Commissioning an Affidavit for Another Province, or for Someone Outside BC by Video

Affidavits often cross provincial lines. You may live in Vancouver with a family or estate matter in Ontario, or you may have moved away from BC while a case continues here. Either way, the question is the same: will the court or office receiving your affidavit accept the way it was sworn?

The answer depends on the law of the place where you sign and the law of the place where the document will be used. Here is how those rules fit together, and what to check before you book a commissioning.

Two sets of rules apply

Every cross-border affidavit raises two questions. Who has authority to take your oath where you are physically located when you swear? And does the province receiving the affidavit recognize an oath taken there? A BC commissioner can be the right person for one question and not the other, so it helps to look at each direction separately.

You are in BC, and the affidavit is for another province

A practising BC lawyer is a commissioner for taking affidavits for British Columbia (Evidence Act section 60) and may also act as a notary public in BC (Legal Profession Act section 14). The Law Society of BC's Code of Professional Conduct notes that a BC lawyer acting as a notary public may take affidavits only within BC. Whether an affidavit sworn here is enough for another province is a question for that province's law.

Ontario

Ontario's Evidence Act, section 45, says an affidavit sworn outside Ontario before a commissioner for taking affidavits or a notary public, among others, acting in the place where it is sworn, is as valid as if it had been sworn in Ontario before an Ontario commissioner. To be admitted without proof of the signature, the document should show the signer's office below the signature, and a notary public's document should carry the notary's official seal. Ontario courts and offices can still require their own forms, so confirm the form of the affidavit with the Ontario court, agency or lawyer before you sign.

Alberta and other provinces

For Alberta and the other provinces and territories, the receiving court, land titles office or agency decides what it will accept. Ask them, or the lawyer handling the matter there, before you book, and send us any written instructions you receive. We work from those instructions rather than assumptions about another province's requirements.

Video adds another layer. BC's rule allowing an affidavit to be sworn by video conference (Supreme Court Civil Rules Rule 22-2(6.1)) applies to affidavits for the BC Supreme Court. If your affidavit is for another province's court, that court's rules decide whether an affidavit sworn by video is accepted and what it must say. If that is unclear, plan to sign in person at our office.

You are outside BC, and the affidavit is for a BC case

BC's Evidence Act gives you several options. Under section 63, an affidavit sworn in another province or country is as valid as if it were made in BC if it is sworn before, among others:

• a judge, court officer or commissioner authorized to administer oaths in that place;
• a notary public acting within the limits of their authority, certified under their hand and official seal;
• a Canadian diplomatic or consular officer abroad; or
• a commissioner authorized by BC law to take affidavits.

So the simplest route is often to sign in front of a local commissioner or notary where you live. Our guide to signing BC legal documents from outside Canada covers notaries, consulates and apostilles abroad.

Swearing by video with a BC lawyer

A BC commissioner may take affidavits in or out of British Columbia (Evidence Act section 59). Since 9 September 2024, the Supreme Court Civil Rules and Supreme Court Family Rules have also expressly allowed an affidavit to be sworn before a commissioner by video conference. The affidavit is then treated as sworn at the commissioner's location, and its last numbered paragraph must say that you appeared by video conference.

The Law Society limits this when the person swearing is outside BC. Its Code says remote commissioning should not be used for a deponent who is not physically in BC unless the lawyer is satisfied there is no other practical way to have the document commissioned under the procedures of the place where the deponent is. In practice, we will ask what local options you have and why they do not work for you before agreeing to a video commissioning. If video is appropriate, the usual steps apply: you show the front and back of valid government photo ID on camera, we both have the full affidavit and every exhibit in front of us, and you swear or affirm and sign while we are connected. Read more about notarizing and commissioning by video in BC.

What to confirm before you book

• Where the affidavit will be used. The court or agency, the province, and the file number if there is one.
• What that office accepts. Whether it accepts an affidavit sworn in BC, sworn by video, or signed before a notary rather than a commissioner, and whether a particular form is required.
• Where you will physically be. The rules turn on where you are when you swear, not on your home address.
• Your exhibits. Each exhibit has to be identified by the commissioner, so have them complete and in order. See how exhibits work for BC court affidavits.
• Affidavit or declaration. Some offices want a statutory declaration instead. Our guide to affidavits and statutory declarations explains the difference.

For the basics of who can take an oath in BC, see who can commission an affidavit in BC.

Swearing an affidavit across provincial lines? Check the rules before you sign

Our notary services team can review what the receiving court or office requires, check the jurat and exhibits, and commission or notarize your affidavit at our office or, where the rules allow, by video.

Call 604-259-2844 or send us a message to arrange a consultation by video or at our Vancouver office.