Overview

You can use Bankruptcy Submissions Online to file most court documents in a bankruptcy case.

When you file documents in a bankruptcy case, you should work with a lawyer or an insolvency professional, such as a trustee in bankruptcy. They know what documents to file, and the court processes to follow as set out in the:

A lawyer can provide advice on:

  • your options and legal risks
  • the evidence you should provide to the court
  • the consequences of not providing the required information or following court procedure

Find a lawyer

You can find a lawyer through:

Submitting documents online

You can submit most court documents through the Bankruptcy Submissions Online portal.

You cannot submit documents online if you:

  • are asking for an urgent hearing
  • have a court date that is five business days away or less
  • need to meet a deadline set by legislation or other court rules, court practice direction or a court order, that is five business days away or less

How to file online

Before you submit

Before you submit documents online, make sure you have:

  • an online My Ontario account
  • all your court documents completed and saved as individual PDFs or in Word (.docx) format (you need Adobe Acrobat Reader version 5.0 (or higher) installed on your computer to complete these forms in PDF format)
  • your Visa, Visa Debit, Mastercard, or Debit Mastercard, if filing fees apply
  • your court file number if you are filing documents for an existing case

Fees

You need to pay the fees to file court documents online or at a court counter. These fees are listed in O. Reg. 293/92: Superior Court of Justice and Court of Appeal – Fees, under the Administration of Justice Act.

If you cannot afford to pay the filing fees,

Important: Some fees cannot be waived by a fee waiver certificate, such as those listed in the Bankruptcy and Insolvency General Rules Schedule of Fees, under the federal Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

Submitting your documents

Once you start an online session, your session will expire if you’re inactive for 15 minutes. Your information will not be saved.

File your documents

If you submit your document(s) online on a weekday between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm (excluding holidays) it will be considered received for submission at that time.

If you submit your document(s) outside regular business hours, it will be considered received for submission on the next business day.

Submitting documents and personal information

  • Bankruptcy court documents are public documents. The public can view the information you provide whether you file in person or online. Learn more about access to court files
  • Be careful when entering personal information online where people can see and/or capture it on camera. Don’t open an online account or enter your password in public and shield any forms you are filling out.
  • Once you file a document online or at a courthouse, you cannot change it. You or your lawyer may need to take legal steps to make any changes or corrections.
  • Once you’ve submitted your document(s), you cannot view them online. Keep copies of the documents for your records.

When you submit your documents, you must indicate if you have a fee waiver or want to apply for a fee waiver.

  • If you are applying for a fee waiver certificate while submitting a document, choose “Fee waiver request” to upload the forms and “Documents submitted with a fee waiver request or a certificate” for any document that would normally have a fee.
  • If you are submitting a document and have a fee waiver certificate, choose “Documents submitted with a fee waiver request or a certificate” for any document that would normally have a fee, including your fee waiver certificate.

After you submit

After you submit your document(s) through Bankruptcy Submissions Online:

  1. You will receive an onscreen confirmation that your documents were submitted but are not yet filed or issued by the court.
  2. Take a screenshot or print a copy of this screen for your records.
  3. Court staff will review your documents within five business days to determine if they are accepted for filing or issuance.

If your documents are accepted

If your documents are accepted, you will receive an email confirming the court filed or issued your documents. If the court issued your document, you will receive an email from the court with your issued document attached to the email.

If you do not receive this email, contact the courthouse where the case started.

If your documents are rejected

If your documents are rejected, you will receive an email stating:

  • your documents have not been filed or issued
  • the reason(s) for the rejection
  • confirming that your credit/debit card has not been charged

If your documents are rejected, you can:

  • address the reason(s) for the rejection
  • resubmit the revised documents and the proper court filing fee to the court

Contact Us

If you have questions about your case, please contact the court office where you submitted or filed your documents.