The Difference between a Commissioner of Affidavits and a Notary Public
In the province of Ontario, to file an affidavit, the affidavit must be commissioned or notarized by an official who administers oaths or affirmations. This can be done by:
Commissioner of Oaths – who commissions affidavits or declarations by asking the author of the affidavit to swear or affirm that the contents of the affidavit/declaration are true; or
Notary public – who has the above legal capabilities in addition to commissioning contracts, agreements and verifying that copies of documents and signatures are genuine.
Any lawyer, judge, court clerk, or licensed paralegal in Ontario is capable of functioning as a Commissioner of Oaths in Ontario. For a non-lawyer to become a Commissioner of Oaths, they must fill out and submit an application form with a $75.00 fee to the Ministry of Finance. When non-lawyer applicants are approved, they are appointed as notaries public for a three-year term. After the term ends, they can apply for reappointment.
For a lawyer to become a notary public, they must pay a fee of $145.00, after which they are issued an appointment certificate as a notary for the rest of their life. For anyone else to become a notary public, they must apply through the Ministry of the Attorney General, complete an examination and pay the appropriate fee of $110.00 to the Ministry of Finance.
Commissioners of oaths and notaries public are also governed by their own different legislation – commissioners of oaths are governed by the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act, and notaries public are governed by the Notaries Act.
Commissioners of oaths and notaries public have varying powers in different provinces as each province has different provincial statutes.