How do I apply for a legal aid certificate?Updated March 19
Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) provides legal help to people in Ontario with very low incomes.
One way LAO helps is by giving people who qualify a . A legal aid certificate covers the cost of a private lawyer to work on their legal problem for a certain number of hours.
If you get a certificate, LAO pays the lawyer directly. You do not pay any money to the lawyer who accepts your certificate. Your legal aid certificate is supposed to cover all your lawyer's fees to deal with your legal problem. If your lawyer needs more time, they have to ask LAO to pay for more hours.
Before you can apply for a legal aid certificate, you need to check if you qualify for one.
To qualify for a legal aid certificate:
- your income and must be low enough
- your legal problem must be one that LAO covers
- your legal problem must be in Ontario
If you're in another province or territory, but your legal problem is in Ontario, call LAO at 1-800-668-8258 to see if they can help you.
LAO looks at income and assets based on the size of your family. If you get a legal aid certificate, you then have to find a lawyer who accepts them. Not all lawyers work with people who have a certificate.
