Watching Court Online

You are welcome to visit any Ontario Court of Justice courthouse in person to watch court proceedings, unless the law or a court order prevents you being there.

In response to recent Zoom bombing incidents, you must ask permission to watch court on Zoom. If permission is given, you will receive an observer code.

To request permission, fill out the form below. Note: The Court receives many requests each day. Forms submitted without all the required information will NOT get a response.

IMPORTANT:

The following people should NOT complete the form:

Accused persons, their counsel (including students or agents for counsel), sureties, and witnesses. If you will be speaking in court, you are not an observer and should not get an observer code. Information about Zoom links and courtroom locations can be obtained from the local courthouse.
Complainants and victims. To get an observer code, you should contact your local Crown Attorney’s office or the local Victim Witness Assistance Program (VWAP) office, if you are a VWAP client.
Media. Journalists can email OCJCommunicationsOfficer@ontario.ca to request the code to watch court online. Non-media-related requests sent to this email will not be answered.
Justice of the Peace Applicants. You are to observe court in-person, which is the direction from the Justices of the Peace Appointments Advisory Committee. Learn more on the committee’s website.

REQUEST FORM

You will need specific case information to complete the form. For same-day cases, visit the Daily Docket- Daily Court Lists. For future cases, you will need to create an account at My Ontario Account | Create Account.

The Ontario Court of Justice is committed to upholding the open court principle.

Read the Remote Appearance Code of Conduct.