Legal Appointments Office
This guide is intended for persons who wish to be reappointed as non-lawyer notaries public in the province of Ontario.
If you hold or have previously held an appointment as a non-lawyer notary public, and any of the following conditions apply, you must submit a new application form:
To obtain a new application package, visit ontario.ca/attorneygeneral
Each non-lawyer notary public is appointed for a three-year term and, subject to the above, the notary public may request reappointment.
Send your reappointment request at least two months before your appointment expires but no earlier than six months before expiry. If your old appointment expires, you cannot notarize documents until you have completed the reappointment process and received a new Certificate of Appointment and have then purchased an ink stamp with the new approved wording and expiry date.
A non-lawyer notary public must notify the Ministry of the Attorney General, Legal Appointments at the earliest opportunity of any changes required to the wording of their ink stamp to ensure that the appointment remains legally valid. Changes can include:
Submit your reappointment or change request on your business or organization’s letterhead. Provide full contact information (postal address, telephone, e-mail and fax numbers) and include:
You can determine your fee payable by using the table below.
We can accept payment by cheque or money order only, payable to “Minister of Finance.” HST is not applicable.
If your current or most recent appointment includes any subsidiary, associated or affiliated companies, please submit a current list or chart of these companies for our records.
Send your request and the applicable fee to: Ministry of the Attorney General Legal Appointments Office 77 Wellesley St W., BOX 720 Toronto ON M7A 1N3
Please allow four to six weeks for processing.