Ontario remote commissioning
How remote commissioning became law in Ontario
Ontario Regulation 431/20 lets you take an oath or make a declaration without being in the physical presence of the commissioner or notary, on a live call where everyone can see, hear and communicate, if its conditions are met.
Before the regulation
The law said “in the presence of”.
For as long as e-Laws shows, an Ontario oath was taken face to face. Three things happened before that changed.
Read on e-Laws on November 5, 2026, e-Laws currency date November 2, 2026. The Newsroom, Law Society, HCCH and Official Documents Services pages were read the same day.
Section 9 requires an oath “in the presence of” the commissioner
Section 9 of the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act, cited to the 1990 revised statutes, says every oath and declaration is taken by the deponent “in the presence of” the commissioner, notary public or other person administering it. The wording stays in force until July 31, 2020.
What changed for you
You swear in front of the person administering the oath. The section offers no other way.
Source: Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act, s. 9, 2003 version (opens in a new tab)
Ontario proposes remote commissioning
An Attorney General backgrounder on the proposed Smarter and Stronger Justice Act describes amendments that “would allow for remote or virtual commissioning and notarization online”, effective “once appropriate data and privacy safeguards are put into place by regulation”.
What changed for you
Nothing yet. This is a proposal, and it names the regulation that would have to follow.
Source: Ontario Newsroom, Attorney General backgrounder (opens in a new tab)
An emergency order covers wills and powers of attorney, not oaths
O. Reg. 129/20, made under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, lets the presence requirements for wills and powers of attorney be met by audio-visual communication technology, if at least one witness is a Law Society licensee. Its paragraphs name the Succession Law Reform Act and the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992. Oaths, declarations and the Commissioners Act do not appear.
What changed for you
An affidavit still has to be sworn in the commissioner’s presence.
Royal Assent: section 9 is rewritten, but not yet in force
The COVID-19 Response and Reforms to Modernize Ontario Act, 2020 replaces section 9. New subsection 9 (1) keeps the in-person rule. New subsection 9 (2) allows an oath or declaration without physical presence “if the regulations made under this Act so provide and the conditions set out in the regulations are met”. Both wait for a proclamation.
What changed for you
Nothing yet. The old section 9 stays in force, and the new exception needs a regulation before it can be used.
Source: S.O. 2020, c. 7, Sched. 4, s. 6 (opens in a new tab)
The regulation
Filed July 30, 2020. In force two days later.
The statute opened the door and the regulation set the conditions. Both took effect on the same day.
O. Reg. 431/20 is made and filed
The regulation is made, filed and published on e-Laws on the same day, and printed in The Ontario Gazette on August 15, 2020. It is made under the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act, not under emergency powers, and its text sets no end date.
What changed for you
Not yet. e-Laws marks this first version as not yet in force for July 30 and 31.
Remote commissioning comes into force
The new section 9 and O. Reg. 431/20 take effect together. e-Laws gives August 1, 2020 as the date in force for both. The regulation sets five conditions for taking an oath or declaration remotely, and requires a record of the transaction.
What changed for you
You may swear or declare without being in the physical presence of the commissioner or notary, if every condition is met. The jurat on your document says so, and says where each of you was.
Source: O. Reg. 431/20, note on its first version (opens in a new tab)
The conditions, as the regulation reads today
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.
s. 1, para. 2
The person administering the oath or declaration confirms the identity of the deponent or declarant.
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.
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.
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.
s. 2
Every person who administers an oath or declaration this way keeps a record of the transaction.
Amendments
One amendment since 2020.
It rewrote one paragraph of the regulation and left the rest alone.
Consolidated text in force from March 1, 2026, last amended by O. Reg. 21/26.
O. Reg. 21/26 is filed
Made on January 29, 2026, filed and published on e-Laws on February 4, and published in The Ontario Gazette on February 21. It revokes paragraph 1 of section 1 and substitutes a new one, from the later of March 1, 2026 and the day of filing. It is the only amendment in the regulation’s legislative history.
What changed for you
Nothing yet. The 2020 wording stays in force until February 28, 2026.
The live-communication condition is reworded
Paragraph 1 used to require a method “in which the person administering the oath or declaration and the deponent or declarant are able to see, hear and communicate with each other in real time throughout the entire transaction”. It now requires one “that allows participants to see, hear and communicate with one another in real time throughout the entire transaction”.
What changed for you
The call still has to be live from start to finish. The test now refers to participants instead of naming two people. Paragraphs 2 to 5 and section 2 were not changed.
