Can you apply for probate online in Ontario?

Updated 2026-08-17 · 4 minute read · checked against official Ontario sources

Sort of — and the details matter. There is no public website where you upload a probate application. But you can file the whole application by email, sent to your courthouse’s estates inbox. Or you can mail it, courier it, or bring it in person. This guide explains the email route, the rules that come with it, and the one thing that must travel on paper no matter what.

There is no upload portal

Ontario has online filing websites for some kinds of court cases. As of our last check of the official filing pages, they do not take these probate applications. For a regular, uncontested probate application, the court lists three ways to file:

Email to the courthouse’s estates email address
Mail or courier to the courthouse
In person at the court office

If a website ever asks you to upload probate papers and pay, be careful. Check it against the official pages linked at the bottom of this guide.

Which courthouse gets your email

You do not pick a courthouse. The law picks it for you. The application goes to the Superior Court of Justice office for the county or district where the person who died had their home at death — not where you live. If they lived outside Ontario, or had no fixed home here, it goes where they had property.

Each courthouse has its own estates email address. We keep a checked list of 20 Ontario courthouses with their addresses, phone numbers, and filing emails on our courthouse page. It has a simple finder: pick where the person lived, and it shows the right court.

The email rules

Filing by email is not just “attach and send.” The court sets out exact rules:

Include the court’s Information Form. This is a short cover form that must be filled out and emailed with your application. You will find it with the court’s e-filing instructions (see Sources below).
Stay under both size limits. One official page says each email, with attachments, must not go over 35 MB. Another says it must not go over 35 pages. The two pages disagree, so the safe move is simple: keep each email under 35 pages and under 35 MB. Split a big filing across more than one email if you need to.
Attachments must be PDF files. One court form per PDF. Name each file with the form number and what it is.
The subject line follows a set pattern. The court’s short name, then ESTATES, then the court file number if you have one, then what the document is.

Most of the application can go by email: the application form itself (Form 74A, or Form 74.1A for a small estate), the draft certificate, the proof of service, affidavits, and consents.

What must stay on paper

Two things cannot ride along in the email.

The original will. The court needs the real signed will — the actual paper the person signed — not a scan. Original documents must be filed in paper form: in person, by mail, or by courier, to the same courthouse where you emailed the application. The official pages do not say exactly when the paper will should arrive next to your email, so call your courthouse and ask how they want it. Our courthouse page has the phone numbers.

The tax payment. The Estate Administration Tax payment cannot be emailed either. It goes in person, or by mail or courier, to the same court office.

Before you press send

Email filing does not skip the waiting rules.

Small estate path (estates of $150,000 or less): you send the application papers to the beneficiaries first, then wait at least 30 days before filing. Our small estate guide walks through it.
Standard path: there is no fixed day count. But you must send the papers to the beneficiaries before you file, because the application is filed together with proof of service — usually Form 74B.

What comes back — and when

Here is the good news about the email route. If the court grants your application, the certificate is issued electronically and delivered by email to the address you gave. You can ask for a paper certificate too.

Ontario’s guidance says applications are typically processed within 15 business days. It can take longer if documents are missing or a judge has to decide something. Court staff check applications closely — our guide on why applications get sent back covers the common mistakes, and how long probate takes covers the full timeline.

The takeaway

You cannot apply for probate on a website in Ontario. You can apply by email — with the Information Form, PDF attachments, the set subject line, and both size limits respected. The original signed will and the tax payment travel on paper to the same courthouse. Get every form right before you send anything: how to probate a will walks the whole job from start to finish.

Sources

Every fact above is checked against these official pages on the dates recorded in our rule audit — most recently 14 July 2026 for the filing rules, with the ontario.ca probate pages re-read 17 August 2026.

When you are ready

Need to apply for probate? We can build the whole package.

Court staff send applications back over small slips — and a bounce can cost months. You answer plain questions; the software does the rest. Free to start — no account, no email, no card.

$199 or $449

+ HST · $199 for small estates, $449 for others. The free questions tell you which.

We fill every form for you

Answer plain questions. The software fills the official court forms for your application, works out the tax, and writes filing steps for your courthouse.

Start the free fit check

Free to start. You only pay at the end, if your estate qualifies.

Filling the forms yourself instead? For $79 + HST, the automated Package Check looks at your facts before you file.

And everything free here stays free — the guides, the tax calculator, all of it. No email needed.

After probate, one report is still owed — the Estate Information Return. For $49 + HST we get it ready from your answers. Included free in every package.

This guide is legal information, not legal advice. For advice about your specific situation, consult a lawyer licensed in Ontario.