How do you apply for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee in Ontario?

What the certificate does, and when you need one

A Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee is the court document most people call probate. Ontario’s guidance explains that an estate trustee is the only person with legal authority to manage or distribute an estate, and that probate either gives a person that authority or confirms the authority of the estate trustee named in a will, while formally approving the will as the person’s last valid will. Once issued, the certificate gives authority to manage the estate’s assets and pay its debts. Our probate page explains how we help estate trustees through it.

Not every estate needs one. Ontario says the type of assets usually decides it, and an estate with real property or assets held by a financial institution normally must be probated. Common reasons to apply include no will, no named estate trustee, a financial institution asking for proof of authority, real property that does not pass by survivorship, a property sale (the certificate should come before any Agreement of Purchase and Sale), and beneficiaries who cannot give legal consent. Disputes about who should act, or about the will, also lead to applications and need separate legal advice.

For estates of $150,000 or less, there is a simpler route, explained in how Ontario’s small estate certificate works. This page covers the regular application under Rule 74.04 of the Rules of Civil Procedure.

Who can apply

If there is a will, the person it names as estate trustee usually applies, although that person may let someone else apply instead. Where two or more are named and one does not join the application, Rule 74.04(1)(e) requires that person’s renunciation in Form 74G. If there is no will, Ontario’s guidance says the spouse or common-law partner usually has the first right to apply, then a close adult relative, and the court may appoint the relative it considers most appropriate. The underlying rule is section 29 of the Estates Act, which lets the court grant administration to the spouse or a person living with the deceased in a conjugal relationship, to the next of kin, or to both, at its discretion. Who inherits in that case is a different question, covered in who inherits if you die without a will in Ontario.

A few limits apply. Section 5 of the Estates Act says letters of administration, the appointment used when there is no will, are not granted to someone who does not live in Ontario. Section 6 requires security from a named estate trustee who lives outside Ontario and outside the Commonwealth, unless a judge dispenses with it or reduces it. Under section 26, a minor named as sole executor cannot take probate until 18.

Before starting, check with family, the named estate trustee or the court office that nobody else has already applied. Anyone with a financial interest can also file a request for notice in Form 74P under Rule 74.03, which entitles them to notice of any proceeding in the estate until a certificate is issued. A request expires after three years, and a new one can be filed.

How to apply, step by step

1. Collect the originals. You need the original will and any codicils, and proof of death, which Rule 74.01 defines to include a death certificate from the Registrar General, a funeral director’s certificate or a court order declaring the death.
2. Value the estate. Form 74A asks for the total value of real property, the total value of personal property, and the total of both, as of the date of death. That figure sets the tax deposit, explained in how much is Ontario’s Estate Administration Tax.
3. Prepare the forms. Rule 74.04(1) lists the package: the application (Form 74A), proof of service (Form 74B affidavit of service, or Form 74B.1 lawyer’s certificate of service), proof of death, and a draft certificate (Form 74C) with a copy of the will attached. If there is a will, its original is attached as an exhibit to an affidavit of execution (Form 74D), an affidavit of condition (Form 74E) if it has unwitnessed alterations, or an affidavit on the handwriting and signature (Form 74F) for a holograph will.
4. Add the forms your situation needs. A renunciation in Form 74G, Part A, from any named estate trustee who is not applying. A consent in Form 74G, Part B, where there is no will or the applicant is not named in the will, signed by the people entitled to share in the estate who together hold a majority interest in its value at death (Rule 74.04(1)(f)). A draft order in Form 74I for a certificate limited to the assets in one will. A bond, or a motion to dispense with it.
5. Swear the application. The application and affidavits are signed before a commissioner for taking affidavits, who also signs them.
6. Serve the beneficiaries. Rule 74.04(2) requires the sworn application, with its attachments and a copy of the will, to be served on every person entitled to share in the estate, including charities and contingent beneficiaries. A beneficiary who receives only a specific item or a fixed amount may receive just the relevant part of the will. Service can be personal, by email to the last email address for service or last known email, or by mail or courier to the last known address (Rule 74.04(7)). Service must happen before you file.
7. File with the court and pay the deposit. File with the Superior Court of Justice in the county or district where the person had a fixed place of abode at death (Estates Act section 7(1)), or where they had property if they lived outside Ontario (section 7(2)). Ontario says you can mail the application and tax payment to that court, or file by email by following the Superior Court of Justice Practice Direction. Our local guides cover probate in Toronto and the Newmarket courthouse.

When a bond is needed

Section 35 of the Estates Act requires a bond from anyone granted administration, including administration with the will annexed, conditioned on properly collecting, administering and accounting for the estate. Ontario’s guidance says a bond must be filed when the person died without a will, when there is a will but the applicant is not named in it, or when the applicant does not live in Ontario, another province or territory, or a Commonwealth country.

Under section 37(1), the bond is double the value of the estate unless a judge orders otherwise. Rule 74.11 sets the surety rules: an insurer licensed in Ontario to write surety and fidelity insurance (Form 74L), or personal sureties (Form 74M) who are adult Ontario residents and not a lawyer or court registrar. One personal surety is enough where the estate is $100,000 or less. A judge decides the amount and whether the surety is acceptable.

