Getting legal help
Do you need legal help?
Legal Aid Ontario provides legal assistance for low-income people. Services include:
- legal representation for eligible clients who appear in court without a lawyer;
- legal aid applications and information over the phone;
- legal resources and referrals to other social assistance agencies; and
- a certificate program for complex and serious cases.
If Legal Aid Ontario cannot help, we will refer you somewhere that can.
Am I eligible for legal aid?
To get legal aid services, your legal issue must be one that Legal Aid Ontario covers, and you must be financially eligible. Usually, this means that:
- you have little or no money left after paying for basic things like food and housing, and;
- your legal problem is one that is covered by LAO.
Find out more about legal aid eligibility.
Types of help
To find out more about our services, select the type of law below that best fits your legal issue:
Domestic violence
Legal Aid Ontario has special services to help victims of domestic violence. If you are experiencing violence or the effects of violence, crisis and abuse, find information on getting immediate help.
Criminal
Legal Aid Ontario offers legal help for a number of criminal charges. Find out if your legal matter is eligible.
Youth crime
If you are charged with a crime and were under the age of 18 at the time of arrest, read about legal aid and the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Family
Legal Aid Ontario assists eligible clients with family issues such as child custody, access and support.
Immigration and refugee
Legal Aid Ontario assists with immigration and refugee matters, such as hearings before the Immigration and Refugee Board.
You can also find a copy of the Client & Lawyer Rights and Responsibilities in your language.
Civil
Legal Aid Ontario helps elgible clients with mental health hearings or appeals. For workplace safety or insurance appeals, employment benefits, government assistance issues, or other tribunals and civil proceedings, a community legal clinic may be able to help.
Housing
Financially eligible tenants may be able to get information, legal advice and representation from community legal clinics for housing issues including:
- Helping tenants when landlords refuse to provide needed repairs to a rental property
- Assisting with hearings at the Landlord Tenant Board Administrative Tribunal
Government assistance
Community legal clinics can help with government assistance cases such as:
- Appeals, cancellation or suspension of Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) or Ontario Works (OW).
Out of province
Legal Aid Ontario may be able to help even if your legal matter takes place in another Canadian province or territory. Call 1-800-668-8258 to speak to a legal aid representative.
Are you Aboriginal?
Services to Aboriginal clients are a priority. First Nations people, Métis people and Inuit people are encouraged to self-identify their Aboriginal ancestry.
Other resources
If your don’t see your legal issue here, please refer to our resources section for links to other agencies and online sources that may be able to help.
Help in the courtroom
If you're at the courthouse and do not have a lawyer, you can get legal help and advice from duty counsel. These are lawyers who can give immediate legal assistance. Duty counsel are located in many courthouses in Ontario.
Please note that you should speak to duty counsel before your court appearance.
Community legal clinics
Legal Aid Ontario funds 77 community legal clinics throughout the province. Thirteen of these clinics provide specialty legal services.
Each is a non-profit legal centre, governed by an independant board of directors representative of the community it serves. Clinics employ lawyers, legal workers, paralegals and administrative staff to provide information, legal advice and representation.
Are you Aboriginal?
Services to Aboriginal clients are a priority. First Nations people, Métis people and Inuit people are encouraged to self-identify their Aboriginal ancestry.
Find out why it is important to tell your lawyer you are Aboriginal.
