Skip to main content
ProbatePrep Start now

← All guides

Form 74.1B explained, in plain words

Updated 2026-08-16 · 6 minute read · checked against official Ontario sources

Form 74.1B is the cover sheet of a small estate probate application in Ontario. Its full name is a mouthful: “Request to File an Application for a Small Estate Certificate or an Amended Small Estate Certificate.” It goes to the court together with the main application, Form 74.1A. The small estate path is for estates worth $150,000 or less on the day the person died. The form does two jobs. It lists every document in the package. And it carries the applicant’s signed statements: copies were sent to the right people, at least 30 days have passed, and the estate tax was handled.

Who fills it in, who signs it

The applicant — the person asking to be in charge of the estate — fills it in and signs it. The signature line reads: “Signature of applicant/lawyer/ trust officer for corporate applicant.” So a lawyer may sign for a client, and a trust officer signs when a trust company is the applicant.

Here is the unusual part. This form is not sworn. There is no oath on it. No commissioner for taking affidavits signs it — the form has no spot for one. Compare the main application, Form 74.1A: that one ends in an oath, signed in front of a commissioner. Form 74.1B is simply signed and dated.

It is also the last form finished. Its statements only become true at filing time — the 30-day wait is over, and any tax owed has gone to the court office. So the date on it is normally the day the package goes out.

What the form asks for, part by part

The opening line. “In the Matter of the Estate of (insert name of deceased), deceased, (insert applicant name), is applying for a Small Estate Certificate.” (“The deceased” is the court’s word for the person who died.) These two names must match the rest of the package.

The document checklist. The form says: “I request the filing with the Superior Court of Justice of the following documents which are attached to this Request.” Then come checkboxes, some with a date line:

  • the Application (Form 74.1A), with the date it was sworn;
  • the draft Small Estate Certificate (Form 74.1C);
  • proof of death, with the date on that document;
  • the will, and any codicil, each with its date — marked “(select only if applicable)”;
  • rarer items when they apply: a bond, extra affidavits, or a draft court order (for example, one asking to skip a bond).

A second set of boxes covers an amended application (Forms 74.1E and 74.1F). That path is for when new assets turn up after a certificate has already been issued.

The applicant declarations. The heading says “(select all that apply).” These are the signed statements. In plain words:

  • a copy of the sworn application was sent to every person who shares in the estate — the form says “including charities and contingent beneficiaries” (people who inherit only if something else happens first);
  • extra boxes cover special cases. One is the Children’s Lawyer — a government office that speaks for beneficiaries under 18, and for people not yet born. Others cover the parents or guardians of such children, and the Public Guardian and Trustee or the person who legally acts for an adult who cannot manage their own affairs;
  • a small table lists anyone who was not sent a copy — the person’s name “as it appears in Will, if any,” and the reason;
  • the people named in the application are all the people entitled to share;
  • the copies went out “by email, mail, courier, or by hand-delivery” — those are the form’s own words (the rule behind them, rule 74.1.03, lists email, mail, and courier);
  • “At least 30 days have passed since the date that I sent the documents above to these persons.” This box matches the rule: a small estate application may not be filed until at least 30 days after the copies went out;
  • there is a shortcut for one common case. When the applicant is the only person who inherits, one box says “it is not necessary to send the application to any other person” — and the sending boxes are skipped;
  • the money boxes: the estate’s value, and the estate administration tax on it, “consistent with the Estate Administration Tax Calculator amount.” The tax is $0 up to $50,000, then $15 for each $1,000 above that. A part of a thousand counts as a whole one;
  • how the tax was paid: certified cheque, bank draft, or “solicitor’s cheque” (a lawyer’s cheque), made out to the “Minister of Finance,” and sent by mail, courier, or in person — with the date it was sent.

After the boxes comes an honesty line: “If you did not check off all the boxes for the Applicant Declarations, provide the reason.”

Contact and signature. A short table asks for a name, role, mailing address, and email address. Then the date, the signature, and the “Court Address” — the courthouse for the county or district where the person lived when they died.

Mistakes that get this form bounced

  • Filing before day 30. The wait is a hard rule, not a suggestion. Copies go out, then at least 30 days pass, then the package may be filed. Early filings come back.
  • Money that doesn’t match. The value and tax on Form 74.1B must match the sworn value in Form 74.1A — and the tax formula. The formula rounds up: any part of a thousand counts as a full thousand. Our free calculator shows the worked math.
  • A name that shifts between pages. The names in the opening line must match the will, the application, and the proof of death. Court staff cannot guess that two spellings mean one person.
  • Empty boxes with no reason. The form itself asks for a written reason when a box is not checked. An unchecked box with no reason leaves the court guessing — and asking.
  • Tax paid the wrong way. The payment cannot ride along in a filing email. It goes to the court office as a certified cheque, bank draft, or lawyer’s cheque — by mail, courier, or in person.

Where to get it and where it goes

The court publishes Form 74.1B as a free Word file on its official forms site. The current version is dated January 1, 2025 — the date sits in the form’s footer. Forms change, so the version date matters.

The finished package can be filed three ways: by email to the courthouse’s estates email address, by mail or courier, or in person. Email filing has rules of its own. Each court form becomes its own PDF file. The court’s official pages give two size caps for each email — 35 pages and 35 MB — so a safe email stays under both. And two things never travel by email: the original will, when there is one (paper only — in person, mail, or courier), and the tax payment. Our courthouse page lists checked addresses and estates emails for 20 Ontario locations.

The court’s own guidance says applications are typically processed within 15 business days — longer if something is missing. If the certificate is granted, it arrives by email.

Sources

Sources last checked 14 July 2026.

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