Key takeaways
- The signing appointment usually happens shortly before closing day, not on closing day itself.
- You typically sign an Acknowledgement and Direction authorising the electronic transfer and charge, your lender’s documents, and Land Transfer Tax declarations, and review the statement of adjustments and your closing-funds statement.
- Your lawyer will tell you what to bring and when — usually identification, banking details, and the balance of your funds (down payment plus closing costs).
- It can often be done in person at your lawyer’s office or remotely by video.
What is a signing appointment?
Your signing appointment is a meeting with your own lawyer, held shortly before closing, to sign the documents that finish your home purchase. Think of it as the moment everything you have arranged — your mortgage, your deposit, your closing costs — gets put on paper and made official.
This appointment is with your own lawyer, not your agent or your lender. The legal work behind it — the advice on what you are signing, the title opinion, and the compliance-with-law statements that electronic registration requires — can only come from a lawyer. That does not mean every minute of the appointment is spent with the lawyer personally. Trained staff in a lawyer’s office routinely help with identity verification and the mechanics of signing, and some firms arrange for documents to be signed after the lawyer has explained their legal effect. What does not change is that the lawyer remains responsible for the file and for the advice. If you want the lawyer present while you sign, ask — practices differ from firm to firm.
By the time you sit down, your lawyer has already done the behind-the-scenes work — searching title, reviewing your mortgage instructions, and preparing the numbers. The appointment is where you confirm and complete it.
When does it happen?
The signing appointment usually takes place a few days before your closing date, rather than on closing day itself. Your lawyer will tell you when your appointment is once the file is ready.
The gap matters. Signing a few days early gives your lawyer time to register everything, exchange documents with the seller’s lawyer, and move the money on the actual closing day without a last-minute rush. It also gives you time to arrange the balance of your funds so it is ready when your lawyer needs it.
Your lawyer’s office will reach out to book the appointment once the file is ready. If your schedule is tight, tell them early so they can find a time that works.
What will you sign?
At the appointment, your lawyer will have a stack of documents ready for your signature. Here is what you typically sign and review:
- An Acknowledgement and Direction. In Ontario, the transfer and the mortgage are electronic documents that your lawyer signs and registers. You do not sign the registered document itself. Instead you sign an Acknowledgement and Direction, in which you acknowledge the contents of the electronic transfer (and charge) and authorise your lawyer to sign and register them for you.
- Your lender’s documents. These commit you to your loan and its terms and typically include acknowledgements the lender requires, along with the Acknowledgement and Direction for the electronic charge.
- Land Transfer Tax declarations. These are the statements the electronic land transfer tax affidavit requires, including any first-time buyer refund claim. They are made on the basis of what you tell your lawyer, so read them.
- The statement of adjustments and your closing-funds statement. You review the statement of adjustments to see how shared costs — property taxes, for instance — are apportioned at closing. The total you actually have to send is set out in your lawyer’s trust or closing-funds statement, which also accounts for your deposit, Land Transfer Tax and legal fees.
Your lawyer will explain each document in plain terms. This is your chance to ask questions, so speak up if anything is unclear before you sign.
What should you bring?
Come prepared so the appointment runs smoothly. Your lawyer will tell you exactly what to bring and when, but you will generally need something along these lines:
- Identification. Your lawyer is required to verify your identity, so bring valid identification — typically government-issued, such as a driver’s licence or a passport. Your lawyer’s office will tell you exactly which forms they accept and how many pieces they need.
- Your banking details. Your lender usually needs your banking information so it can set up pre-authorized mortgage payments — the automatic monthly payments that come out of your account. This is often supplied with a void cheque (a cheque with “VOID” written across it), but if you do not have paper cheques, most banks can give you a “pre-authorized debit” or “direct deposit” form with the same information. No money moves because of a void cheque; it only shows where your payments will come from.
- The balance of your funds. You will need to arrange the money still owing — your down payment plus your closing costs — so it reaches your lawyer’s trust account in time. More on how to do this below.
Your lawyer’s office will confirm what to bring when they book the appointment, so follow their instructions and bring anything else they ask for.
How do you arrange the balance of funds?
Your lawyer works out the exact figure and sets it out in your trust or closing-funds statement. That document, not the seller’s statement of adjustments, is where the total you need to send appears — it starts from the price, applies the adjustments, then adds Land Transfer Tax, legal fees, disbursements and title insurance and credits your deposit and mortgage advance.
This money typically moves by bank draft or wire transfer, because your lawyer usually needs certified, guaranteed funds — not a personal cheque that could bounce. A bank draft is a payment guaranteed by your bank; a wire is an electronic transfer straight into your lawyer’s trust account. Your lawyer will tell you which method they prefer.
A few tips:
- Confirm the exact amount, the accepted payment method, and the deadline with your lawyer before you go to the bank.
- Arrange the funds ahead of the deadline your lawyer gives you, not the morning of, so there is no risk of a delay.
- If you are wiring money, double-check the account details directly with your lawyer’s office to avoid fraud.
Without these funds in place, your lawyer cannot complete the purchase and closing can be delayed.
Can you sign in person or by video?
Often, yes. Many Ontario firms offer remote signing by video, and it has become common. It is not universal, and it is not available for every document. Your lawyer has to verify your identity in the way the Law Society’s by-laws require, some documents may still need an original wet signature delivered by courier, and lender or title insurer requirements can rule remote signing out on a particular file. Ask your lawyer’s office early what they offer for your transaction.
A video appointment can be convenient if you live far away, travel for work, or simply prefer not to come in. Your lawyer will still verify your identity and walk you through every document on screen. Ask your lawyer’s office which option they offer and what you would need for a video signing — for example, a device with a camera and a way to return signed paperwork.
Either way, the goal is the same: you understand and sign your documents, and your lawyer has everything needed to close.