Source: O. Reg. 431/20, current version (opens in a new tab)
What stays in person
Video changed oaths and declarations. Not these.
A notary’s other powers come from a different Act, and the regulation that Act would need has not been made. Documents going abroad have a rule of their own.
The Notaries Act allows remote powers only by regulation
Section 3 as replaced lets a notary witness or certify, and attest, the execution of a document, and certify and attest a true copy. Subsection 3 (3) lets a notary act without physical presence “if the regulations made under this Act so provide”. The one regulation e-Laws lists under the Act, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 831, covers fees and the term of an appointment, not remote powers.
What changed for you
Witnessing your signature or certifying a copy of your document as a notary is done in person, not by video.
The Apostille Convention enters into force for Canada
The Hague Conference status table lists Canada’s accession on May 12, 2023 and entry into force on January 11, 2024. In Ontario, Official Documents Services issues the apostille.
What changed for you
A document going to a Convention country gets an apostille, which may not need further legalization at a consulate. Commissioned documents are a separate question, answered at the end of this list.
Source: HCCH status table, Convention 12 (opens in a new tab)
The Law Society says online notary services are not permitted
Its notice to the professions says the Notaries Act does not permit notaries to act without being in the person’s physical presence “unless regulations so provide”, and that “To date, no such regulations have been made by the Ontario government.” It warns that documents notarized this way “may be invalid”. The same notice says administering oaths under the Commissioners Act and witnessing wills under the Succession Law Reform Act may be done remotely if the required conditions are met.
What changed for you
Swearing an oath by video stays open. A notarial act that requires your physical presence does not move online.
Source: Law Society of Ontario, notice to the professions (opens in a new tab)
Ontario’s authentication page rules out commissioned documents
Official Documents Services lists “Documents commissioned by a Commissioner for Taking Affidavits” among the documents that cannot be authenticated, and adds: “Soft copy (electronic) documents will not be authenticated.”
What changed for you
A document commissioned by video cannot get an apostille on that commission. For use abroad it goes to an Ontario notary, on paper, in person.
Source: Ontario, Authenticate a document for use outside Canada (opens in a new tab)
What it means for you
If you are swearing or declaring
An oath or declaration can be commissioned by video when the regulation’s conditions are met. Look your document up before you book.
Check your documentIf someone else will receive it
Ontario’s guide for commissioners says nothing in the Act or the regulation obliges a party or receiving organization to accept a document commissioned remotely. Confirm with them first.
Read the Ontario guide(opens in a new tab)If it needs a notary
A witnessed signature, a certified copy or a document going abroad with an apostille stays in person, on a mobile visit.
Book onlineQuestions about the record
- When did remote commissioning become legal in Ontario?
- On August 1, 2020. That is the day the new section 9 of the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act and Ontario Regulation 431/20 came into force. The regulation itself was filed on July 30, 2020.
- Has the regulation changed since then?
- Once. O. Reg. 21/26, in force March 1, 2026, replaced paragraph 1 of section 1, so the test now refers to participants being able to see, hear and communicate with one another in real time throughout the entire transaction. It is the only amendment listed on e-Laws as read on November 5, 2026.
- Was remote commissioning a temporary emergency measure?
- No. O. Reg. 431/20 is made under the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act, and its text sets no end date. The emergency order in this timeline, O. Reg. 129/20, is a different instrument about wills and powers of attorney.
- Can a notary notarize a document online in Ontario?
- Not under the Notaries Act. Subsection 3 (3) allows a notary to act without physical presence only if regulations provide, and on February 26, 2025 the Law Society of Ontario said that “To date, no such regulations have been made by the Ontario government.” The one regulation e-Laws listed under the Act on November 5, 2026 has no remote power. What a notary can do by video is take an oath or declaration, using a commissioner’s powers under clause 3 (1) (c) of that Act and subsection 9 (2) of the Commissioners Act. That act is a commission.
- Can a document commissioned by video get an apostille?
- No. Canada has been in the Apostille Convention since January 11, 2024, but Official Documents Services lists “Documents commissioned by a Commissioner for Taking Affidavits” among the documents that cannot be authenticated, and it does not authenticate electronic copies. A document for use abroad goes to an Ontario notary, on paper, in person.
Have something to swear?
Take the oath by video, under the regulation above.
From $24.95 per seal, plus HST. The notary confirms your identity on a live call, and the jurat on your document says how and where it was sworn.