Form 74A explained, in plain words

Form 74A is the main form in a standard Ontario probate application. Its full court name is “Application for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee.” It asks the Superior Court of Justice to confirm a person as the estate trustee — the person in charge of the estate. The standard path is for estates over $150,000, or for anyone who chooses it. Smaller estates can use the small estate path and Form 74.1A instead. Form 74A does not travel alone. It is filed with the original will (if there is one), proof of death, the tax deposit, and proof that the beneficiaries got their copies.

Who fills it in, who signs it

The applicant fills it in. That is usually the person the will names as estate trustee.

Form 74A is a sworn form. The applicant’s part ends with an oath: “I MAKE OATH AND SAY (or AFFIRM) that the information contained in this application and in any attached schedules is true, to the best of my knowledge and belief.” So the applicant does not just sign it. They swear (or affirm) it in front of a commissioner for taking affidavits, and the commissioner signs too. Lawyers, paralegals, and notaries can act as commissioners, along with people appointed to the job.

Signing alone at home does not count. The rule is that the oath happens in the commissioner’s presence. The form also allows swearing by video call: it has checkboxes for “in person” or “by video conference,” and the video blocks record where people were during the call.

If more than one person applies, each applicant swears. The form says to attach a separate sheet for the extra affidavits. If the applicant is a corporation — a trust company, for example — its trust officer signs.

What the form asks for, part by part

The top of the form. Which certificate is being asked for. Three boxes, and the form says “(select one)”: with a Will, with a Will limited to the assets referred to in the Will, or without a Will.

Part 1 — the person who died. Their full name, split into first, second, third, and surname. A table for “Alternate names” — other names the will or another document uses for them. Date and place of death. Date of birth. Last occupation. Whether they lived in Ontario, and whether they owned property in Ontario. Marital status at death — the form says “check all that apply.” And their home address at the time of death.

Part 2 — the will. Whether there was a will, the date of the will, and the date of any codicil. (A codicil is a later add-on to a will.) There is a line to explain how a missing date was worked out.

Parts 3 and 4 — what the estate is worth. Two dollar figures: all real estate, and all other property. Then the total of both. The form’s own instructions say what to leave out. Real estate is counted after subtracting mortgages. Property held jointly that passes to the other owner is left out. Real estate outside Ontario is left out. So is money that goes straight to a named person — like life insurance or an RRSP with a named beneficiary.

Part 5 — the right to apply. Why this person can ask for the certificate. The usual box reads “I am named as an estate trustee in the deceased’s Will or codicil dated (insert date).” There are boxes for other situations too. There is also a spot to explain when someone named in the will is not applying — because they died, gave up the role, or another reason. And a question about wills that say the trustee must outlive the person who died by a set number of days.

Part 6 — the beneficiaries. Tables listing everyone entitled to a share. One table is for children under 18. One is for adults the form calls “mentally incapable” — people who cannot manage decisions about the case. They are listed with their guardian’s information, if they have one. A third table covers all other adults and charities. Then two questions: could an unborn or unknown person have a share, and did a beneficiary — or a beneficiary’s married spouse — sign the will as a witness.

Part 7 — relationships. Questions about marriage, separation, and divorce. Section A is for everyone. Section B is only for applications with a will. Section C is only for applications without a will. The form itself says the unused section can be deleted — so on a with-a-will application, Section C goes.

Part 8 — promises to the court. Checkboxes where the applicant promises to serve the right papers, file the original will, “administer the estate according to the law,” keep records, and provide an accounting if properly asked. This part also names the court location for filing, and why that location is the right one. If any promise box is left unchecked, the form asks for the reason.

Part 9 — the estate tax. One choice: the estate is $50,000 or less, or it is more. If it is more, one of three boxes says how the tax deposit is handled — pay it with the application, ask the court to put it off, or pay based on an estimate now and file the true total within six months.

Part 10 — bond. This part applies only when a bond (a kind of insurance for the estate) has to be dealt with. The form’s triggers: the person applying is not named in the will, there is no will, or the applicant checks “I live outside of Canada and/or outside the Commonwealth.” A named executor living in Canada normally leaves Part 10 empty.

The end of the form. The applicant’s contact details. A block for the filer, if someone else files it. Then the oath and the two signatures — applicant and commissioner. After the signatures come printed notice pages from the court; those stay as they are. One small thing worth knowing: Form 74A has no court file number line. A new application does not have a file number yet.

Mistakes that get this form bounced

Names that do not match. The will says one spelling; the form says another. Court staff cannot guess that both mean the same person. The form has proper places for this: the “Alternate names” table in Part 1, and rows to explain when a beneficiary’s or the applicant’s name in the will is different. Mixing spellings between pages, without using those spots, is a classic reason applications get sent back.

Money that does not add up. Parts 3 and 4 must sum to the total exactly. And the wrong things get included — a jointly owned house, an insurance payout with a named person, real estate outside Ontario. The form’s instructions leave those out, and the tax deposit is based on this total, so it has to be right.

A Part 9 box that fights the numbers. The form asks for exactly one choice, and over $50,000 needs one more box saying how the deposit is handled. An empty Part 9, or a box that contradicts the sworn total, does not pass.

Swearing problems. A missing commissioner signature. An empty date. The wrong swearing block filled in — the form has separate blocks for swearing in person, by video in the same city, and by video in different cities. Only the block that matches what actually happened gets completed.

Two certificate boxes checked — or none. The form says “(select one).” One box, and it has to match the will situation.

Where to get it and where it goes

The court publishes Form 74A as a Word file on the official court forms site. The current version is dated January 1, 2025. Old copies from other websites are a bounce risk — the version date is printed on the form.

Before filing, a copy of the sworn application goes to every person entitled to a share of the estate, including charities. On the standard path there is no set number of days to wait after that — the rule is serve first, then file. Proof of service is filed with the application: Form 74B (a sworn affidavit) or Form 74B.1 (a lawyer’s certificate).

The application is filed at the Superior Court of Justice office for the county or district where the person lived when they died. If they lived outside Ontario, it goes where they had property. There are three ways to file: email to that courthouse’s estates address, mail or courier, or in person.

Email filing has its own rules. Each form goes in as its own PDF, named with its form number and what it is. A short information form goes in the same email — the court’s e-filing page provides it. Each email has hard size caps — the official pages give both a page cap and a megabyte cap (35 of each), so a filing has to stay under both. And two things can never ride in the email: the original will still goes to the courthouse on paper, and the tax payment goes in person or by mail or courier.

If the application is granted, the certificate is issued and delivered by email. Ontario’s guidance page says applications are usually processed within 15 business days — longer if documents or evidence are missing.

Related guides

• Form 74C — the draft certificate the court signs
• Form 74D — proof a witness saw the will signed
• Form 74G — giving up the job, or saying yes
• Every Ontario probate form, in one free list

Sources

• Official estates court forms index — Form 74A download
• Apply for probate of an estate (ontario.ca)
• Rules of Civil Procedure, r. 74 — service and proof of service
• Estates Act — where the application is filed
• Filing electronic documents in probate proceedings (ontariocourtforms.on.ca)

Sources last checked 14 July 2026.