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Administration of Justice Act

ONTARIO REGULATION 332/16

SMALL CLAIMS COURT — FEES AND ALLOWANCES

Consolidation Period: From January 1, 2023 to the e-Laws currency date.

Last amendment: 547/22.

Legislative History: 41/19, 547/22.

This is the English version of a bilingual regulation.

Fees payable to clerk

1. (1) In this section,

“claim” does not include a defendant’s claim; (“demande”)

“claimant” includes an individual, a sole proprietorship, a partnership, an unincorporated organization and a corporation; (“réclamant”)

“frequent claimant” means a claimant who files a claim in a Small Claims Court office on or after January 1 in any calendar year and who has already filed 10 or more claims in the same office in that calendar year; (“demandeur habituel”)

“infrequent claimant” means a claimant who is not a frequent claimant. (“demandeur occasionnel”) O. Reg. 332/16, s. 1 (1).

(2) The following fees are payable to clerks of the Small Claims Court in respect of proceedings in that Court:

1.  On the filing of a claim by an infrequent claimant, $108.

2.  On the filing of a claim by a frequent claimant, $228.

3.  On the filing of a defendant’s claim, $108.

4.  On the filing of a notice of motion served on another party, a notice of motion without notice or a notice of motion for a consent order (except a notice of motion under the Wages Act), $127.

5.  On the filing of a defence, $77.

6.  For the fixing of a date for a trial or an assessment hearing by an infrequent claimant, $308.

7.  For the fixing of a date for a trial or an assessment hearing by a frequent claimant, $403.

8.  For the filing of a request for default judgment by an infrequent claimant, $94.

9.  For the filing of a request for default judgment by a frequent claimant, $128.

10.  On the issue of a summons to a witness, $33.

11.  On receipt for enforcement of a process from the Ontario Court of Justice or an order or judgment as provided by statute, $45.

12.  On the issue of a certificate of judgment, $30.

13.  On the issue of a writ of delivery, a writ of seizure and sale or a notice of examination, $68.

14.  On the issue or renewal of a notice of garnishment, $144.

15.  For preparing and filing a consolidation order, $127.

16.  For forwarding a court file to Divisional Court for appeal, $105.

17.  For making up and forwarding of papers, documents and exhibits, $105 and the transportation costs.

18.  For transmitting a document other than by mail, the cost of transmission.

19.  For making copies of documents,

i.  not requiring certification, $1 per page,

ii.  requiring certification, $4 per page.

20.  For the inspection of a court file by,

i.  a person who has entered into an agreement with the Ministry of the Attorney General for the bulk inspection of court files, $1 per file,

ii.  any other person, other than a solicitor or party in the proceeding, $11 per file.

21.  For the retrieval from storage of a court file, $83.

22.  For a copy on compact disc (CD) of a digital recording of a court hearing in respect of a case, if such a recording exists and a copy is available,

i.  $23 for a single day’s recording, and

ii.  $11 for each additional day’s recording, if the request is made at the same time as a request under subparagraph i. O. Reg. 41/19, s. 1; O. Reg. 547/22, s. 1 (1).

(3) The following fees are payable to clerks of the Small Claims Court, in addition to those payable under subsection (2), in an application under the Repair and Storage Liens Act:

1.  On the filing of an application, $202.

2.  On the filing of a notice of objection, $112.

3.  On the issue of an initial or final certificate, $99.

4.  On the issue of a writ of seizure, $68. O. Reg. 41/19, s. 1; O. Reg. 547/22, s. 1 (2).

(4) If the applicable filing fee is paid on the filing of a document electronically in accordance with the rules of court, the fee is not payable again on the subsequent filing of a paper copy of the document. O. Reg. 41/19, s. 1.

Fees and allowances payable to bailiff

2. (1) The following fees and allowances are payable to bailiffs of the Small Claims Court:

1.  For each attempt to enforce a writ of delivery, $38.

2.  For each attempt to enforce a writ of seizure and sale of personal property,

i.  where no sale is necessary, $38, or

ii.  where a sale is necessary, $64.

3.  For each attempt to enforce a writ of seizure under the Repair and Storage Liens Act, $38.

4.  For enforcing a writ of delivery or a writ of seizure and sale of personal property, removing property seized, advertising the sale of personal property, including obtaining assistance in seizing, securing or retaining property, those reasonable disbursements that are necessarily incurred, including appraisers’ fees. O. Reg. 332/16, s. 2 (1); O. Reg. 547/22, s. 2.

(2) A fee under subsection (1) for attempted enforcement by a bailiff is payable whether or not the attempt was successful. O. Reg. 332/16, s. 2 (2).

Fees and allowances payable to witnesses

3. The following fees and allowances are payable to witnesses appearing before the Small Claims Court:

1.  For attendance in court, $11 per day, subject to paragraph 2.

2.  For attendance in court by a barrister, solicitor, physician, surgeon, engineer, veterinary surgeon or other professional who is not a party to the action, to give evidence of a professional service rendered or to give a professional opinion, $27 per day.

3.  For travel to court, those reasonable travelling expenses actually incurred, but not exceeding the kilometre allowance set out in Regulation 11 of the Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1990 (Kilometre Allowances) made under the Act. O. Reg. 332/16, s. 3; O. Reg. 547/22, s. 3.

Automatic fee increases

4. (1) Beginning on January 1, 2026, and on every third January 1 that follows, the fees payable under this Regulation shall be adjusted in accordance with the following, subject to subsection (3):

1.  The fees payable immediately before the applicable January 1 date shall be increased by the percentage change between the Ontario Consumer Price Index for the calendar year that is two years before the year in which the adjustment is being made, and the Ontario Consumer Price Index for the calendar year that is five years before the year in which the adjustment is being made.

2.  If the percentage change in the Ontario Consumer Price Index between the two applicable calendar years, as set out in paragraph 1, results in a negative amount, the fees shall not be increased.

3.  Any fee that, once increased in accordance with paragraph 1, results in an amount that is not a whole number shall be rounded to the nearest dollar. O. Reg. 332/16, s. 4 (1); O. Reg. 41/19, s. 2; O. Reg. 547/22, s. 4.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Ontario Consumer Price Index is the Consumer Price Index for Ontario (All-Items) as published by Statistics Canada. O. Reg. 332/16, s. 4 (2).

(3) A fee shall not be adjusted under subsection (1) if, before the date on which the adjustment would otherwise take effect, the Minister responsible for the administration of the Act,

(a)  determines that the fee as adjusted would exceed full cost recovery; and

(b)  publishes notice of the determination, confirming the amount of the fee, on a Government of Ontario website. O. Reg. 332/16, s. 4 (3).

5. Omitted (revokes other Regulations).

6. Omitted (provides for coming into force of provisions of this Regulation).

 

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