What is Legal Aid?

Legal Aid Ontario provides access to legal services for people who have a low income.

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) gives low-income people access to various legal services to meet their legal needs. Some of the legal services it provides are:

Legal advice and representation
Duty counsel services (for people who arrive in criminal, family or youth courts without a lawyer)
Community Legal Clinics
Telephone and online help
Resources and referrals

You must be eligible for legal aid services and have a legal need that LAO covers.

Does legal aid pay for everything?

Depending on your financial situation, you may be asked to repay some or all of your legal fees. This is most likely if you have assets, such as a house or property, or if you receive money as part of a settlement or judgment.

How do I find a lawyer?

Not all lawyers accept legal aid.

LAO or the lawyer referral service can give you the name of a lawyer who accepts legal aid.

When you contact a lawyer, it is important to say you have applied for or have received legal aid services.

If you are under 18 or homeless and under 25 and need a lawyer or have questions about your legal rights, you can call Justice for Children and Youth (JFCY).

If you are under 18, you may wish to visit the Office of the Children’s Lawyer website and have questions about:

custody and access
child protection
civil litigation
estates and trusts

Make sure you are comfortable with the lawyer you choose. If you want to change lawyers, contact the LAO first. You will likely not be allowed to change lawyers.

Call LAO for more information about your situation at 1-800-668-8258, free anywhere in Ontario. You can get legal aid help in more than 120 languages. You can also access LAO from outside Ontario by making a collect call to 416-979-1446.

Community agencies can help you prepare to apply for legal aid. To find help, go to Services Near Me and search for "legal aid" in your area.

For More Information

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) - The LAO website has information about the Legal Aid program, clinic listings and publications.
Getting Legal Help: A Directory of Community Legal Clinics in Ontario - A clear language listing of Community Legal Clinics (CLCs) across Ontario and their practice areas. From CLEO - Community Legal Education Ontario.
Steps to Justice - Step-by-step information about legal problems that is easy to understand. From Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO).
Law Society Referral Service (LSRS)—The LSRS is an online service that allows residents of Ontario to obtain referrals 24 hours a day. The online request, the referral process, and your initial consultation of up to 30 minutes are free.
JusticeNet - A not-for-profit service helping people needing legal expertise, whose income is too high to access legal aid and too low to afford standard legal fees.