Information for licensees

With the introduction of LSO Connects, you — the licensee — must personally register for and manage your LSO Connects account.

Only you are authorized to make changes to your information on file with the Law Society through your LSO Connects account. This will improve service quality, strengthen security and reduce administrative error and burdens.

It is your personal responsibility to directly manage the administration of your licence.

Firms cannot make the changes on your behalf in LSO Connects or email the Law Society asking us to process the change. Making these changes personally ensures the information is accurate and entered in a timely manner and reduces the need for clarification.

• Find information for licensees about responding to a complaint
• View and respond to active professional regulation cases about you — log-in to LSO Connects
• View the status of your open complaints or make a complaint — log-in to LSO Connects
• Self-report breaches of Law Society rules or by-laws by completing the complaint form accessed through your LSO Connects account.
• Visit the LSO Connects Help and FAQs page for more on complaint and regulatory matters in LSO Connects.

The Law Society has moved to a fully card-based payment system. We continue to accept major credit cards and have added Visa Debit and Debit Mastercard as acceptable payment methods to provide more online payment options. We no longer accept other payment methods such as electronic fund transfers, cheques and money orders.

With the launch of the expanded LSO Connects, the Law Society has moved to a fully card-based payment system. We continue to accept major credit cards and have added Visa Debit and Debit Mastercard as acceptable payment methods to provide more online payment options. We no longer accept other payment methods such as electronic fund transfers, cheques, online bill payment and money orders.

If you accidentally send a cheque, money order, or draft, the Law Society will not process it, but will contact you and attempt to return it to you. Please make your payment through LSO Connects to ensure that any outstanding amounts are settled before the relevant due date.

You will generate and pay your annual fee through your LSO Connects account. The 2025 annual fee will be available in LSO Connects starting January 1, 2025.

The amount of your annual fee is determined by your employment and practice information, which is referred to as business relationship information in your LSO Connects account. Your business relationship information includes information about whether or not you are currently practising law or providing legal services, or not working. This determines your work status and the amount of your annual fee.

You will have an opportunity to review and update your business relationship information as you are generating your annual fee. You will also have the opportunity to enroll in the monthly payment plan.

Note: With the launch of LSO Connects, the Law Society will no longer be issuing annual fee invoices, however, we will send reminders to licensees ahead of the March 31 deadline.

Generating and paying your annual fee

See also this step-by-step guide with screen grabs.

Note: licensees whose firm or organization are paying their fees through the bulk fee paying process should refer to the step-by-step guide. 

1. After logging into LSO Connects, click the Home button to access the landing page tiles.
2. Click the Annual Fee tile. The screen refreshes and the Annual Fee Requirement screen displays.
3. Locate the Annual fee you wish to submit and click the link in the year column. The screen refreshes and displays general information and invoices.
4. To generate your fee, click the Start Annual Fee button. The Annual Fee Requirement page displays. You will see three separate sections including Review/Update Business relationships.
5. Complete each of the labelled sections by clicking the Incomplete button to the right of the section name. Information for the selected section is displayed.
6. Verify or edit the information presented and click the Submit button.

   Note: It is important to ensure your business relationship type is accurate. This information indicates whether or not you are practising law or providing legal services, which determines your work status and the amount of your annual fee. See How do I add or update a business relationship? for more information.

7. Once the Review/Update Business Relationship and Review Exceptions/Exemptions sections are completed, the button beside each completed section displays as Complete and the Acknowledgement section enables.
8. Click the Incomplete button to the right of the Acknowledgement section. The Acknowledge and Submit declaration appears.
9. Read the declaration and select the I agree with the declaration above checkbox.
10. Click the Submit and Generate Invoice button. The invoice is generated and displays.
11. To pay the invoice, click one of the following buttons below:
    • Apply Credit: this button appears if you have a credit available to use as payment.
    • Partial Payment: choose an amount to pay towards the invoice. You must pay the full amount by the payment deadline or enroll in the monthly payment plan.
    • Pay Monthly: set up monthly payments.
    • Pay in Full: pay the invoice in full.

    The Moneris Payment screen appears.

12. Enter your contact and payment information.
13. Click the Checkout button. A confirmation message displays.
14. You will be able to view the payment on your financial transactions page.

The Law Society’s GST/HST number can be found in the top left-hand corner of your annual fee receipt, under the address. See the above FAQ for information on how to obtain a receipt for your annual fee.

Licensees will be able to access their 2025 annual fee requirement on January 1, 2025. Annual fees must be paid no later than March 31, 2025.

Note: the deadline for firms and organizations to enrol in the bulk annual fee payment process for 2025 was December 6, 2024.

The process for making bulk fee payments, where a firm or organization pays the annual fees on behalf of their licensees, has changed.

