OttawaSmallClaims.ca
EN

Terms of Service

Version 2026-10-06 · In effect October 6, 2026 · Applies to orders placed on www.ottawasmallclaims.ca

1. Who we are

OttawaSmallClaims.ca is a website operated by Alexander Salem, a sole proprietor ("we", "us").

  • Mailing address: 150 Elgin St, 8th Floor, Ottawa ON K2P 1L4
  • Email: contact@ottawasmallclaims.ca · support: support@ottawasmallclaims.ca · privacy: privacy@ottawasmallclaims.ca
  • Phone: given to customers in their account, under Help & support
  • GST/HST registration: 774585012RT0001

We serve Ontario Small Claims Court documents. We are not lawyers or licensed paralegals, we do not give legal advice, and we are not affiliated with any court or government body.

2. The service

When you place an order, we serve the document you upload on each person or business you name in the order (each a "recipient"), at the address you give, as follows:

  • Document: one of the following Ontario Small Claims Court documents, issued by that court and uploaded as one PDF with any schedules attached to it: - a Plaintiff’s Claim (Form 7A); - a Defendant’s Claim (Form 10A); - a Notice of Examination (Form 20H), at Ontario addresses only, with a serve-by date you give.

Documents to be served with it in the same envelope (a Notice to Alleged Partner, Form 5A, or a Financial Information Form, Form 20I) may be uploaded to the same order and are served together, as one service.

  • Where: addresses in Ontario, or in Quebec (for example in Gatineau) for a Plaintiff’s Claim or a Defendant’s Claim, within 100 km by road of the Ottawa Courthouse (161 Elgin Street). Farther addresses are quoted by email, outside these online terms.
  • Several people at one address: up to 4 recipients at the same address on one order. Each recipient after the first is served with their own copy and gets their own affidavit, on the same visits and attempts, at the price per person shown before you pay.
  • Second address (optional): you may give a second address for the same recipient (for example home and work). Attempts may be made at either address. The price is that of the farther address.
  • Linked orders: recipients at different addresses are separate orders. You may link them and pay for them together, in one payment. Each linked order keeps its own price, progress, affidavit, cancellation and refund.
  • Attempts: up to 3 attempts, on different days and at varying times. Additional attempts can be arranged from your account (Help & support).
  • Affidavit: for each recipient, a sworn Affidavit of Service (Form 8A), or an affidavit of attempted service if they could not be served after the included attempts. It states when, where and how the document was served, and is sworn before a commissioner for taking affidavits.
  • Printing: up to 12 pages per copy are included; extra pages are charged per page, for each copy.
  • Return: the original affidavit is sent by tracked mail to the mailing address in your account profile.
  • Rush (optional): the first attempt is made within 24 to 48 hours after your order is approved for dispatch.
  • Custom request (optional): see section 7.

Ontario court documents only. We serve only documents issued by the Ontario Small Claims Court. We do not serve documents of Quebec courts or tribunals (including the Small Claims Division of the Court of Québec) or of any other court. We are not bailiffs (in Quebec, huissiers de justice), we have no office or place of business in Quebec, and we go to an address in Quebec only to serve an Ontario document on a recipient there. Whether and how an Ontario document may be served in Quebec is for your court file (section 3).

We cannot guarantee that a recipient will be served: people move, avoid service or cannot be found. The price covers the attempts and the affidavit whatever the outcome; an attempt counts even if the recipient no longer lives or works at the address you gave.

3. Your responsibilities

You confirm that:

  • the document you upload is an Ontario Small Claims Court document and has been issued by that court, not by a court or tribunal of Quebec or of any other jurisdiction (a claim shows the court file number, the court’s seal and the date of issue; a Notice of Examination shows the court file number, the date of the examination and the clerk’s signature or the court’s seal);
  • you have uploaded everything that is to be served with it;
  • you are a party to the court file, or authorized by a party, and the name and mailing address in your profile are yours as they appear on the document;
  • each recipient’s name and address (and any second address), and any description, photo or access details you give to help identify them, are accurate to the best of your knowledge and were obtained lawfully;
  • you are entitled to have this document served.

You are responsible for your court file, including choosing the document to serve, who it must be served on, how it may be served, and any deadlines for serving it and for filing the affidavit with the court. Confirm these with the court or an Ontario lawyer or paralegal: we do not advise on them.

What we check. We check the form number and that the document appears to have been issued. We do not check its content or whether it is the right document for your case. We never complete or change your documents.

Court attendance. Attendance at court by the process server is not included. If you ask for it, we quote it separately.

Serve-by date. You may give a date you would like service done by (for a Notice of Examination, you must give one). It is for scheduling only: we do not check it against any court rule or deadline, and we do not advise on it. We try to meet it but do not guarantee it, and we are not responsible for a missed court deadline or limitation period. We do not give legal advice.

