When is probate required in Ontario?

The short answer: it depends on what the person who died owned, and whose name was on it. Ontario has no law forcing probate for every estate. The people holding the assets — the bank, the land registry — decide what proof they need. This page explains when they ask for probate, when they often don’t, and the one phone call that settles it.

What probate actually is

Probate is a court paper. Its full name is a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee — “estate trustee” is Ontario’s official word for an executor. Smaller estates can get a Small Estate Certificate instead.

The paper proves one thing: this person is in charge of the estate. A signed will already gives that authority. The certificate proves it to strangers. Banks and the land registry are the strangers who most often ask for proof.

When probate is usually required

Ontario’s own guidance lists the common reasons:

• A house, condo, or land in the person’s name alone. Real estate in one name almost always needs the certificate before it can be sold or transferred. The land registry asks for it.
• Money at a bank or investment firm, in the person’s name alone. Banks decide for themselves when they need the certificate. For larger amounts, they usually ask for one.
• No will, or a will that names nobody to be in charge. The court still has to appoint someone. Without a will, the application is a different kind — one our software does not prepare. A lawyer can help with that one.
• People fighting about the will or about who should be in charge. That is where a lawyer licensed in Ontario is the right help, not a form package.

When is probate NOT required in Ontario?

Often, no probate is needed at all. The people holding the assets make the call. These are the common cases where they don’t ask for it:

• Joint assets with a living owner. A home owned jointly with someone still alive usually passes to them automatically. The land registry has its own form for this — no probate. Many joint bank accounts work the same way — but ask the bank, because it depends on how the account was set up.
• Assets with a named person on them. Life insurance paid to a named person skips the estate. So do RRSPs, RRIFs, and TFSAs with a named person. That money goes straight to them. But if the paperwork names “the estate” instead — or names no one — the money falls into the estate and counts.
• Small bank accounts. Some banks release small amounts without probate. There is no official dollar limit — each bank decides for itself.
• Vehicles. A car can sometimes transfer without probate. If the will clearly names who is in charge and who gets the vehicle, the will itself can be enough. A vehicle owned jointly by two married spouses can pass to the survivor with just the death certificate.

Ask before you apply

Here is the honest first step, straight from Ontario’s own guidance: before starting an application, find out whether the people holding the assets actually require a certificate.

Make a short list of everything in the person’s name alone. Then call whoever holds each thing — the bank, the investment firm — and ask one question: “Do you need a certificate of appointment?” Their answers tell you whether you need probate. That phone call could save the whole cost of an application.

Our free 2-minute check walks through the same questions and gives an honest answer — including “you may not need probate at all.” No email needed.

If you do need probate: two paths

Ontario has two application paths, and the estate’s value picks between them.

• The small estate path — for estates worth $150,000 or less, counted on the day the person died. The forms are shorter. You send a copy of the application to the beneficiaries first, then wait at least 30 days before filing. One honest limit: a small estate certificate covers only the assets listed on it.
• The standard path — for estates over $150,000. It also works for any estate, because the small path is a choice, not a rule. You send copies to the beneficiaries first, then file. There is no fixed day-count wait.

Either way, the estate pays Ontario’s Estate Administration Tax when it applies: $0 on the first $50,000, then $15 for every $1,000 above that — a part of a $1,000 counts as a whole one. Our free calculator shows the worked math.

The court’s own forms are free to download. What you pay for, anywhere, is help getting them right. Our software builds the complete package for $199 + HST (small estate) or $449 + HST (standard). A probate lawyer’s fixed-fee menu starts at $1,475 for the same filing.

The takeaway

Probate is not automatic. The assets decide, and the people holding the assets make the final call — so ask them first. If the answer is yes, and there is a signed will naming who is in charge, the job becomes careful paperwork: right forms, exact names, right math, notices on time. See how it works, or read how long probate takes for what happens after you file.

Sources

• Administering estates (ontario.ca) — when probate is and isn’t required
• Apply for probate of an estate (ontario.ca)
• Estate Administration Tax (ontario.ca) — what counts in and out of the estate
• Director of Titles Bulletin 2000-6 — estate documents and jointly owned land
• O. Reg. 110/21 — the $150,000 small estate limit
• Rules of Civil Procedure, r. 74.1 — the small estate process and the 30-day wait
• Retail Sales Tax guide — transferring a deceased person’s vehicle

Sources last checked 14 July 2026.