What is a certificate of judgment and when do I need one in Ontario?

A certificate of judgment is an official court document that certifies the existence and terms of a court judgment. In Ontario, once a Small Claims Court judgment is issued, a party who wants to file a writ of seizure and sale with the sheriff typically needs to obtain a certificate of judgment from the issuing court first.

The certificate confirms the judgment creditor, the judgment debtor, the amount awarded, the date of the judgment, and the court that issued it. The sheriff's office in the relevant county then uses this certificate to issue the writ of seizure and sale, which is filed in the land registry or personal property registry depending on the type of asset being targeted.

For Superior Court judgments, the process is slightly different — the judgment itself, or an extract of the order, is used to file enforcement documents, but a certificate from the court may also be required in some circumstances.

If you are trying to enforce a judgment in a county different from where it was issued, you may need to file the certificate in the sheriff's office of the target county. This is important if you know the debtor owns property in a different city or region than where the lawsuit was heard.

The process is administrative rather than complex legally, but getting it wrong — for example, filing in the wrong county — means the writ won't appear on the right title searches. A lawyer familiar with enforcement can handle the post-judgment steps efficiently.