Practical tips for refugee roster lawyers: Billing, coverage & certificates

Updated: December 30, 2025

1. General billing procedures

Can I submit multiple accounts for the same time period for different individual service providers (e.g., law clerk and lawyer)?

Services that cover the same period should be submitted together on one online account as cross-referencing multiple accounts is more time consuming and may delay payments. Online accounts will be paid up to the tariff maximum and only hours in excess of the tariff will go under consideration, so there is generally no benefit to submitting separate accounts.

Accounts totalling less than $500.00 should not be submitted, except in order to meet billing deadlines.

What dates should be used for first and last date of service in interim billing?

The fields for the first and last date of service in all online accounts (interim, final and supplementary) must correspond to the first and last date of service contained in the docket attached to the account. The docket attached to an account must contain the services being billed on that account.

Can I bill for time spent waiting for an IRB member to prepare an oral decision after testimony has concluded during a hearing?

Yes, LAO considers this time as hearing time. The IRB data that LAO uses to confirm hearing time includes this time as well.

Are breaks during hearings billable?

Breaks taken during a hearing may be included in attendance time with the exception of a lunch break; a lunch break during a full day hearing may not be included as hearing attendance time.

Can I bill for pre-hearing login time or check-in procedures?

Time spent prior to the start of the hearing for any purpose (e.g. reviewing the file, preparing the client, speaking with an interpreter, interacting with IRB staff) is considered preparation time and is included in the tariff maximum. It may not be billed as hearing time.

Can pre-hearing conferences that are off the record be billed as hearing time?

No, counsel can only bill hearing attendance time when the member arrives in the hearing room and goes on record to commence the hearing or to discuss pre-hearing matters.

Can I bill short hearings that are rescheduled as hearing time?

Only if the hearing actually commenced or pre-hearing matters are discussed on the record. Hearing time may only be billed “if the matter is reached, evidence led and/or submissions made, which does not include submissions in support of or opposing an adjournment”.

If the matter does not proceed and is rescheduled, it may not be billed as hearing time even where preparation was conducted in anticipation of and understanding that the matter would proceed on the scheduled hearing date.

Can I bill after a year of inactivity on a file?

Yes, as long as the account is submitted within the billing deadline.

What happens if I submit an account for services provided more than 30 days before the certificate was issued?

Any fees paid for services that were provided more than 30 days prior to the effective date of the certificate are subject to recovery. By default, the effective date of a certificate is the date the certificate was issued. If services were provided more than 30 days prior to the effective date, roster members must request that the certificate be backdated prior to submitting an account.

When will a certificate be backdated and how can I request backdating?

To request backdating, lawyers should make a request in the ‘Certificate Amendment’ section of Legal Aid Online including the first date that services were provided and explaining the reason why services were provided before the certificate was issued.

The limited circumstances where backdating will be considered are set out in Rule 50 of the Legal Aid Services Rules, which provides that LAO shall not issue a certificate or amend a certificate without retroactive effect unless:

• Services were provided in an urgent situation, and notice that the services were provided was delivered to LAO within a reasonable time after they were provided
• The client would have qualified for legal aid services at the time the services were provided
• No previous application for the same services has been refused
• The lawyer has not offered or accepted a private retainer or other payment or benefit for the legal aid services

Can I bill if a claim is withdrawn or abandoned?

Yes, fees for services provided prior to the client withdrawing the claim or the claim being abandoned may be billed as a final account. Your detailed account should include a description of what happened to the refugee claim.

Can I change a bill from final to interim?

No, once an account is submitted the account type cannot be changed. If you have billed a final account in error, you may submit a supplementary account.

2. Certificates and coverage

What does a certificate cover, and how should I explain it to clients?

A legal aid certificate is an agreement issued by LAO to clients who are eligible for representation by a roster lawyer. Certificates cover the specific services which are listed on the certificate. In some cases, certificates can also be amended to cover additional related services (for example, refugee hearings), which are typically also listed on the certificate. The services authorized on a certificate have a maximum number of hours listed. When lawyers accept a legal aid certificate, LAO agrees to pay up to the maximum number of hours, but lawyers agree to represent the client in the matter up to its completion, provided the client remains eligible for services, even if the work required is above the maximum hours available. LAO will pay for work above the maximum tariff hours in extraordinary circumstances in what is known as a discretion request.

Certificates also cover the cost of disbursements reasonably necessary to support the legal services authorized on the certificate, including translation and interpretation services. The Disbursements Handbook provides the policy on this coverage.

