20

Five conditions. Every call meets them.

Ontario Regulation 431/20, under the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act, is the whole of the law on commissioning without being in the room. It is short. These are its conditions, and what each one looks like on your appointment.

Read the regulation on e-Laws(opens in a new tab)

Consolidated text in force from March 1, 2026, last amended by O. Reg. 21/26.

The conditions of O. Reg. 431/20

  1. 01

    s. 1, para. 1

    The oath or declaration is administered over a method of communication that lets everyone see, hear and speak to one another in real time for the whole transaction.

    On our call

    A live video call with cameras on at both ends from the first word to the last. A recording, a phone call or a chat does not qualify.

  2. 02

    s. 1, para. 2

    The person administering the oath or declaration confirms the identity of the deponent or declarant.

    On our call

    You hold your government photo ID up to the camera and the notary compares it with you, before anything is sworn.

  3. 03

    s. 1, para. 3

    A modified jurat or declaration is used that says the oath or declaration was administered under this Regulation, and where the commissioner and the deponent each were at the time.

    On our call

    The jurat on your document names the Regulation and records both locations, so a court clerk can see at a glance how it was sworn.

  4. 04

    s. 1, para. 4

    Where the commissioner is one who must use a stamp under section 5 of the Act, the information on that stamp appears on or in the document being signed.

    On our call

    The commissioner’s name and authority are on the signed document itself, not only on a separate page.

  5. 05

    s. 1, para. 5

    The person administering the oath or declaration takes reasonable precautions in the execution of their duties, including making sure the deponent or declarant understands what is being signed.

    On our call

    The notary asks you to confirm you have read the document and understand it before you swear or affirm. A document you cannot explain is not commissioned.

  6. 06

    s. 2

    Every person who administers an oath or declaration this way keeps a record of the transaction.

    On our call

    Each remote commission is entered in the notary’s register, with the date, the document and how identity was confirmed.

The full list

Every document, with its answer.

Grouped the way the booking page groups them. Each row links to the booking for that exact document; in-person rows open the mobile visit.

Vehicle & ServiceOntario / Ministry of Finance Forms

6 documents

Vital Statistics & Family Registry Forms

8 documents

Family Law & Domestic Agreements

10 documents

Immigration, Travel & Passport Documents

12 documents

Education & Students

4 documents

Business, Commercial & Municipal

7 documents

General Affidavits, Declarations & Attestations

27 documents

Certified True Copies

2 documents

  • Identification documents

    In person

    The notary has to hold the original identity document to certify a copy of it.

    Book a mobile visit
  • Certified true copies

    In person

    The notary has to hold the original to certify a copy of it.

    Book a mobile visit

Documents Signed Before Witnesses

5 documents

  • Wills

    In person

    Signed in front of witnesses who are in the room with you; we witness it in person.

    Book a mobile visit
  • Powers of attorney

    In person

    Signed in front of witnesses who are in the room with you; we witness it in person.

    Book a mobile visit
  • Separation agreement witnessing

    In person

    Signed in front of witnesses who are in the room with you; we witness it in person.

    Book a mobile visit
  • Divorce agreement witnessing

    In person

    Signed in front of witnesses who are in the room with you; we witness it in person.

    Book a mobile visit
  • Cohabitation or marriage contract witnessing

    In person

    Signed in front of witnesses who are in the room with you; we witness it in person.

    Book a mobile visit

Contracts & Civil Agreements

1 document

  • Commercial contract or private business agreement

    In person

    Signed in wet ink while the notary watches.

    Book a mobile visit

Real Estate & Mortgage Signing

2 documents

  • Real estate signing — full service

    In person

    Signed in wet ink with the notary present.

    Book a mobile visit
  • Real estate signing — notary only

    In person

    Signed in wet ink with the notary present.

    Book a mobile visit

Estate Planning

1 document

  • Trusts (including testamentary trusts)

    In person

    Signed in front of witnesses who are in the room with you; we witness it in person.

    Book a mobile visit

Global & Foreign Matters

2 documents

  • Apostille or authentication — we file it for you

    In person

    A filing service, not a commission: we carry the paper original to Official Documents Services and back.

    Book a mobile visit
  • International legalization or apostille requiring wet-ink signature

    In person

    Headed for an apostille or legalization, which needs a wet-ink original.

    Book a mobile visit

Other / Not Sure

1 document

Ontario permits the process. The recipient decides.

A commissioned document is only useful if the office receiving it accepts how it was sworn. Two things to settle before you book.

By video
We commission this document by video and email you the signed PDF. Please note that the receiving organization decides whether it accepts a document commissioned online, and confirming that is your responsibility. If it asks for a notarized paper original, we would be glad to do it on a mobile visit.
Confirm first
This document can be started online, but the notary must review it before confirming it can be completed remotely.
In person
Ontario’s remote-commissioning regulation covers oaths and declarations. It says nothing about witnessing a signature or certifying a copy, so those stay in person.

Questions people ask before booking

Is an affidavit sworn over video valid in Ontario?
Yes. Ontario Regulation 431/20, made under the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act, lets an oath or declaration be administered without the deponent being in the room, as long as its conditions are met. The jurat on the document says it was sworn that way. The organization receiving the document still decides whether it accepts one commissioned remotely, and confirming that is the deponent’s responsibility.
Why can’t a certified true copy be done online?
Certifying a copy means the notary compares the copy with the original in their own hands and signs that they match. The remote-commissioning regulation covers oaths and declarations only, so a certified copy, like a witnessed signature, is done in person on a mobile visit.
Why are wills and powers of attorney in person?
A will is signed in the presence of two witnesses who are present at the same time (Succession Law Reform Act, s. 4), and a power of attorney for property or for personal care is signed before two witnesses too (Substitute Decisions Act, ss. 10 and 48). Both Acts allow those witnesses to attend by audio-visual communication technology only when at least one witness is a Law Society licensee and everyone signs at the same time (SLRA s. 4 (3); SDA s. 3.1). That is a different rule from remote commissioning, and we witness wills and powers of attorney in person, on a mobile visit.
Will the court, IRCC or my bank accept a document commissioned online?
We commission this document by video and email you the signed PDF. Please note that the receiving organization decides whether it accepts a document commissioned online, and confirming that is your responsibility. If it asks for a notarized paper original, we would be glad to do it on a mobile visit. Most Ontario courts and federal programs accept a properly commissioned remote affidavit or declaration, but the regulation does not oblige any recipient to, so ask the office that will receive it before you book.
My document is not in the list. What now?
Book it as “Other or not sure”. You upload the unsigned document, the notary reads it before the appointment and tells you whether it can be commissioned by video. If it cannot, the payment is refunded and you can book a mobile visit instead.

Found your document?

Commissioned by video, from anywhere in Ontario.

From $24.95 per seal, 8 AM to 8 PM every day. Upload it unsigned, show your ID on the call, and the sealed PDF is in your inbox after the appointment.