An ordered plan for turning an Ontario court judgment into money in your account.
Who this is for & what you'll get: You're an Ontario creditor who has won — a judge or the Small Claims Court has ordered someone to pay you, or you have a default judgment — but the money hasn't arrived. This action plan walks you, in order, through finding the debtor's assets, choosing an enforcement tool, dealing with a debtor who has nothing, and deciding when to bring in a paralegal, lawyer, or bailiff.
⚖️ This is a general guide, not legal advice. It can't account for your specific situation. Use it to get oriented, then confirm the details with a licensed Ontario lawyer.
The hard truth: the court won't collect for you
A judgment is a court's finding that you are owed money. It is not a cheque, and the court does not chase the debtor on your behalf. Enforcement (collecting) is a separate job, and it falls to you, the judgment creditor. The person who owes you is the judgment debtor.
The good news: Ontario gives creditors real tools, and most of the process is procedural — file the right form, with the right court, in the right order. This plan moves from information to action.
⚠️ Watch out: Do not contact the debtor with threats, call their workplace repeatedly, or "show up to embarrass them." Aggressive collection conduct can expose you to liability and can sour a judge if you ever return to court. Use the legal tools instead.
Phase 1 — First 24–72 hours: get organized
Before you spend a dollar chasing the debtor, get your file in order.
- Confirm the judgment is final. Make sure any appeal period has passed and there is no order staying (pausing) enforcement.
- Get a certified copy of the judgment or order from the court that issued it. You'll need it for most enforcement steps.
- Total what you're owed. This includes the judgment amount, any costs the court awarded, and post-judgment interest, which generally accrues at a court-set rate from the date of judgment. Confirm the current rate with the court.
- Decide which court enforces. Small Claims Court judgments are enforced through the Small Claims Court; Superior Court of Justice judgments through that court. Know which one is yours.
- Send one clear demand. A short, professional letter stating the amount owed and a deadline to pay sometimes works — and it creates a paper trail. Many debtors pay once they realize you're serious.
✅ You're ready to move on when: you have a certified copy of the judgment, a running total of what's owed (with interest), and you know which court enforces it.
Phase 2 — Find the money: the examination in aid of execution
You can't garnish a bank account you can't name or seize a property you don't know about. This is where many creditors stall — and where the law gives you a powerful tool.
An examination in aid of execution (sometimes called a judgment debtor examination) is a formal, under-oath questioning of the debtor about their finances. You can ask about:
- Their employer and income
- Bank accounts and where they bank
- Real estate they own
- Vehicles, valuable assets, and other property
- Money other people owe them
- Their debts and reasons for not paying
The debtor is required to attend and answer. If they don't show up, the court can order further steps — and persistent refusal can have serious consequences. This examination is the single most important information-gathering step in collection, because it tells you which enforcement tool will actually work.
Tip: Before the examination, do your own homework. A property search, a corporate search (if the debtor is a business), and a review of anything in your existing file can reveal assets and let you ask sharper questions.
✅ You're ready to move on when: you know where the debtor banks, who pays them, and what they own — or you've confirmed there's nothing to find (jump to Phase 5).
Phase 3 — Pick your enforcement tool
Ontario's main enforcement tools each suit a different situation. You can use more than one, and you can come back and use another later. Here's how they compare.
| Tool | Goes after | Best when | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garnishment | Wages or bank accounts | The debtor has a steady employer or money sitting in an account | Only a portion of wages is reachable; the account may be near-empty when served |
| Writ of seizure and sale | Real estate (and, in theory, goods) | The debtor owns property in a county/region | Mortgages and prior claims often get paid first |
| Re-examination | New information | Time has passed and the debtor's situation may have changed | It's a finding tool, not a payment tool |
Garnishing wages
A garnishment orders a third party who owes the debtor money — usually their employer (wages) or their bank (account balance) — to pay that money to the court instead, which forwards it to you. With wages, only a portion can be garnished; the law protects a percentage so the debtor can still live, and certain income (like some social assistance) is generally protected entirely. A garnishment can repeat over multiple pay periods until the debt is paid.
Garnishing a bank account
The same tool aimed at a bank captures whatever is in the account at the moment the garnishment is served. Timing matters: a paycheque-day strike may catch more than a strike the day before. You generally need to name the bank (and ideally the branch), which is exactly what the examination in Phase 2 is for.
Writ of seizure and sale (a lien on property)
A writ of seizure and sale is filed with the court enforcement office for the area where the debtor owns property. Once registered against land, it acts like a lien: the debtor usually cannot sell or refinance the property without dealing with your claim, and proceeds from a sale can flow to you. In practice, forcing a sale is slow and expensive, and any mortgage and prior-registered claims are typically paid ahead of you — so a writ is often most valuable as a claim that gets paid when the debtor eventually sells or remortgages.
Re-examination
If the debtor was broke today but may not be in a year, you can examine them again later. People change jobs, inherit money, or sell assets. Patience is a legitimate strategy.
✅ You're ready to move on when: you've matched a tool to an asset you actually located and filed the right enforcement document with the right court office.