The applicant can bring a motion under Rule 74.11(3) for an order dispensing with the bond or reducing it, relying on section 37(2) of the Estates Act. Where every beneficiary consents and none is a minor, or mentally incapable without someone authorized to act for them, Rule 74.11(5) and (6) let the applicant ask for that order with the application, with a draft order, consents in Form 74G and an affidavit about the estate’s debts. Separately, section 36(2) says no bond is required where a surviving spouse administers an intestate estate whose net value is within the spouse’s preferential share, with an affidavit of debts.

What changes the answer

A beneficiary is a minor or not yet born

Documents for a beneficiary under 18 are served on a parent or guardian and on the Children’s Lawyer, not on the child (Rule 74.04(3)). The Children’s Lawyer is also served if there may be unborn or unascertained beneficiaries (74.04(4)). The Office of the Children’s Lawyer says one copy is enough even with several minor beneficiaries, and that the notice should list each minor, their parents or guardians, and the approximate value and percentage of each minor’s share.

A beneficiary is mentally incapable

Rule 74.04(5) requires service on the beneficiary’s guardian if one has authority in the proceeding, or else on the person acting under their power of attorney with that authority, or else on the Public Guardian and Trustee. Where the Children’s Lawyer or the Public Guardian and Trustee is served and there is a will, a statement of the estimated value of that beneficiary’s interest must go with the will if the application does not show it (74.04(6)).

The will has problems

Unwitnessed changes need Form 74E, and if both witnesses have died or cannot be found, the court may ask for other evidence of due execution. If the original is lost, Rule 75.02 provides a separate application to prove a lost or destroyed will. Our page on what makes a will valid in Ontario sets out what the court looks for.

There are two wills

Where the person signed multiple wills, the applicant may seek a certificate limited to the assets referred to in one will, with a draft order in Form 74I (Rule 74.04(1)(g)). This structure is sometimes used for private company shares, as explained in our article on secondary wills for private company shares.

Something turns up in the court’s records

Under section 16 of the Estates Act, the registrar must confirm, unless the court orders otherwise, that no other application has been filed, no notice of objection from someone with a financial interest is in effect, and no later will is deposited with the court. If a beneficiary has filed a Notice of Objection (Form 75.1), Ontario says you must give a notice to the objector (Form 75.3) and file it with an affidavit of service. A contested estate is beyond a routine application and needs separate advice.

After you file

Ontario says applications are typically processed within 15 business days, longer if documents or evidence are missing or a judge must decide an issue. If you filed by email, the certificate is emailed to you; by mail, it is mailed. If the registrar refuses, you receive a Registrar’s Notice to Applicant in Form 74O stating the reason (Rule 74.14(5)), and you can usually fix a missing document by filing what court staff request. Within 180 calendar days of the certificate, the estate trustee files the Estate Information Return with the Ministry of Finance.

Common mistakes

• Filing before serving. Beneficiaries must be served before the application is filed, and the copy served must be the one sworn before a commissioner.
• Missing a beneficiary. Charities and contingent beneficiaries must be served too, and minors through a parent or guardian and the Children’s Lawyer.
• Signing a sale agreement too early. Ontario’s guidance says the certificate should be obtained before anyone enters into an Agreement of Purchase and Sale.
• Forgetting the co-executor. A named estate trustee who is not applying must renounce in Form 74G, or the package is incomplete.
• Overlooking the bond. With no will, or an applicant not named in it, a bond is the default unless a judge dispenses with it.
• Filing in the wrong court. The application belongs where the person lived at death, or where their Ontario property is if they lived elsewhere.

What to do this week

1. Find the original will and any codicils, and order proof of death.
2. Read what an estate trustee has to do, so the application fits the rest of the job.
3. Check whether a witness already swore an affidavit of execution, and if not, locate one of the witnesses.
4. Ask the court office where the person lived whether any application or deposited will is on record.
5. List every beneficiary, including charities, contingent beneficiaries and minors, with email and mailing addresses.
6. Get date of death values for each asset and work out the tax deposit.
7. Ask any co-executor whether they will apply with you or renounce.
8. Decide whether a bond is needed. If you would like a lawyer to prepare the application, a first consultation takes 30 minutes, by video or in person, and you can request one here.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Rules of Civil Procedure, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194, Rules 74.01, 74.03, 74.04, 74.11, 74.13 and 74.14 (Forms 74A to 74G, 74I, 74L, 74M, 74O)
• Estates Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.21, ss. 2, 5, 6, 7, 16, 26, 29, 35, 36 and 37
• Ontario.ca: Apply for probate of an estate (forms, service, filing by email, bond, processing time, Form 74O)
• Ontario.ca: Office of the Children’s Lawyer and estates and trusts matters (serving notice for minor beneficiaries)
• Ontario.ca: Estate Administration Tax (deposit and Estate Information Return)

This page is general information about Ontario law, not legal advice for your situation. It reflects the law as of October 25, 2026.