Electronic Land Registration in Ontario: How Teraview and E-Reg Work

If you have bought or sold property in Ontario in the last two decades, your transaction almost certainly closed electronically — without a single paper document visiting a land registry office. Yet most people have no idea how this system works. Understanding electronic land registration in Ontario demystifies what your lawyer does on closing day and explains why closings cannot always happen at the exact time you expect.

A Brief History: From Paper to Digital

Ontario once operated a paper-based land registration system. Deeds were physically taken to a land registry office, lined up, and stamped. Processing times were uncertain, clerks reviewed documents manually, and the risk of human error — or documents getting lost in transit — was real.

Beginning in the 1990s, Ontario's Ministry of Government and Consumer Services transitioned the province to an electronic system. Today, virtually all of Southern Ontario and most of the province operates under the Land Registration Reform Act and uses electronic registration exclusively.

What Is Teraview?

Teraview is the software platform through which licensed users — primarily Ontario lawyers and paralegals — access the province's electronic land registry. It is the only authorized gateway for:

• Searching the parcel register (title searching)
• Preparing electronic documents (transfers of title, mortgages, discharges, etc.)
• Submitting documents for registration

Teraview is maintained by Teranet Inc. under an agreement with the province. Access is restricted: a law firm must hold a Teraview subscription, and individual lawyers must be authorized users. This is part of why you must use a lawyer (not a notary) to close a real estate transaction in Ontario — only lawyers can access and submit through Teraview.

How Electronic Registration Works on Closing Day

Here is what happens on the legal side of a closing:

Before closing day

Your lawyer (or a law clerk under supervision) prepares the electronic documents in draft form inside Teraview. These typically include:

• Transfer — moves title from seller's name to buyer's name
• Charge — registers the buyer's mortgage against the property
• Discharge — removes the seller's existing mortgage from title

These draft documents are uploaded and "held" pending completion of the financial steps.

On closing day

Once the buyer's lawyer confirms that all closing funds are in trust and ready to be released, the two lawyers coordinate the final steps in a specific sequence:

1. Seller's lawyer authorizes the transfer document (signs it electronically within Teraview).
2. Buyer's lawyer submits the transfer and, simultaneously, registers the new mortgage.
3. Teraview processes the submission — typically within seconds to minutes.
4. The electronic parcel register is updated to reflect the new owner and the new mortgage.
5. The seller's lawyer releases the funds (or both steps happen nearly simultaneously, coordinated by lawyer agreement).

This coordinated "money and title at the same time" model replaced the old system of physically handing over a deed and then receiving a cheque.

The Role of "Undertakings"

Because electronic registration moves so quickly, lawyers use a system of written undertakings (legally binding promises) to bridge the gap between the financial exchange and the formal registry update.

For example, the seller's lawyer gives an undertaking to discharge the seller's mortgage after closing (because the mortgage company typically takes a few days to process a payoff and issue a formal discharge). The buyer's lawyer accepts this undertaking as assurance that the mortgage will be removed without the buyer having to wait days for it to appear on title.

These undertakings are standard practice and enforced by Law Society rules. If a lawyer fails to carry out an undertaking, they face professional discipline.

What the Electronic Registry Means for Buyers

Immediate certainty: Once the transfer registers in Teraview, you are the registered owner. There is no waiting period, no postal transit, no risk of documents being lost.

Public record: The parcel register is a public record. Anyone with Teraview access (any Ontario lawyer) can search who owns a property, what mortgages are registered against it, and what other encumbrances exist.

Priority rules: In Ontario's land registration system, priority is determined by time of registration, not by date of signing. If two mortgages are registered against the same property, the one registered first generally ranks first. This is why the sequence and timing of registration on closing day matters enormously to both the buyer and the lender.

Why Closings Have a Daily Cutoff

Teraview has a system cutoff time each business day (as of writing, typically late afternoon — verify with your lawyer, as this can change). No registrations can be submitted after that time. This is why:

• Closings that have not completed by late afternoon are at risk of rolling to the next business day
• Both lawyers work to have funds confirmed and documents ready well before the cutoff
• "Last-minute" transactions — those where funds arrive very late in the day — are stressful precisely because the registration window is closing

Frequently asked questions