Can I have a client sign a merit-contingent retainer before the merit decision is made?

LAO understands that for refugee appeals and judicial reviews, which are only authorized after lawyers submit merit assessments, lawyers may wish to have clients sign merit-contingent retainers which state that if LAO determines there is insufficient merit, the client will be required to pay a private retainer for the appeal or JR work.

These retainers are permitted only if the roster lawyer does not take any deposit from the client until after the lawyer has received the decision from LAO that there is insufficient merit to the appeal or judicial review. This is because in no circumstance may a roster lawyer take money from a client for a service covered by an active certificate, or for a service which the certificate states could be covered by the certificate.

If merit is denied, do I need to report private charges to LAO?

Yes. If, at the time of billing, a lawyer has entered a private retainer for the same or related matter, details of the private retainer must be attached to the lawyer’s online account.

Can I continue representing a client after submitting a final bill?

Final accounts should be submitted when the services authorized by the certificate have been completed or the lawyer is no longer able to act for the client.

In order to accept a private retainer, the client must request that the certificate be cancelled, submitting a final account does not permit roster members to request a private retainer. See section 2.7.2 Final accounts in the Billing and Tariff handbook.

Can I bill after a certificate has been cancelled?

Yes, however only fees and disbursements for services provided up to cancellation date can be billed, in addition to fees for services relating to the steps necessary to be removed as lawyer of record immediately after the date of cancellation are allowed.

Ensure that you review the reasons for the cancellation. Some circumstances can be easily rectified in order to bring the certificate back into good standing. For example, a certificate cancelled due to the client’s failure to provide a signed consent and declaration can be addressed by providing the required document.

3. Interpreter and language services

What are the current interpretation hour limits)?

A total of thirteen (13) first and subsequent interpreter hours can be billed without prior authorization. If additional hours are necessary, please submit a request through the portal to the Lawyer Services and Payments department.

Can interpreter invoice hours be combined when submitting?

Interpreter invoices should be submitted with the respective online account with the corresponding legal services. If you have two invoices covering two different periods for legal services, attach the respective one to the respective account.

Why are there different rates for first and subsequent interpreter hours?

When the LAO tariff was established, many interpreter services charged a higher rate for the first hour than subsequent hours and the payment schedule reflects this.

What if an interpreter doesn’t charge HST but the system adds it?

LAO is required to pay HST on all disbursements, regardless of whether counsel was charged HST on the expense or not.

Can multilingual lawyers bill for interpreters even if they speak the language?

LAO expects that lawyers who are fluent in the client’s language will communicate directly with the client, as a privately paying client of modest means would not authorize the payment of an interpreter in these circumstances. However, some multilingual lawyers may prefer to use an interpreter to read back a finalized Basis of Claim (BOC) form and narrative at the time the BOC is signed. Lawyers could bill interpretation for document finalization in such circumstances.

What is the process for requesting additional interpretation funding?

Roster lawyers should write to Lawyer Services and Payments indicating how many first and subsequent hours they need and the reason for the additional hours. The request should be uploaded through Legal Aid Online by clicking on the “Submit materials to LSP, Audit, Case Management” link found under the ‘Certificate’ tab.

4. Dockets and documentation

When LAO requires that details of related private retainers be attached to certificate accounts, can a letter suffice in place of a detailed docket for flat fee retainers?

No. Dockets are required to determine whether services under the private retainer have overlapped the effective date of the certificate, and if so, to what extent. They are also necessary to determine whether the private retainer fees billed are reasonable.

Are start and end times required for all entries over 0.1 hours?

No. Times of day, which includes both start and end times, are only required for services of 0.5 of an hour or more.

Should the date of a disbursement invoice date align with the docket date?

No, the issue date of a disbursement invoice does not need to align with the date the lawyer is finalizing and submitting an account billing the disbursement. Disbursement invoices must be issued by the vendor (e.g. interpreter, psychologist, etc.) and vendors may issue invoices at different dates according to their business practices. Disbursement invoices must, however, specific all of the dates and times of day when services were provided by the vendor.

Is it mandatory to include the board member’s name in the docket when hearing services are being billed?

When billing hearing time, the docket should provide details with respect to the attendance. For example, dockets should name the board member hearing the matter, whether the hearing proceeded, whether it was adjourned and whether a decision was given at the conclusion of the hearing. This information is necessary in order to calculate the tariff correctly.

What happens if the account is not submitted by the acknowledging lawyer?

