Is there a government fee to register the transfer of a property in Ontario?

Yes, Ontario charges a fee to register the transfer of a property through the Teranet electronic land registration system. This is a government fee separate from land transfer tax — it covers the cost of updating the land registry to reflect the new owner.

The registration fee for a transfer is a disbursement handled by your real estate lawyer. It is a fixed amount set by the province and is generally modest compared to other closing costs such as land transfer tax or legal professional fees. Your lawyer will include it as a line item on your closing statement under disbursements.

In addition to the transfer registration fee, there are fees for registering a mortgage, conducting title searches, and performing execution searches (to check for court judgments against the parties). Each of these is a separate item billed as a disbursement. Your lawyer will obtain and pay these on your behalf during the closing process. While these individual amounts are not large, they add up and are part of the reason lawyers provide an overall closing cost estimate that includes both their professional fee and anticipated disbursements.