Legally reviewed by Joseph Mayo, Principal Attorney (Ontario and New York).
A bank asks for proof that two names on an old share certificate belong to the same person. A US buyer wants written confirmation that a Canadian supplier owns the equipment it is selling. A registry refuses a filing because a signature does not match. In each case the answer is usually the same document, and getting a statutory declaration in Ontario right matters more than most people expect, because the officer who takes it decides whether the paper will travel.
The rules sit in three places: the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act, the Evidence Acts that set the wording, and the Criminal Code provisions that give a declaration its weight. Ontario changed its appointment terms on 1 January 2026, and Canada joined the Hague Apostille Convention on 11 January 2024, so some of what is written online about this is out of date. Everything below was checked against the governing statutes and Ontario government sources on 30 July 2026.
Quick answer
A statutory declaration is a written statement of fact that you sign in front of an authorised officer, using wording set out in the Evidence Acts. In Ontario a commissioner for taking affidavits or a notary public can take one. If the document will be used outside Canada, use a notary public.
What is a statutory declaration in Ontario?
It is a formal written statement of fact, signed by the person making it and witnessed by an officer the law authorises to receive it. The declarant confirms the statement is true, and the officer confirms the declaration was properly made.
Section 41 of the Canada Evidence Act sets out the form. The declarant states the facts and then adds that they make the solemn declaration “conscientiously believing it to be true, and knowing that it is of the same force and effect as if made under oath.” The Ontario Evidence Act prescribes the same wording, and the Ministry of the Attorney General reproduces it in its guide for commissioners.
Those last few words are the point of the whole exercise. A statutory declaration is not a stronger version of a signed letter. It carries the evidentiary weight of sworn testimony without anyone having to swear an oath, which is why banks, registries, insurers and government departments accept it in place of documents they cannot otherwise verify.
Two things are worth separating early. The declaration is the statement. Commissioning is the act of receiving it. People often say a declaration needs to be “notarised” when what they actually need is for it to be properly commissioned, and the difference decides which officer they should call.
Statutory declaration or affidavit: which one do you need?
Both are written statements confirmed before an authorised officer, and in Ontario the same people can take either one. The practical difference is the setting they were built for and the form of confirmation used.
| Statutory declaration | Affidavit | |
|---|---|---|
| Form of confirmation | A solemn declaration in the wording set by the Evidence Acts | An oath or a solemn affirmation, recorded in a jurat |
| Typical use | Facts asserted to a bank, registry, insurer, employer or government department | Evidence filed in a court or tribunal proceeding |
| Who can take it in Ontario | A commissioner for taking affidavits or a notary public | A commissioner for taking affidavits or a notary public |
| Signed in the officer's presence | Yes, in person or remotely under O. Reg. 431/20 | Yes, in person or remotely under O. Reg. 431/20 |
| Eligible for an Ontario apostille | Only if notarised by an Ontario notary public | Only if notarised by an Ontario notary public |
| Consequence of falsity | Criminal Code perjury or false statement provisions apply | Criminal Code perjury or false statement provisions apply |
If a court rule, a registry form or a contract names one of them, use the one named. Substituting an affidavit for a declaration rarely causes a problem, but substituting the wrong wording on a prescribed government form usually does, because the receiving office is matching your paper against a template.
Who can take a statutory declaration in Ontario?
Two kinds of officer, and the choice between them has consequences.
A commissioner for taking affidavits can administer oaths and take affidavits, declarations and affirmations, subject to any limits written into their Notice of Approval. Some people hold the office automatically because of the job they do. The Ontario government names lawyers, paralegals and municipal clerks as examples, and the complete list of office holders sits in O. Reg. 386/12. Everyone else applies to the Ministry of the Attorney General, and the ministry says a complete application package usually takes four to six weeks to process.
A notary public has all the powers of a commissioner and can do more: verify that signatures, marks and copies of documents are true or genuine. Notaries are governed by the Notaries Act. That extra authority is why the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act does not by itself let a commissioner certify a true copy, a limitation the ministry states plainly in its own guide.
For a declaration used only inside Ontario, either officer works. If the document is leaving the country, the choice is already made for you, for reasons set out further down. Our separate guide on who can notarize a document in Ontario covers the authority question in more detail, and our overview of notary public services explains what the firm handles.
Appointment terms changed recently. For appointments made on or after 1 January 2026, the term is ten years, renewable. A renewal request goes in at least two months before expiry and no earlier than six months before. A commissioner cannot act after the expiry date shown on the Notice of Approval and on the stamp, and a commissioner cannot take their own declaration.
What has to appear on the document?
Four things, and a missing one is the usual reason a declaration comes back.
The body of the declaration states the facts. The declarant signs it in front of the officer, who must be satisfied the signature is genuine and must administer the declaration in the manner the law requires before signing anything. Identification is produced. Then the officer completes the jurat, which records where and when the declaration was taken, and signs it.
