How Long Does Probate Take in Ontario? The Real Timeline, Step by Step
Short answer: the court’s own service standard is about 15 business days to process a complete probate application — but that clock only starts once your paperwork is filed and correct. The full journey, from death to holding a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee, is usually measured in months, not weeks, and most of that time is spent before the court ever sees your file. Here is the timeline phase by phase, and where it most often goes sideways.
The number everyone quotes — and what it actually covers
Ontario’s official guidance states that probate applications “are typically processed within 15 business days.” That figure covers one thing only: the time court staff take to review a complete, correct application after it has been filed, search the estate records for competing applications, objections, or a more recently deposited will, and issue the certificate.
It does not include the time you spend gathering documents, valuing assets, serving beneficiaries, or fixing a rejected filing. And the province itself flags the two big exceptions: processing takes longer if you didn’t file all the required documents and evidence, or if something in your material needs a judge’s decision rather than routine review by court staff.
So when someone asks “how long does probate take?”, the honest answer has three phases.
Phase 1: Before you can file
This preparation phase is where most estates lose the most time, because nothing can be filed until all of it is done:
Locating the original will. The court requires the deceased’s original will — not a photocopy — attached to a commissioned affidavit (Form 74D, or alternatives if the will was altered or handwritten). If nobody knows where the original is, the search itself can stall everything.
Proof of death. A funeral director’s death certificate usually suffices, and is available fairly quickly; an official provincial death certificate takes longer to order.
Valuing the estate. The application (Form 74A) must state the total value of the deceased’s real and personal property at the date of death. For a house, that means a fair-market appraisal as of the date of death — a number that also matters later for the estate’s capital gains position, so it’s worth getting right the first time.
Serving the beneficiaries. Ontario requires you to send or give a commissioned copy of the application to everyone entitled to a share of the estate before you file it with the court. If minors or incapable adults are beneficiaries, the Office of the Children’s Lawyer or the Public Guardian and Trustee may need to be served as well — which adds lead time.
Calculating and arranging the Estate Administration Tax deposit. The tax is paid when you file: nothing on the first $50,000 of estate value, then $15 per $1,000 (or part) above that, rounded up to the nearest thousand. On a $700,000 estate that’s a $9,750 payment you need ready, by certified cheque, bank draft, trust cheque, or debit.
For an organized estate with a findable will and cooperative beneficiaries, this phase can move quickly. Where documents are missing, an appraisal is contested, or beneficiaries are scattered, it stretches — and no court standard applies to any of it.
Phase 2: The court’s 15 business days (if your file is clean)
Once filed — at the Superior Court of Justice in the county where the deceased lived, by mail or by email under the court’s practice direction — the application enters the queue. Staff verify the documents, run the estate-records search, and either issue the certificate or send a Registrar’s Notice (Form 74O) telling you why they won’t.
That Form 74O is the timeline killer. A refused or deficient application goes to the back of the process while you fix and resubmit. Common triggers include missing affidavits, service problems, math errors in the estate value, and bond issues (more below). This is why “15 business days” and a real-world probate timeline are different things: the standard resets every time the file bounces.
Phase 3: After the certificate
The certificate gives you authority to deal with the assets — to transfer or sell the home, close accounts, and pay debts. But two clocks start ticking:
- Estate Information Return — 180 calendar days. You must file an EIR with the Ministry of Finance within 180 days of the certificate being issued, even if no tax was payable. If you filed using an estimated estate value, an amended return is due within 60 days of confirming the actual value.
- The “executor’s year.” A long-standing common-law rule of thumb gives an estate trustee roughly a year from death to complete the administration before beneficiaries can reasonably press for distribution. Probate is only one piece of that; debts, taxes, and often a CRA clearance certificate come before the final payout — and distributing too early is a personal-liability risk for the trustee.
What makes probate take longer
No will. An intestate estate usually requires an estate administration bond — a guarantee set by a judge, normally at double the estate’s value — or a formal motion asking the court to dispense with it. Either route adds paperwork, and a dispensing motion needs a judge’s decision.
Objections. Anyone who files a Notice of Objection (Form 75.1) stops routine processing; you must respond through the court before a certificate can issue.
Competing applications or a later will. The estate-records search exists precisely to catch these, and if it finds one, a judge gets involved.
Simple form errors. The least dramatic and most common cause. Estates court forms are unforgiving, and every bounce restarts the review.
Can you speed it up?
You can’t jump the court queue, but you can control everything around it. Estates valued at $150,000 or less can use the simplified Small Estate Certificate process. Filing by email under the court’s practice direction avoids mail time. Serving beneficiaries properly before filing, getting the date-of-death appraisal done early, and having a lawyer review the forms before submission are the difference between one pass through the 15-day review and three.
And if the estate’s main asset is a house you intend to sell, the practical move is to run the tracks in parallel: prepare the property and even list it while the application is in process, but don’t finalize an Agreement of Purchase and Sale until the certificate is in hand.
FAQ
Is the 15-business-day standard guaranteed? No. It’s the province’s stated typical processing time for complete applications. Incomplete filings, bond issues, objections, or anything needing a judge will take longer.
Does probate take longer in Toronto than elsewhere? Processing happens at the local courthouse, and volumes differ by region, so experiences vary. The 15-business-day figure is the province-wide standard; your estates lawyer will know current conditions at the specific court.
Can I sell the house while probate is pending? You can prepare and list, but the sale can’t close — and shouldn’t be firmly agreed — until the certificate issues. Here’s how the sale and probate fit together.
When do beneficiaries actually get paid? After debts and taxes are dealt with — often including a CRA clearance certificate — which typically lands well after the certificate itself. The executor’s year is the traditional yardstick for the full administration.
If you’re an executor trying to plan around probate — especially with a property sale waiting on the certificate — a short consultation can map the timeline for your specific estate and flag the delays you can actually prevent. Talk to us — Ontario only.
Sources: Ontario — Apply for probate of an estate (processing standard, application requirements, bonds, objections); Ontario — Estate Administration Tax (tax rates, Estate Information Return deadlines); Ontario — Apply for probate of a small estate ($150,000 threshold); Estates Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.21; Rules of Civil Procedure, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194, rr. 74–75.
General information for Ontario, not legal advice. Reviewed by Angelos Spingos. Last reviewed July 17, 2026.