How to bill

Billing basics at Legal Aid Ontario

New to legal aid work? Need a review of billing procedures? This page covers the basics of the billing process, and includes useful links to billing resources. Bookmark this page for quick reference.

Before you get started

Here’s what you need to know before you can bill Legal Aid Ontario:

1. Before you start submitting accounts, you should read through the information provided on this page, and in the Accounts and billing section. Watch the billing tutorials, and get to know the process before you start submitting accounts. This ensures that your accounts will be more accurate, and that you’ll get paid on time.

2. You should also be familiar with important resources that are particular to your area of law or the Client & Lawyer Rights and Responsibilities

Billing online

Legal Aid Online is a secure online billing portal. All lawyers must use Legal Aid Online to submit their accounts. Learn how online billing works, how to set up your account, and watch a video tutorial.

Log on to Legal Aid Online, or download a copy of the online billing guide.

Tariff and Billing Handbook

The Tariff and Billing Handbook is a plain language guide to policies, procedures, and regulations for legal aid billing and the tariff. It is intended for lawyers (and their staff) already on a legal aid roster, duty counsel and/or private bar lawyers. Find out more about the legal aid tariff.

Resources

Billing Checklist

• Billing checklist

Billing tips

• Criminal lawyers
• Family lawyers
• Immigration and refugee lawyers
• Deadlines for certificate accounts
• Big Case Management (BCM) files
• Complex Case Rate (CCR) files

Legal research

Contact LAO LAW for your research needs.

Payment schedules

Standard accounts are paid to the tariff maximum within 60 days. Find out more about LAO’s payment schedule