Virtual Commissioning for Ontario Family Court Affidavits: How Remote Swearing Works

You Can Swear Your Affidavit Without Leaving Home

Ontario Regulation 431/20 made virtual commissioning of affidavits permanent. If you are filing a family court application — including Form 35.1 for a non-parent decision-making responsibility claim — you can swear your affidavit over a live video call with a licensed commissioner instead of travelling to a courthouse or lawyer's office.

For grandparents and relatives on fixed incomes who may live far from the courthouse, this removes one of the most frustrating logistical barriers in the filing process.

How Virtual Commissioning Works

The process mirrors in-person swearing, adapted for video:

1. Book an appointment with a licensed commissioner who offers virtual services. These include lawyers, paralegals, notaries public, and some specialized commissioning services.
2. Connect by video call — the commissioner must be able to see your face clearly and watch you sign the document in real time.
3. Confirm your identity — the commissioner must verify your identity. Ask what identification the provider requires.
4. Swear or affirm — the commissioner administers the oath or solemn affirmation while you are on camera.
5. Sign the document — you sign the affidavit while the commissioner watches. The commissioner then adds their jurat (the formal swearing block), noting that the oath was administered by video.
6. Complete the document exchange — the regulation does not require you to mail a paper original to the commissioner. Follow the commissioner's instructions and the court's filing requirements for the completed document.

The modified jurat must state that the oath was administered in accordance with O. Reg. 431/20 and show the locations of both the commissioner and deponent at the time. This is what records the remote procedure required by the regulation.

What It Costs

One online commissioning service charges $24.95 + HST per seal. This is a provider's fee, not a fee set by O. Reg. 431/20. Each document that needs to be sworn may require a separate seal. For a non-parent decision-making application, you may need:

• Form 35.1 affidavit — one seal
• Form 35.1A (if CAS history applies) — one seal
• Any supplementary affidavits — one seal each

So the total commissioning cost might be $25–$75 depending on how many documents need swearing. Compare this to the cost of travelling to a courthouse — parking, transit, time off work — and virtual commissioning often comes out ahead.

Free Alternatives

Before paying for commercial virtual commissioning, check these free options:

• Court clerks at the Ontario Court of Justice and Superior Court of Justice can commission affidavits at no charge if you file in person
• Legal Aid Ontario duty counsel at Family Law Information Centres may commission affidavits during appointments
• Some community legal clinics offer free commissioning for low-income clients

The free options require an in-person visit. If travel is the barrier, virtual commissioning at $24.95 per seal may be the practical choice.

Rules the Commissioner Must Follow

O. Reg. 431/20 sets specific requirements for the video call:

• Real-time communication is mandatory — both the commissioner and the person swearing must be able to see, hear, and communicate with each other throughout the process; phone calls or audio-only connections do not qualify
• Identity verification is required — the commissioner must confirm the deponent's identity
• The commissioner must be authorized to administer the oath or declaration — confirm the provider is authorized to commission a document for use in an Ontario family court
• The modified jurat must identify the regulation and both locations as required
• For a commissioner to whom section 5 of the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act applies, the information on the required stamp must appear on or in the signed document
• The commissioner must keep a record of the transaction

If any of these steps are missed, the court may reject the affidavit, and you would need to re-swear it. When booking a virtual commissioning appointment, confirm that the provider follows O. Reg. 431/20 requirements for family court documents specifically.

Timing It With Your Police Record Check

For a non-parent decision-making application, your police record check must be dated within 60 days of starting the claim. The affidavit commissioning and the police check need to line up — there is no point swearing your Form 35.1 if your police check has not come back yet, because the clock is ticking from the police check date.

The practical sequence:

1. Request your police record check first
2. While waiting (processing takes days to weeks depending on the service), prepare your Form 35.1 and gather supporting documents
3. Once the police check arrives, book your virtual commissioning appointment promptly
4. Swear the affidavit, attach the police check, and file everything together

This keeps your 60-day window intact and avoids the scenario where a sworn affidavit sits unfiled while the police check expires.

When to Use Virtual Commissioning

Virtual commissioning makes the most sense when:

• You live far from the courthouse
• You have mobility limitations
• Your work schedule makes courthouse hours difficult
• You need to commission documents quickly and the courthouse queue is long

The Ontario decision-making order toolkit includes a filing timeline that helps you coordinate the police check, CAS records search, and commissioning steps so nothing expires before you are ready to file.

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