People arrive at a notary office holding a form that says "sworn before a Commissioner for Taking Affidavits" and ask for a notary, or holding a document destined for a consulate and ask to have it commissioned. Both requests are reasonable, and both can send the document back. The two roles are created by two different Ontario statutes, they authorise different acts, and the receiving institution almost always cares which one signed.
What a Commissioner for Oaths actually does
A commissioner — the full title in Ontario is Commissioner for Taking Affidavits — is appointed under the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act. The role is narrow and precise: the commissioner administers an oath or a solemn affirmation and watches the person sign. That is the whole act.
What the commissioner is confirming is not that the contents are true. It is that a named person, whose identity was checked, swore in front of them that the contents are true, and signed. The legal weight sits on the deponent, not on the commissioner: a false statement in a sworn affidavit is an offence, and the commissioner's stamp is what makes that so.
Documents that normally need a commissioner include statutory declarations, affidavits filed in Ontario proceedings, OSAP and student-aid declarations, insurance declarations, pension and government forms, and most provincial applications that carry the words "declared before me".
Two limits matter. A commissioner's authority is territorial — an Ontario commissioner commissions documents for use in Ontario. And a commissioner cannot certify that a photocopy is a true copy of an original. That is a notarial act, and it is the single most common reason someone is sent back across town.
What a Notary Public does that a commissioner cannot
A notary public in Ontario is appointed under the Notaries Act. A notary can do everything a commissioner can do, and then three things a commissioner cannot:
- Certify a true copy. The notary sees the original, compares the copy, and certifies in their own name that the copy is a faithful reproduction. Universities, foreign ministries, immigration authorities and banks ask for this constantly.
- Witness and authenticate a signature on a document that is not an affidavit — a power of attorney, a consent, a contract, a corporate resolution.
- Produce a notarial act that can be authenticated for use abroad. A foreign authority has no way to verify an Ontario commissioner. A notary's seal, by contrast, can be run through the apostille process and recognised in more than 120 countries.
There is one further distinction that matters in Ontario and confuses almost everyone: a notary public may be a lawyer or a non-lawyer. Both are appointed by the province, both hold the same notarial powers over documents, and both produce seals that the Ontario government will apostille. A non-lawyer notary does not give legal advice — which, for the document work described on this page, is not something you need in the first place.
The test that settles it in one question
Ask where the document is going.
| Where the document ends up | Who signs |
|---|---|
| An Ontario ministry, tribunal, court or provincial programme | Commissioner is normally enough |
| A bank, university or employer asking for a certified copy | Notary — a commissioner cannot certify copies |
| Another province | Notary, in practice: notarial acts travel; commissions do not |
| A consulate, foreign university, or any use outside Canada | Notary, and usually an apostille afterwards |
If the answer is "I do not know yet", a notarised document is the safer object, because a notary's act covers the commissioner's ground as well.
What you bring, and why it is never optional
Both roles require the person to appear and to be identified. In practice that means valid government-issued photo identification — a driver's licence, a passport, an Ontario photo card, a PR card. A health card is not used for identification in this context.
Three things trip people up:
- Do not sign in advance. The signature has to happen in front of the person who commissions or notarises it. A pre-signed affidavit has to be re-sworn.
- Bring the original if you want a certified copy. There is nothing to compare a photocopy to.
- Every person who signs must attend. A spouse who signs a consent has to be in the room; one person cannot swear for another.
The person swearing also has to understand what they are swearing. If English is not comfortable, an interpreter who is not a party to the document can attend — that is normal and not an obstacle.
What none of this covers
Neither role makes a document legally correct. A notary confirms that you are who you say you are and that you signed; a commissioner confirms that you swore. Neither confirms that the wording achieves what you want it to achieve, and neither is a substitute for advice about your situation. Drafting the document and stamping it are two different jobs.
Who is allowed to hold either appointment
Both appointments come from the province, and neither is automatic. A commissioner for taking affidavits is appointed for a defined purpose — many are appointed by virtue of office, which is why a municipal clerk, a court registrar or a police officer can commission certain documents without ever having applied for anything. Others apply and are appointed for a fixed term.
A notary public is appointed under the Notaries Act, and Ontario distinguishes two routes. Lawyers and licensed paralegals in good standing may be appointed as notaries in connection with their practice. Everyone else applies as a non-lawyer notary, is appointed for a limited term, and holds notarial authority over documents but not the right to practise law. Both appointments are recorded by the province, and that record is exactly what makes the apostille process possible: when Official Documents Services attaches an apostille, it is matching the seal in front of it against the specimen it holds on file.
The practical consequence for someone holding a form is smaller than it sounds. For notarising a signature, certifying a copy or administering an oath, a non-lawyer notary and a lawyer-notary perform the identical act and produce a seal of identical standing. What a non-lawyer notary cannot do is advise you on the law — and for the acts described here, no advice is being given by anyone.
What actually happens at the appointment
The whole thing usually takes under fifteen minutes, and it runs in the same order every time.
- Identification. The notary or commissioner checks your photo identification against the name on the document. A mismatch — a maiden name on the passport, a middle initial on the form — is worth raising at the start rather than at the signature line.
- A look at the document. Blank spaces are the most common stopper. A form with an unfilled date, an empty exhibit reference or a missing page cannot be sworn as complete, because what is sworn is the document as it stands.
- The oath or affirmation. You are asked, out loud, whether the contents are true. An affirmation carries exactly the same legal weight as an oath and is offered as a matter of course; you do not have to explain why you prefer one.
- The signature. Yours first, in front of the officer, then theirs, then the seal or stamp with the date and the capacity in which they signed.
If a document has exhibits — a bank statement attached to an affidavit, a copy of a passport referred to in a declaration — each exhibit is normally marked and initialled separately. That is why a twelve-page attachment takes longer than the affidavit itself.
Where people lose a trip
Three situations account for most wasted journeys, and all three are avoidable with one phone call to whoever is asking for the document:
- The form names its own officer. Some provincial and federal forms specify who may take the declaration — occasionally a narrower list than "a commissioner". Reading that line first settles it.
- Two signers, one attendance. Consents, powers of attorney and travel letters routinely need both parents or both spouses. One cannot swear for the other, and a signature obtained earlier at home does not count.
- The wrong version of the document. Bring the form the receiving body actually publishes today. Tribunals and ministries revise forms, and an older revision is sometimes refused on sight regardless of whose stamp is on it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a notary public more expensive than a commissioner of oaths?
Not necessarily. In Ontario the fee is set by the office, not by the statute, and many offices charge the same for commissioning as for a simple notarisation. The price difference people notice usually reflects the work involved — certifying twelve pages against their originals takes longer than administering one oath.
Can a notary public refuse to notarize my document?
Yes, and sometimes they must. A notary cannot proceed if identification is unsatisfactory, if the signer does not appear to understand the document or is signing under pressure, if the document is incomplete or has blank spaces, or if the notary would be certifying something they cannot actually verify.
Does an Ontario notarization work in another province?
Generally yes. A notarial act is recognised across Canada, which is why documents crossing provincial lines are usually notarised rather than commissioned. Some receiving bodies have their own additional requirements, so it is worth asking them what form they expect.
Can one person swear an affidavit on behalf of someone else?
No. The person whose statements the affidavit contains must appear, be identified, swear or affirm, and sign in the presence of the commissioner or notary. A power of attorney lets someone act in defined matters, but it does not let them swear to another person’s knowledge.