General information, not legal advice. This article explains how remote commissioning works on our platform. It isn't legal advice and doesn't replace the text of the regulation. If you're unsure whether your document can be commissioned remotely, or whether it will be accepted, ask the organization that will receive it, or a lawyer.
What the rule allows
In Ontario, oaths, affirmations and declarations are administered by commissioners for taking affidavits under the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act. Ontario Regulation 431/20, Administering Oath or Declaration Remotely, allows this to be done by video conference, so the deponent — the person swearing or declaring — doesn't have to be in the same room as the commissioner. The regulation sets out how that may be done, including what the jurat must say about the remote process. You can read the regulation itself on Ontario e-Laws.
On eNotaryPublic.ca, Ontario sessions are held live, by video, with an authorized professional, for signers located in Ontario.
Remote commissioning isn't "online notarization"
The two terms get mixed up. Commissioning means administering an oath, affirmation or declaration and completing the jurat. Notarial acts — such as certifying that a copy is a true copy of an original — are something different. On our platform, video sessions in Ontario are remote commissioning. Certified true copies, and other acts where the original document has to be seen, are handled at an in-person appointment.
Documents that commonly qualify
Documents that are sworn, affirmed or declared are the usual candidates, for example:
- affidavits;
- statutory declarations;
- child travel consent letters;
- invitation letters, where they're completed as a declaration.
When you upload your document or choose a service, we tell you in plain language whether it can be completed online in your province. If it can't, you're shown the in-person option instead.
What happens in a session
- Before you meet. You upload the document, confirm your email and mobile number, and pay the total shown at checkout. Your professional reviews the document before the session: the right document, every page present, and names that match the request.
- Joining. You meet your professional over live, two-way video and audio. Everyone has to be able to see and hear each other in real time for the whole session.
- Identity and location. You show your government-issued photo ID to the camera so the professional can compare it with you and with the names in the document. You also state where you're physically located — your city and province.
- The document. The professional confirms that the document on screen is the same one you have in front of you.
- The oath or declaration. The professional administers the oath, affirmation or solemn declaration — you confirm that the contents are true — and watches you sign during the call. A document signed beforehand has to be signed again on camera.
- The jurat. The professional completes a modified jurat stating that the document was sworn or declared remotely, where you said you were located, where they were located, the date, and that it was done in accordance with O. Reg. 431/20 by video conference. They sign it with their title and, where it applies, their commission or licence number.
- Completion. The commissioned document is delivered to your secure document vault as a PDF with a completion certificate, together with a case number you can give the receiving organization.
The session is recorded. The recording is kept as part of the session record, and only your professional and our administrators can view it.
What to have ready
- Your government-issued photo ID, in date, showing the name that appears on the document.
- A device with a working camera and microphone, and a stable internet connection.
- A quiet, private place. Nobody else should be telling you what to say.
- If there are several signers, each one needs their own ID and has to be on camera.
Acceptance is up to the receiving organization
A remotely commissioned document is commissioned under Ontario's rules, but whether a particular bank, government office, court or foreign authority accepts it is always that organization's decision. If you're not sure, ask them before your session — it's the simplest way to avoid doing it twice.
Ready to start? Check whether your document can be completed online.