The stamp rule catches people out. An appointed commissioner must affix an imprint of the approved stamp under their signature on every document signed in person, and the wording of that stamp cannot be changed without ministry approval. A commissioner who holds the office by virtue of their job is not required to use a stamp at all. So the absence of a stamp on a declaration commissioned by a lawyer is not a defect, even though a receiving clerk may believe it is.
One more constraint worth knowing before you book an appointment: a commissioner is not permitted to give legal advice about the document. If you ask what the declaration should say, the correct answer from the officer is to send you to a lawyer or paralegal. That is a rule about their role, not an unhelpful response.
Can a statutory declaration be commissioned remotely in Ontario?
Yes, within limits. Section 9 of the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act still starts from the position that every oath and declaration is taken in the physical presence of the officer. The exception is O. Reg. 431/20, which allows remote commissioning where its conditions are met.
The declaration has to be administered over an electronic method of communication that lets everyone see, hear and communicate with one another in real time throughout the entire transaction. A modified jurat is used, and it must state that the declaration was administered in accordance with O. Reg. 431/20 and record both the officer’s location and the declarant’s stated location. The stamp information still has to appear somewhere on the document. The officer must also keep a record of every remote commissioning performed.
Here is the part that decides whether remote commissioning is a good idea in your case. Nothing in the Act or the regulation obliges the receiving organisation to accept a remotely commissioned document. The Ministry of the Attorney General tells commissioners to have the client confirm acceptance with the receiving organisation first, and to suggest an in person appointment if the answer is unclear. For a cross-border filing, ask before you book. New York runs its own separate regime for electronic notarial acts, which our guide to remote notarization in New York sets out.
What happens if a statutory declaration is false?
This is the reason the document has value, so it deserves precision rather than a general warning.
Under section 131 of the Criminal Code, a person commits perjury who, with intent to mislead, makes a false statement by solemn declaration before a person authorised by law to permit it, knowing the statement is false. Subsection (2) confirms this applies whether or not the statement was made in a judicial proceeding. Section 132 sets the punishment at up to fourteen years. Section 133 adds a safeguard: nobody is convicted under section 132 on the evidence of a single witness unless that evidence is corroborated in a material particular.
There is a narrower offence for a different situation. Section 131(3) says the perjury provisions do not apply to a statement made by a person who is not specially permitted, authorised or required by law to make it. Section 134 catches those cases instead, as an offence punishable on summary conviction, with an exception for statements made in the course of a criminal investigation. In plain terms, a false declaration made where the law calls for one is treated far more seriously than a volunteered one.
Officers carry their own exposure. Section 10 of the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act makes it an offence punishable by a fine of up to $2,000 for a commissioner to sign a jurat without satisfying themselves that the signature is genuine, or to fail to administer the declaration in the manner required by law. Section 138 of the Criminal Code goes further: signing a writing that purports to be a statutory declaration made before you when it was not, or when you know you have no authority to receive it, is an indictable offence carrying up to two years, or a summary conviction offence. Using a declaration you know was never properly declared is caught by the same section.
Will an Ontario statutory declaration be accepted in the United States?
Often, but not automatically, and this is where cross-border files go wrong.
Start with the authentication step. Canada joined the Hague Apostille Convention on 11 January 2024. In Ontario, Official Documents Services issues apostilles for documents going to Convention countries and certificates of authentication for the rest. ODS verifies that the signature and seal on the document match its records. It does not check what the document says.
Now the trap. ODS states that documents commissioned by a commissioner for taking affidavits cannot be authenticated, even when everything else is in order. A declaration taken by a notary public can be. If your statutory declaration is going to a US court, a state registry, a lender or a consulate, the officer you choose at the start decides whether the document can be certified at the end. Soft copies are not authenticated either, so the version you send ODS has to be a hard copy.
Then there is the question of whether a US recipient needs your Ontario declaration at all. For most federal purposes, 28 U.S.C. 1746 allows an unsworn declaration signed under penalty of perjury to stand in place of a sworn affidavit, with a specific form of words for documents executed outside the United States. New York has moved the same way for civil actions. Under CPLR 2106 as it now reads, a statement made anywhere may stand in place of an affidavit in a New York action. The person has to subscribe it and affirm it to be true under the penalties of perjury, in the form the rule sets out. There are carve outs for depositions, oaths of office, and oaths required before a specified person other than a notary. Rule 2106(b) also preserves the Domestic Relations Law requirement that matrimonial agreements be acknowledged in the form of a deed.
The practical consequence is that a Canadian party is sometimes asked to notarise and apostille a document that the US recipient could have accepted as a plain declaration under penalty of perjury. Asking which instrument the recipient actually requires, before paying for authentication, is worth the email. Our guides to document authentication services and the Hague Apostille Convention cover the certification route in detail.
Where statutory declarations come up in business
For companies operating on both sides of the border, the same handful of situations recur.
Corporate records are one. Where a register is incomplete, a share transfer is undocumented or a signing officer’s authority is questioned, a declaration from someone with direct knowledge is frequently what closes the gap. Identity and name questions are another: variations across a passport, a corporate filing and a bank record are commonly resolved by a declaration confirming that the names refer to one person or entity.
