Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the legal world has experienced many changes – arguably much-needed changes – which have allowed for more remote access to legal services. Remote commissioning, virtual appearances, and CaseLines – soon to be Case Centre – are just some relatively recent developments which make the legal profession more accessible by making use of the advantages of the internet and recent technological innovations. However, one update which has yet to be made is the implementation of remote notarizing.
The Notaries Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. N.6 is the legislation that lays out the rules of notaries and the process of notarizing signatures and documents in Ontario. Virtual notarization is contemplated in section 3(3) of the Notaries Act which states the following:
Powers 3 (1) Subject to subsection (2), a notary public may, Not in person (3) Despite any requirement in law to exercise his or her powers in a person's physical presence, if the regulations made under this Act so provide and the conditions set out in the regulations are met, a notary public may, in accordance with the regulations, exercise his or her powers without being in the person's physical presence. 2020, c. 7, Sched. 13, s. 2.
Notaries Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. N.6As laid out above, a notary can notarize a document or signature virtually so long as it is in accordance with the relevant regulations under the Notaries Act. Unfortunately, as of the date of this article, the only regulation under the Notaries Act is R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 831: FEES, which sets out the fees for becoming a notary in Ontario. As such, while there is a framework for allowing virtual notarization in the future, it is not currently allowed under Ontario law.
In the context of estates law, requests for notarized documents are often made by banks and the Court in the early stages of an estate's administration. Requests for notarized documents are also common in international matters. If you are looking to have a document or your signature notarized, you can attend at a lawyer's office or a notary service in order to have this done.
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