Online accounts may be submitted by a roster member’s staff and they are settled in the same manner as those submitted by the roster member. The name and contact information of the person submitting the online account must also be provided in the corresponding space on the account submission page. As a reminder, roster members are required to review the online account and dockets, prior to it being submitted by their staff.

5. Discretionary increases and appeals

Can I request a retroactive discretionary increase for BOC billing?

Yes, retroactive discretion requests can be made within 60 days of the account being paid. Forms to request discretion can be found in our online Forms Library. The criteria for establishing exceptional circumstances can be found in the Tariff and Billing Handbook at 2.9.1 and following.

Is a discretionary increase available for rescheduled hearings?

Discretionary payments will be considered where the roster member in their discretion request has demonstrated exceptional circumstances. A single instance of a hearing being rescheduled may not be considered exceptional. However, multiple rescheduling’s or other out of the ordinary events may be considered exceptional. For additional information on the criteria considered, please see section 2.9.1 and following of the Tariff and Billing Handbook.

What are the criteria for a successful discretion request?

A successful discretion request will include:

• A brief narrative of the nature of the case;
• The issues involved;
• Any special difficulties or complications;
• The progress of the case resulting from the work billed;
• The purpose and outcome of any court attendances;
• The exceptional circumstances of the case which justify an increase in fees.

In addition, the attached dockets should be sufficiently detailed to show the work involved.

The exceptional circumstance guidelines for refugee cases are:

• Results

  • Successful refugee claim – IRB country acceptance rate of 20% or less

• Complexity

  • Exclusion raised
  • Ministerial intervention
  • Multiple countries of citizenship
  • Novel claim types

• Any other relevant factor that may warrant an increased fee

  • Principal claimant is a minor
  • Domestic Violence
  • Mental health or cognitive impairment
    • Comments: Please be specific. Avoid use of cursory descriptors (e.g., client bipolar.) Please provide details regarding a client’s mental illness or cognitive impairment and how it impacted the amount of time required to prepare for the proceedings.
  • Illiteracy
  • Expert witness preparation

How can I follow up on a discretion request pending for over 90 days?

In these circumstances roster members should call the Lawyer Service Centre at 1-800-979-9934. The service standard for discretion requests decisions is 60 days.

Does a positive result automatically justify a discretionary increase?

No. Discretion is based on exceptional circumstances and a positive result does not guarantee that discretion will be granted. Once exceptional circumstances have been demonstrated, LSP staff will review the dockets to determine the amount that should be paid as discretion. Dockets that are lacking in detail and contain generic entries such as “preparation” to describe the services provided will not be considered, as they do not allow an assessment of the work done. This page contains a sample refugee docket.

6. Refugee and immigration

How do I bill for family members under a refugee certificate?

LAO generally issues a single refugee certificate for families whose claims will be automatically joined under Rule 55 of the Refugee Protection Division Rules and all work should be billed on the single certificate. In some circumstances, LAO may issue separate certificates for family members. Work related to the family members named in the separate certificate should be billed only to the separate certificate. In no circumstances can the same time (e.g. a single refugee hearing covering multiple clients or a preparation meeting with multiple clients) be billed on more than one certificate.

What if a hearing is postponed and later goes to file review, i.e. is accepted without a hearing?

Where lawyers prepare for a scheduled hearing, but the claim is then accepted under the File Review process and the hearing cancelled, lawyers may bill the time spent preparing for the hearing as preparation time. Dockets should clearly identify that a hearing had been scheduled and preparation was done in anticipation of the hearing, and specify the outcome of the claim.

Can I bill for disclosure preparation for submissions under the IRB’s Less Complex Claims and File Review process?

LAO covers this work, but it must be authorized as one of the services on the certificate in order to be billed. You may bill for this work if your certificate has one of the following authorization:

• “preparation and filing of client disclosure and related submissions in accordance with the IRB File Review (expedited) process for refugee claimants”
• “for filing of documents in accordance with the IRB expedited process for Refugee claimants” or
• “for representation at RPD proceedings”

How do I handle billing for PRRA-eligible clients?

If a client is not eligible to make a refugee claim, but must file one in order to trigger the PRRA process, the client can still receive a basis of claim certificate in order to cover services necessary to file the claim.

When CBSA later notifies the client that they should make their PRRA application, the client can apply for a certificate to cover the preparation of the application and submissions. PRRA services should only be billed on the PRRA certificate.