Then there are the transactional ones. Declarations of ownership for equipment being sold or moved across the border, declarations about the loss of a certificate before a replacement is issued, declarations of marital or residency status for registry purposes, and translation attestations. On that last point, Ontario has a specific rule. A document in a language other than English or French must be notarised by an Ontario notary public and accompanied by a translation. That translation is either certified by a Canadian certified translator, or attested by an Ontario notary public who states that they speak the relevant languages and certifies its accuracy.
For businesses running in both Canada and the United States, the recurring failure is procedural rather than substantive: the right facts, taken by the wrong officer, discovered at the point of filing. Our business and corporate law practice deals with these cross-border filing questions regularly, and our overview of notary public services in Ontario sets out how commissioning and notarisation differ in practice.
Frequently asked questions
What is a statutory declaration used for in Ontario?
It is used to assert facts in writing where no other proof is available, and where the recipient wants the statement to carry the weight of sworn evidence. Common uses include confirming identity or a name variation, confirming ownership of property, confirming a document has been lost, and attesting to the accuracy of a translation.
Is a statutory declaration the same as an affidavit?
No, although in Ontario the same officers can take both and the consequences of falsity are similar. An affidavit is confirmed by an oath or a solemn affirmation and is built for use as evidence in a proceeding. A statutory declaration uses the declaration wording in the Evidence Acts and is usually addressed to a bank, registry, insurer or government department.
Who can commission a statutory declaration in Ontario?
A commissioner for taking affidavits or a notary public. Some people hold the commissioner office automatically because of their job, including lawyers, paralegals and municipal clerks, with the full list set out in O. Reg. 386/12. Everyone else applies to the Ministry of the Attorney General, which reports a processing time of four to six weeks for a complete package.
Does a statutory declaration need a stamp or seal in Ontario?
It depends on the officer. A commissioner appointed by the ministry must affix an imprint of their approved stamp under their signature on every document signed in person. A commissioner who holds the office by virtue of their position, such as a lawyer, is not required to use a stamp at all, so its absence is not automatically a defect.
Can a statutory declaration be signed over video in Ontario?
Yes, if the conditions in O. Reg. 431/20 are met. The declaration must be administered by an electronic method that lets everyone see, hear and communicate in real time throughout, a modified jurat naming both locations and citing the regulation must be used, and the officer must keep a record. Nothing obliges a receiving organisation to accept a remotely commissioned document, so confirm acceptance first.
What is the penalty for a false statutory declaration in Canada?
Where the law specially permits, authorises or requires the declaration, a knowingly false statement made with intent to mislead is perjury under section 131 of the Criminal Code, punishable by up to fourteen years under section 132. Where the declaration was not specially permitted, authorised or required, section 134 applies instead as a summary conviction offence.
Can an Ontario statutory declaration get an apostille?
Only if it was notarised by an Ontario notary public. Official Documents Services states that documents commissioned by a commissioner for taking affidavits cannot be authenticated. Authentication of a notarised legal document costs $16 per document, hard copies only, and ODS issues the apostille or certificate within 15 business days of receiving a mailed request.
Will a US recipient accept an Ontario statutory declaration?
Frequently, but ask first. For most US federal purposes, 28 U.S.C. 1746 lets an unsworn declaration signed under penalty of perjury replace a sworn affidavit, and CPLR 2106 now allows a similar affirmation in New York civil actions. Some recipients still insist on a notarised and apostilled document, so confirm the requirement before paying for authentication.
Conclusion
The document itself is simple. The decisions around it are not. Choose the wrong officer and a declaration that is factually perfect cannot be authenticated. Rely on a stamp that was never required and you reject a valid document. Pay for an apostille that the American recipient never needed and you have spent money and two weeks for nothing.
Three questions cover most files. Where will this be used? Who is going to receive it? Does that recipient need a notarised and authenticated document, or will a declaration under penalty of perjury do? Answer those before the appointment rather than after the rejection.
How Mayo Law Can Help
Mayo Law is a cross-border firm with offices in Toronto and New York. Joseph Mayo, the firm’s principal attorney, is licensed in Ontario and New York, which means one lawyer can look at both ends of a document question: how the declaration has to be taken in Ontario, and what the receiving party in the United States will actually accept.
The firm handles notarial and commissioning work for business clients, along with the authentication and apostille steps that follow when a document has to leave the country. If a filing, a closing or a registry request has stalled over a declaration, the useful conversation is usually about the recipient’s requirements rather than the document itself. You can read more about the firm’s notary public services or get in touch through the contact page.
Disclaimer
This article is provided for general information only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create a solicitor-client or attorney-client relationship with Mayo Law, Mayo Law PC or Joseph Mayo PLLC. Statutory requirements, government fees and processing times change, and the rules that apply to a specific document depend on where it will be used and who will receive it. All figures and statutory references in this article were verified against official government and legislative sources on 30 July 2026.
Legal services in Ontario are provided by Mayo Law PC. Legal services in New York are provided by Joseph Mayo PLLC.
