Court of Appeal for Ontario

Access to Court Records

Records Office

Viewing Court Files

In general, you can request access to documents in the court record.

In some instances, public access to documents in the court record may be limited by court order or a legislative provision (such as the Youth Criminal Justice Act or the Criminal Code of Canada).

  • Documents subject to a sealing order cannot be inspected by the public or media.
  • Documents subject to a publication ban may be inspected but some or all the content may not be published. If you access court records subject to a publication ban, it is your responsibility to comply with the terms of the publication ban. There may be serious consequences, including criminal liability, for breaching one of these orders.

Requests for access to court records can be made to the Records Office:

  1. By e-mail at recordsoffice@ontario.ca
  2. By phone at 416-327-6658, from Monday to Friday, except holidays, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
  3. In-person at the Records Office public counter (located on the Concourse Level of the Court of Appeal) Monday to Friday, except holidays, from 9:00am to 11:00am, and 2:00pm to 4:00pm.

The Ontario Court of Appeal Public Portal Search Function

To assist you with requests for access to documents in the court record, the Ontario Court of Appeal Public Portal allows members of the public and media to search for civil cases that have been filed after August 22, 2022. The Portal provides information about which appeal or motion documents have been filed in those cases. For the time being, this feature is not available for criminal or family law cases.

Viewing Records in Person at the Records Office

Depending on the age of the court record, it is best to contact the Records Office about records availability by email or phone first before making an in-person visit.

The following fees apply to view court files in person:

  1. Files on-site: $11, unless you are a party or the lawyer on record.
  2. To retrieve closed files stored off-site (discussed more below): $83, applicable to all requests.

You will be notified when your requested file is ready for viewing at which time you may schedule a viewing appointment.

For those attending in-person to view court records, please note the following:

  • No food or drink other than bottled water can be consumed in the Records Office.
  • Please bring your own supplies (e.g. pens, notepaper, paperclips, etc.) as these will not be supplied by court staff.
  • The Records Office is located on the concourse level of the courthouse. If you have any accessibility needs, please inform court staff upon booking your viewing appointment or making an in-person visit.

Resources available at the Records Office

Photocopies of document can be made by

  1. using the public photocopier located in the Record’s Office, the cost of 50 cents/page.

Note that this an independently owned and operated machine by a third party and court staff will not be able to provide change for the machine or assist with any issues that may arise as a result of using the machine.

  1. requesting that the Court make the copies at a prescribed fee of $1.00/page pursuant to the Administration of Justice Act.

There is also a Cerlox binding machine available for use.

Viewing Court Exhibits

Only the Court or a lawyer on record in criminal appeals can requisition documents and reproducible exhibits from the court appealed from and have them transferred to the Court of Appeal for Ontario.

For criminal appeals, a lawyer on record may sign out exhibits once received by the Court with the written consent of the Crown, unless a judge of the Court of Appeal for Ontario orders otherwise.

For civil appeals, original court documents and exhibits are only transferred to the Court of Appeal for Ontario by order of a judge of this court pursuant to Rule 61.09 (2) of the Rules of Civil Procedure.

Any member of the public or media may seek to view an exhibit by bringing a motion before a single judge of this Court.

Judicial approval is not required to access exhibits contained in appeal books. All court documents and exhibits transferred to the Court of Appeal for Ontario are returned to the originating court after the appeal or motion is heard and closed.

Viewing Closed Files

Closed Files are files that have been either abandoned by the Appellant or completed by the Court.

The Court retains closed files on-site for a period of 3 years from the release date of the final decision. After that time, they are transferred to an off-site location.

Closed files on-site are available for viewing the same day or next day after a request is made. The requesting party is notified at the time of ordering when the file will be available for viewing. The files are available for viewing for 1 week, unless an extension is requested. If no further extension is requested, the file will be returned to storage and must be requisitioned again at the prescribed fee of $11.

Closed files off-site take 5-7 business days to be transferred to the Court. The requesting party is contacted when the file is available to be viewed. The files are available for viewing for 2 weeks, unless an extension is requested. If no further extension is requested, the file will be returned to storage and must be requisitioned again at the prescribed fee of $83.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario retains access to closed files for a period of 30 years from the date of the final decision.  Index books are available in the Records Office to obtain file numbers for court files from 1965 to 1990 as there are no electronic records for these files.

After 30 years, files are transferred to and retained by Archives of Ontario. Archives of Ontario can be contacted at:

Archives of Ontario
134 Ian Macdonald Boulevard
Toronto, Ontario, M7A 2C5
Canada
Toll-Free: 1-800-668-9933 (Ontario only)
Tel: 416-327-1600
Inquiries by Media: MGCS.MediaRelations@ontario.ca
Email: reference@ontario.ca

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