Where the authority comes from
Remote commissioning of oaths, affidavits and declarations in Ontario rests on O. Reg. 431/20 under the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act. The regulation permits administering an oath or declaration by audio-visual communication technology where its conditions are met. Confirm the current text of the regulation on e-Laws before relying on any summary — regulations change.
Before the session
Confirm you are authorized to commission the document in question and that it is one the regulation covers. Collect the unsigned document in advance and confirm the deponent will sign during the session, not before. Confirm the technology gives you a live, two-way audio-visual link — not a recorded or one-way channel.
Confirming identity
Satisfy yourself of the deponent's identity on camera. Government-issued photo identification is the usual basis. Note what you relied on. Be alert to signs that the person may not be acting freely — remote sessions make duress harder to detect, so slow down if anything seems off.
Administering the oath or affirmation
Administer the oath or affirmation on the record and have the deponent respond. Watch the deponent sign. Where the deponent affirms rather than swears, record it as an affirmation. The deponent chooses; both carry the same effect.
The jurat
Complete a jurat that reflects the remote process — that the oath or declaration was taken by audio-visual technology in accordance with O. Reg. 431/20, with the date and place expressed as the regulation and practice require. A jurat that reads as an in-person appointment misstates what happened.
Your record
Keep a record of the appointment sufficient to reconstruct what you did: who appeared, what identification you relied on, the document, the date, and the fact that it was done remotely. A defensible record is your protection if the commissioning is ever questioned.