7. Law students and mentorship

Can I bill for law student hours after they pass the bar?

No. A roster member may only bill and be paid for work completed by an articling student where:

The articling student is currently completing their articles of clerkship, participating in a law practice program (LPP), or enrolled in a Canadian law school with an integrated practice curriculum (IPC)

The articling student has completed their articles, LPP or IPC, has not yet been called to the bar, and has obtained a supervision agreement approved by the Law Society of Ontario.

For clarity, no other individuals may provide legal aid services and be paid as an articling student.

Lawyers called to the bar, but not admitted to the LAO roster are not permitted to provide services to a legally aided clients. Lawyers newly called to the bar who would like to work on legal aid certificates must immediately apply to be a roster member

What is the difference between the mentor required to apply to the roster and the second chair mentorship programs?

LAO requires lawyers applying to the refugee roster to provide the name of a mentor who they might call upon to provide mentorship on cases, or to assist with issues related to LAO. The only requirement is that the mentor be a member of the refugee legal aid roster. This mentorship is not compensated.

The Second Chair program is a paid mentorship program at LAO where new or mid-career lawyers can benefit from the knowledge and experience of senior lawyers. For more information see: Second chair program

8. Technical and administrative issues

Why do I receive both email and text for certificates but not for other notices?

Currently, the LAO Legal Aid Online portal can be configured to send email and/or text messages when a certificate notice is issued. Lawyers can adjust these settings by logging into Legal Aid Online and selecting “Personal Info”, then “Address change”. Then select “Edit” next to the Office line. On this page, you will have the option to change your email and text message notification settings.

The portal is not currently configured to provide other types of notifications to roster lawyers by text message.

What are the file size and character limits for uploading documents?

The requirements for file attachments can be found here under Section 4 – Upload requirements: Requirement for submitting completed Basis of Claim forms

Will LAO update the billing portal to improve performance?

Work is currently underway to replace the current lawyer portal with a new portal whose performance will be improved.

Can we get a list of provinces that have a reciprocity agreement?

This question is referring to the Interprovincial-territorial Reciprocity Agreement between legal aid plans in Canada. The Reciprocity Agreement is a single agreement between all legal aid plans and it governs situations where a person may be resident in one province but require legal aid services in another province.

For immigration and refugee legal aid matters, which are federal matters and therefore do not neatly fit into the Reciprocity Agreement which assumes legal matters to take place exclusively in a single province or territory, clients must be residing in Ontario in order to apply for and receive a legal aid certificate from LAO. If a client subsequently moves to another province or territory, LAO will allow the immigration and refugee certificate to remain open and for the roster lawyer to continue to deliver services, provided that:

• The client remains financially eligible according to LAO’s rules
• The client and lawyer both consent to services being provided by remote means (unless it is possible for in person services to continue despite the move out of Ontario)

9. Other disbursements

Can I include immigration consulting fees as disbursements?

No, legal services provided by any person are to be billed as preparation hours within the available tariff hours. For immigration and refugee matters, the Quality Service Expectations state which services must be provided by roster lawyers, and which services may be provided by properly supervised non-lawyers. Immigration consultants may therefore only provide services which roster lawyers are not required to provide.

Quality Service Expectations:

• Refugee and immigration (general) quality service expectations
• Refugee and immigration (appellate) quality service expectations

Are government fees ever covered or reimbursable?

The government processing fees required to file Humanitarian and Compassionate applications are not covered or reimbursable. This is an exception to the general rule that reasonable disbursements will be covered where necessary and would be paid for by a client of modest means. In Federal Court matters, for example, court filing fees are a covered disbursement.

What is the best way to communicate a change of lawyer that is essentially on consent or mandatory?

If you are a lawyer who has acknowledged a certificate, but cannot continue to assist the client, you should:

• Contact LAO’s Centralized Services department with the details of why you cannot provide and what stage the proceedings at are at, by email at gengta@lao.on.ca or by uploading correspondence in the ‘Certificate Amendment’ tab of the LAO Lawyer portal; and
• Advise the client to contact the LAO Call Centre to request a Change of Lawyer

The process to issue a new certificate for the client will only begin when the client calls to make the Change of Lawyer application. But where the lawyer who cannot continue has provided information earlier, the decision will likely take less time to process.

Can I submit the BOC when requesting a file review?

LAO requires that basis of claim forms be uploaded with 30 days of completion. There is no exception to this requirement. Follow this link for additional information about this requirement: Requirements for submitting completed Basis of Claim forms