Certificates of Validation

Landowners and/or their representatives can apply for a certificate of validation to make a document, or documents, that previously went against the Planning Act void. It is used to correct Planning Act errors and mistakes from the past.

What is a Certificate of Validation?

A certificate of validation is obtained to make valid a document or documents that previously contravened the Planning Act and were void or lapsed.

Council may issue these certificates if the contravention of section 50 or a predecessor of it or of a bylaw passed under a predecessor of section 50 or of an order made under clause 27 (1)(b) of the Planning Act (as read on June 25, 1970) or a predecessor of it, does not prevent the conveyance of or creation of any interest in such land.

When do I need a Certificate of Title application?

Section 57 of the Ontario Planning Act is most often used to validate or correct a prior registered document that breached the Act and that thereby did not create an interest in land. The certificate deems the contravention never to have had the effect of invalidating the document. It is used to correct prior Planning Act errors and mistakes.

The effect of the validation certificate may be to create a new parcel for Planning Act purposes but more typically creates a valid document that relates to an already publicly recognized and existing separate parcel of land.