4. Your account

You sign in with a one-time code sent to your email; there is no password. Keep access to your email secure: anyone who can read it can sign in to your account.

5. Prices, taxes and payment

  • Prices are in Canadian dollars and are shown, line by line, with taxes and the total, before you pay. The price you pay is the one shown when you start checkout.
  • Every price includes a $15 booking and technology fee, which is not refundable once you have paid.
  • GST or HST is added at the rate for the province of the mailing address in your profile when you pay.
  • Payment is processed by Stripe on its secure page. We never see or store your card number.
  • After payment, Stripe issues an invoice (showing our GST/HST number) and a receipt. The confirmation email links to both, and they stay available on the order’s page in your account.

The document, the people and the address set the price. The price is based on the document served, the number of recipients at the address, the address you give (or the farther of two addresses for the same recipient) and the driving route from the Ottawa Courthouse shown on the map when you order. It does not change after you pay, except for a serious error (for example, the address or the route shown is wrong) or a change of address you ask for.

  • If you think there is an error, tell us from your account (Help & support). We look into it and, if you paid more than you should have, we refund the difference.
  • If we find the price should be higher, we tell you the difference (plus tax) and your order is on hold until you pay it. We never charge it without your agreement. You may instead cancel: with a full refund if the error is ours, or under the refund policy if it comes from information you gave us or a change you asked for. Without an answer within 14 days, the order is cancelled on the same terms.
  • If you want another address (for example, the recipient’s workplace instead of their home), ask from your account (Help & support) before the included attempts are used up. It applies once we confirm it. Attempts already made count toward the included ones; the rest are made at the new address. The new address must be one we serve online (section 2) and is priced as if ordered then. If it costs less, the price does not change. If it costs more, your order is on hold until you pay the difference; you may instead keep the original address at no charge, or cancel under the refund policy. Without an answer within 14 days, the order continues at the original address.

6. Document verification and holds

We review your document before dispatch. If the document does not appear to have been issued by the Ontario Small Claims Court, your order is put on hold and we tell you why. You then have 14 days to:

  • upload an issued copy (a $25 re-verification fee applies, plus printing for any additional pages beyond those already paid for), or
  • cancel, with a refund under the refund policy.

Without an answer within 14 days, the order is cancelled and refunded under the refund policy. We send reminders before that.

Other holds. We may also put an order on hold if anything that affects the service or its price changes after you pay. We tell you why and what you can do; you can always cancel under the refund policy.

7. Custom requests

You may add a custom request to your order (for example, a time of day or a specific instruction). We review it after payment. We may or may not be able to do it, and it may carry an additional fee:

  • If a fee applies, we tell you the amount (plus tax) and your order is on hold until you pay it. No re-verification fee applies. You may instead continue without the request, at no charge. Without an answer within 14 days, the order continues without it.
  • If we cannot do it, we tell you and the order continues as normal.

A custom request is part of your order only once we accept it and, where a fee applies, you have paid it.

8. Cancellations and refunds

See the Cancellation and refund policy, which forms part of these terms. In short: before dispatch, you get back what you paid less the booking and technology fee and the card processing fee; after dispatch, less also the dispatch fee, the attempts made and the add-ons; once the recipient is served or all included attempts are made, no refund applies. You may also remove one recipient at an address while the rest of the order goes on, and linked orders are cancelled and refunded one by one.

If we stop an order. We may refuse or stop an order, for example if the address is unsafe or cannot be reached, the document is not one we serve (section 2), or the service would be unlawful. We tell you why. If the reason is not your doing, we refund everything you paid; otherwise the refund policy applies.

9. Support

Signed-in customers ask for help from their account (Help & support), where the phone number is also given. We reply within 1 business day (Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 17:00).

10. Emails

We email you about your account and orders (sign-in codes, receipts, progress). If you start an order and do not finish it, we may send reminders for up to 6 months; each one lets you unsubscribe in one click.

11. Liability

We perform the service with the care of a reasonable process server. To the extent the law allows, our total liability for an order is limited to the amount you paid for it, and we are not responsible for the outcome of your court file or for losses caused by inaccurate information you gave us. Nothing in these terms limits rights you have that the law does not allow to be waived.

12. Privacy

How we handle personal information, including the recipient’s, is described in the Privacy policy.

13. Accepting these terms, and changes

You accept these terms and the refund policy by ticking the box before payment; the version you accepted is recorded with your order and linked from your confirmation email. We may update these terms; the version in force when you paid applies to your order.

14. Law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada that apply there. Contact us first at contact@ottawasmallclaims.ca: most problems are solved quickly. This does not limit any right you have to go to court or to a consumer protection authority.