Phase 4 — Decision points
Use this quick decision tree once you know what the debtor has.
- Debtor has a steady job? → Consider wage garnishment for reliable, repeating recovery.
- Debtor has money in a bank but unstable income? → Consider a bank-account garnishment, timed if you can.
- Debtor owns real estate but little cash? → File a writ of seizure and sale and wait for a sale or refinance.
- Debtor is a corporation that's still operating? → Look at its receivables and accounts; a garnishment of money its customers owe it may work.
- Debtor appears to have nothing right now? → Go to Phase 5, and plan to re-examine later.
Scenario: You hold a judgment against a former contractor. At the examination you learn he works full-time for a renovation company and rents his home. Real estate enforcement is useless (he owns none), but a wage garnishment served on his employer is ideal — it pulls a slice of each paycheque until you're paid.
Phase 5 — When the debtor is "judgment-proof"
Sometimes the honest answer is that the debtor has no reachable assets — no job, no equity, no savings. This person is often called judgment-proof. It doesn't mean you'll never collect; it means you can't collect today.
Your options:
- Wait and re-examine. Under Ontario's Limitations Act, 2002, there is no limitation period for a proceeding to enforce a court order — so the judgment itself does not simply expire. What does run out is the writ: a writ of seizure and sale stays in force for a set period and must be renewed before it lapses, and once enough years have passed since the judgment you may need the court's leave to issue one (confirm the current periods and process). Keeping the writ alive preserves your position while the debtor's situation may improve.
- Register a writ anyway. Even if the debtor owns nothing now, a registered writ can catch property they buy or inherit later, and it positions you to be paid if they ever sell.
- Monitor. Set a reminder to re-examine periodically and to renew your writ before it lapses.
- Weigh the cost. Throwing more money at enforcement against someone with nothing rarely pays off. Sometimes the right call is to preserve the judgment and pause active pursuit.
⚠️ Deadline callout: Don't let your writ quietly lapse. The judgment itself does not expire in Ontario, but a writ of seizure and sale is only in force for a set period and must be renewed to keep working — and once enough years have passed since the judgment, you may need the court's leave to issue a new one. Diarize the writ's renewal date, and verify the current periods — they are not something to estimate.
What enforcement costs
Enforcement is rarely free, and the costs come from a few sources:
- Court / enforcement fees for filing writs, issuing garnishments, and conducting examinations. Confirm current amounts with the court — they change.
- Bailiff or enforcement officer fees where physical seizure or service is involved.
- Professional fees if you hire a paralegal or lawyer.
- Your time.
Many of these costs can be added to the amount the debtor owes, so you may recover them — if you ultimately collect. Spend in proportion to what you're likely to recover and what the debtor actually has.
Who to bring in: paralegal, lawyer, or bailiff
| Professional | What they do | When to use them |
|---|---|---|
| Licensed paralegal | Can handle many Small Claims Court enforcement steps — garnishments, examinations, writs | Cost-effective for straightforward Small Claims collection |
| Lawyer | Handles Superior Court enforcement, larger or contested matters, complex asset tracing | Higher-value judgments, hidden assets, or fights over enforcement |
| Bailiff / enforcement officer | Carries out physical seizure and certain enforcement steps under court authority | When a writ leads to seizure of goods or you need formal enforcement on the ground |
You can also self-represent — much of enforcement is form-driven. But a half-hour with a paralegal or lawyer at the outset often saves months by pointing you straight at the tool that fits your debtor.
Mini-FAQ
How long do I have to enforce a judgment? In Ontario there is no limitation period for enforcing a court order, so the judgment itself doesn't expire. But the enforcement tools are time-limited — a writ of seizure and sale must be renewed before it lapses, and leave of the court may be needed to issue one long after the judgment. Confirm the current periods and steps with the court — don't rely on a remembered number.
Can I charge the debtor interest? Yes — post-judgment interest generally runs from the date of judgment at a court-set rate. Confirm the current rate.
The debtor moved provinces. Now what? A judgment can often be enforced in another province through a recognition process. This gets technical fast — get advice.
Can I garnish someone's entire paycheque? No. Only a portion of wages is reachable, and some income is protected. The rest stays with the debtor.
How Treadstone Law can help
Winning is only half the battle — collecting is the other half, and it's where a clear plan pays off. Treadstone Law helps Ontario creditors enforce judgments efficiently: locating assets through examinations, issuing garnishments and writs, and deciding when to push and when to wait.
- Flat, transparent fees for defined enforcement steps — you'll know the cost before we start.
- Online intake — open your file from anywhere in Ontario at treadstonelaw.ca/start-file.
- Talk to a person — call 1-844-900-1070.
- Learn more about our litigation services at treadstonelaw.ca/litigation, see typical costs at treadstonelaw.ca/pricing, or start now at treadstonelaw.ca/start-file.
We serve clients across Ontario, with an office in Mississauga and full virtual service province-wide.
This is not legal advice
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Ontario laws, tax rates, and government programs change, and how the law applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, speak with a licensed Ontario lawyer. Treadstone Law is licensed by the Law Society of Ontario — reach us at 1-844-900-1070 or start a file online.