The Law Society’s new bulk payment process is as follows:

1. By January 31, 2025 – all licensees within the firm or organization are required to begin the annual fee process to confirm their employment information, including their employer, and to generate their annual fee in LSO Connects. This action is crucial, as it will generate the annual fee amount owing and allow the Law Society to create a list of all licensees working at a particular firm or organization. It is also important that licensees within the firm or organization use the same name in the system for their employer. Use of the same name is critical as it will impact the accuracy of information provided to the firm or organization and their ability to pay on behalf of licensees.

   * Note: The following timelines are estimates and may vary depending on the number of firms or organizations that take-up this new program and may change based on the volume of requests received by the Law Society.

2. February 1 to 14*, 2025 – the Law Society will generate a list of all licensees who have confirmed their information, self-identified as employed or practising at the firm or organization and who have an annual fee balance in LSO Connects. This list will be provided to the respective firms and organizations.
3. February 15 to 28*, 2025 – firms and organizations review the list for completeness and accuracy. Firms and organizations should remove any licensee from the list if they are no longer with the firm or organization or if the firm or organization will not be paying for the licensee’s annual fee. Firms and organizations are to submit their final list to the Law Society by February 28, 2025.
4. March 1 to 8*, 2025 - the Law Society will review the list and provide the final bulk fee amount to each firm or organization for Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) payment by a specified date (anticipated to be around March 15). This completion date allows time to process the payment before the March 31 deadline. No further adjustments from the firm or organization can be processed after the date the final list is submitted to the Law Society.

Please Note: After the bulk payment process has been completed, transactions such as annual fee adjustments, refunds, and payments for licensees joining the firm or organization will be processed directly with the licensee.

Licensees on a leave of absence from their firm or employer who moved to the 25% fee paying category are required to pay the annual fee personally and may seek reimbursement from their firm or employer, if eligible.

The Law Society has introduced a new credit card-based pre-authorized payment plan. The former monthly and annual pre-authorized payment plans have been discontinued. The new plan is less complex for users and more efficient and secure.

If you are enrolled in one of the former plans, you may maintain that existing plan until the end of 2024. As of 2025, you will have the opportunity to enroll in the new card-based monthly plan.

• Annual fees
• Barrister, solicitor and paralegal licensing examination fees
• Experiential training.

Yes, the monthly payment plan is valid until the balance is paid and does not automatically renew each year.

Licensees or candidates wishing to pay in installments, should select the MPP option at the time of payment.

No, the card provided at time of enrolment in the MPP will be charged for duration of the plan or until the amount owing is paid in full.

The Law Society has introduced a new credit card-based pre-authorized payment plan. The former monthly and annual pre-authorized payment plans have been discontinued. The new plan is less complex for users and more efficient and secure.

If you are enrolled in one of the former plans, you may maintain that existing plan until the end of 2024. As of 2025, you will have the opportunity to enroll in the new card-based monthly plan.

If you're exempt from paying HST, please send a message through your LSO Connects account, and a member of the Law Society team will reach out to assist you.

See this step-by-step guide for instructions on how to pay your certified specialist annual fee.

See this step-by-step guide for instructions on how to pay your Law Society Referral Service fee. 

The business relationship section of LSO Connects contains information about the organization(s) you, as a licensee, work for and your role in that organization.  You can have more than one business relationship. It is important to keep your business relationship information current as this information impacts your work status, annual fee and other administrative requirements.

Adding a Business Relationship

See also this step-by-step guide with screen grabs.

1. After logging into LSO Connects, click the Profile tile on the main page. The Profile information screen appears.
2. Click the Business Relationships menu option on the left side of the screen. The business relationships screen, which displays current, former and future business relationships, appears.

   Note: If you are not currently working and do not have a business relationship on file, this screen will also include a field labelled I am currently not working. If you are not currently working, select Yes from the dropdown list. You do not need to add a business relationship if you are not currently working.

3. To add a business relationship, click any of the Add Business Relationship buttons under the subheadings displayed. The New Business Relationship screen appears with required fields marked with a red asterisk.
4. Search for the business name within the Business field by clicking the search icon. The Lookup records window appears.
5. Type the name of the business into the Search field and press enter to begin the search. The screen refreshes and a list of query results is displayed.

   Note: If the name of the desired business does not appear in our list, close the Lookup window and select the Yes radio button under the Business not found field to create a new Business/Organization.

6. Select the checkbox beside the name of the business you desire and click the Select The window disappears and the selected business name and Business type appears in their respective fields.
7. Complete the remaining mandatory fields.

   Note: The dropdown menu displayed under Business relation type is determined by the business type selected. Please ensure you select the correct Business type and Business relationship type as this information will impact your work status and the amount of your annual fee.

   Note: If you are on parental or temporary leave, please end the Business Relationship by editing the Effective to field to the date your leave begins. When you return from leave add your Business relationship back as a new record. Until further notice the On leave field should remain in the No position.

8. Use the Search for address search field to look up the business address. The system will then autofill the address fields. If you need to edit an auto-filled address field, click on the field name to gain access to the field to make the change.
9. Complete the Address contact information section (optional) and set the Display in Lawyer and Paralegal Directory field. If you select Yes, this address will be the address that is displayed in your record on the Lawyer and Paralegal Directory which is available on the Law Society website.
10. Check the Declaration checkbox and the Submit button is displayed.
11. Click the Submit button and the changes will be reflected in the directory when it is updated overnight.

