Ontario Court Records

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Canada

Ontario

Court Records

Pathfinder

• Ontario Court of Probate and Surrogate Court Records: Wills and Estate Files - A Pathfinder will take you step by step through the process of finding records.

Research Guides

• Criminal Justice Records at the Archives of Ontario
• How to Find a Will in Court Records
• Court Records on Interloan

Online Records

• 1828-1881 Court records, 1828-1881. Ontario. Court of Queen's Bench and Court of Common Pleas, Ontario.
• 1881-1937 Court records, 1881-1937. Ontario. Supreme Court and High Court of Justice
• 1882-1886 The Ontario Reports, Containing Reports of Cases Decided in the High Court of Justice for Ontario, index ($)

The Records

• Court records are subject to access restrictions for 100 years after their creation.
• Young Offender files are restricted by federal legislation and only the offenders themselves or law enforcement agencies can request access.
• Most recent records are still held by either the Ministry of the Attorney General, the courts, or the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services and their related agencies (OPP, Centre for Forensic Science, Office of the Fire Marshal, Ontario Parole Board).
• Court records include:
  • Prosecution and indictment records
    • Supreme Court Central Office Criminal Assize Clerk criminal indictment case files
    • Supreme Court Registrar’s criminal indictment files
    • Crown Attorney prosecution case files, 1865-1984
    • Central registry criminal and civil files
  • Criminal courts
    • Magistrates' Courts heir first Justice of the Peace. Few of these records have survived.
    • County or District Court Judge's Criminal Courts
    • Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace (1777-1867) and the Court of General Sessions (1868-1984)
    • The High Courts of Justice, which, over time, comprised of the Court of King's Bench (1794-1839), Court of Queen's Bench (1839-1881), Court of Common Pleas (1850-1881), Common Pleas Division (1881-1913), and Supreme Court (1881-1989).
    • Court of Appeal (1794-present)
    • Juvenile Court (1908-1953) and Juvenile and Family Court (1954-1968)
    • Unified Family Court
  • Criminal court records: Criminal proceedings generate criminal files, which may contain:
    • Minute books
    • Docket books
    • Procedure books
    • Judgment book
    • Order book

Archives of Ontario

• Microfilmed court records can be searched at the Archives of Ontario, requested in interlibrary loan for use in your local library, or you can hire a researcher from the provided list of individuals who are certified by the Board for Certification of Genealogists or who are members of the Association of Professional Genealogists.
  • Prepare for Your Visit to the Archives of Ontario.
  • For information and request forms for interlibrary loans, see What is the Microfilm Interloan Service?
  • Genealogical Researchers in Ontario

Superior Court of Justice: Courthouse Addresses and Telephone Numbers

This Table lists the Courthouse addresses and telephone numbers for each of Ontario's Counties and Districts.

References

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