    Note: If this change results in an invoice adjustment, this will be run overnight and should appear the following day.

If you are not a new licensee, your status may be To Be Confirmed because your work status does not match your business relationship information in LSO Connects. (Note: see the information in the following FAQ if you are a newly licensed lawyer or paralegal.)

A ‘To Be Confirmed’ status may prevent your ability to access certain programs, such as Teraview.

The business relationships section of LSO Connects contains information about the organization(s) you, as a licensee, work for or through, and your role in that organization. You can have more than one business relationship, although only one can be displayed on the Lawyer and Paralegal Directory. It is important to keep your business relationship information current as this information impacts your work status, annual fee and other administrative requirements.

To update your status, log-in to your LSO Connects account and follow these steps:

1. After logging into LSO Connects, click the Profile tile on the main page.
2. Click the Business Relationships menu option on the left side of the screen. The business relationships screen, which displays current, former and future business relationships, appears. Note: If your Business Relationship Type is To Be Confirmed, you are required to update this information by specifying your role in your organization.
3. Under Current business relationships, select the record where the business relationship type is displayed as To Be Confirmed. Click the name of the business or use the down arrow on the right and then “View details” to open the record.
4. Update the Effective To field to end the To Be Confirmed business relationship. Note: This applies even if you continue to be with the same organization. Once this is complete, click Submit. You will then be navigated back to the Business Relationships page.
5. Under Current business relationships, click the Add Business Relationship button, which will navigate you to the new Business Relationship form.
6. Search for the business name within the Business field by clicking the search icon. The Lookup records window appears.
7. Type the name of the business into the Search field and press enter to begin the search. The screen refreshes and a list of query results is displayed. Select the checkbox beside the name of the business you desire and click Select. The window disappears and the selected business name and Business type appears in their respective fields.
8. If the name of the desired business does not appear in our list, close the Lookup window and select the Yes radio button under the Business not found field to create a new Business/Organization.
9. Complete the remaining mandatory fields including selecting your Business Relationship type, which describes your role.

Note: The dropdown menu displayed under Business relationship type is determined by the business type selected. Please ensure you select the correct Business type and Business relationship type as this information will impact your work status.

Note: The Lawyer and Paralegal Directory is updated overnight, so changes do not appear until the next day.

See this step-by-step guide for information on how to check and log your continuing professional development activities in LSO Connects.

See this step-by-step guide for information on how to submit your annual report.

To view a portal message for your professional corporation, go to the Professional Corporation tile and select the relevant professional corporation. You can access the portal message by selecting “Messages” on the left side menu. You can also renew your Certificate of Authorization on this page by scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking “renew”.

Ontario principals are still required to prepare and share a training plan with their candidates but are not required to submit the plan to the Law Society. Principals for national or international placements are required to provide additional details about the placement when they apply to become a principal for a national or international placement through LSO Connects.

Read more.

Principals and candidates are no longer required to report details of time off to the Law Society, although the Law Society will continue to set a maximum number of permitted days off during an articling placement.

As a principal, please work with the candidate to ensure the maximum time off is not exceeded or, if it is, that it is made up by an extension of the placement.

Licensing candidates are no longer required to complete or submit a temporary assignment of articling placement form if they transfer from one principal to another for up to three months during their articling placement.

As an articling principal, you manage the temporary assignment of articles that are less than three months long, where the placement begins and ends with you. Where the temporary assignment exceeds three months or the placement begins and ends with different principals, the first placement should be ended by the candidate by completing the first articling placement record on LSO Connects and starting a new placement through LSO Connects.

Previously, at the end of the articling placement, both the principal and candidate filed their respective Record of Experiential Training using the Articling Program Reporting Tool.

With LSO Connects, principals and candidates are no longer required to complete the Record of Experiential Training and the Articling Program Reporting Tool. Instead, candidates must complete an articling placement record through their LSO Connects account, which will be sent to their principal for review.

As a principal, you are still required to assess the candidate and provide them with feedback throughout and at the end of their placement.

Previously, some principals relied on proxies to access the Articling Program Reporting Tool and assist with certain administrative tasks related to articling placements.

Proxy access is no longer necessary or possible with the launch of LSO Connects. The Articling Program Reporting Tool has been retired and principals will not be required to submit a training plan or a Record of Experiential Training.

Candidates will submit their own documents through LSO Connects, which will automatically be sent to principals for review through the principal’s LSO Connects account.

As a principal, you will receive notification that information is available for your review through your LSO Connects account. You are required to review it and report if there are any inaccuracies.

• October 2024 issue: Welcome to LSO Connects
• November 2024 issue: Information you need to know about annual fee payment changes
• December 2024 issue:  Logging your CPD Hours before December 31
• January 2025 issue:  Annual fee and annual report now available
• February 2025 issue: March 31 requirements