Form 20P Affidavit for Enforcement Request Ontario

What Form 20P Is and Why You Need It

Form 20P — the Affidavit for Enforcement Request — is the gateway document for every enforcement action in Ontario Small Claims Court. You cannot issue a Notice of Garnishment, a Writ of Seizure and Sale, or a Notice of Examination without first filing Form 20P.

It's a sworn affidavit where you declare the judgment details, calculate the total amount still owing (including post-judgment interest), and identify which enforcement tool you're requesting. The court clerk reviews your form before issuing the enforcement document, and errors get your filing rejected.

Court counter rejections on Form 20P are one of the most common frustrations for self-represented creditors in Ontario. The form looks simple, but the interest calculation and payment allocation sections trip people up.

The Key Fields on Form 20P

Party and court information: Your name, the debtor's name, and the court file number — exactly as they appear on the judgment order. Name mismatches between your form and the original order will get flagged.

Judgment details: The date of the order, the amount of the judgment (principal), costs awarded, and any prejudgment interest included in the order. These come directly from your judgment order — don't recalculate them.

Post-judgment interest: This is where most errors happen. You need to state:

• The post-judgment interest rate (the CJA section 129 quarterly rate — 4.0% per annum for Q4 2026)
• The period over which interest has accrued (from the judgment date to the date you're filing)
• The calculated interest amount

The formula is: Principal × Rate × Days ÷ 365. The "principal" for post-judgment interest is the total awarded amount including costs and prejudgment interest.

Payments received: List every payment the debtor has made, with dates and amounts. Payments are applied first to court disbursements, then to accrued interest, then to principal. Your running balance must reflect this allocation order.

Total balance owing: Principal remaining + costs remaining + accrued interest − payments received. This figure is what appears on the enforcement document the clerk issues.

Enforcement requested: Specify which instrument you want — Notice of Garnishment (Form 20E), Writ of Seizure and Sale of Personal Property (Form 20C), Writ of Seizure and Sale of Land (Form 20D), or Notice of Examination (Form 20H).

Common Mistakes That Get Form 20P Rejected

Using the wrong interest rate. The post-judgment rate (CJA s. 129) is not the same as the prejudgment rate (s. 128). For Q4 2026, post-judgment is 4.0% and prejudgment is 2.5%. Using the prejudgment rate on a post-judgment calculation will get your form returned.

Calculating interest on the wrong base amount. Post-judgment interest runs on the total awarded amount — principal plus costs plus any prejudgment interest the judge included. Some creditors calculate interest only on the principal and understate what's owed.

Not splitting calculations across quarterly rate changes. If your judgment spans multiple quarters and the published rate changed, you need to calculate each quarter's interest separately at the applicable rate. A single-rate calculation over a multi-quarter period is technically wrong, and careful clerks will catch it.

Failing to credit partial payments correctly. If the debtor paid $500 on a specific date, your form must show that payment and how it was allocated (to costs, interest, or principal). Missing payment credits overstate the balance, which can create problems down the line — especially if the debtor disputes the amount.

Name or file number mismatches. The names on Form 20P must match the judgment order exactly. If the debtor's name on the order has a typo that differs from reality, you need a motion to amend the order first — not a corrected Form 20P with the "right" name.

Filing and Fees

You file Form 20P at the Small Claims Court office where the judgment was issued. The form itself has no separate filing fee — the fee is charged for the enforcement document you're requesting:

• Notice of Garnishment (Form 20E): $144
• Writ of Seizure and Sale (Form 20C or 20D): $68
• Notice of Examination (Form 20H): $68

You can file Form 20P through the Small Claims Court Submissions Online portal or at the physical court counter. Online filings submitted after 5:00 PM or on weekends are treated as filed on the next business day.

Each enforcement step requires its own Form 20P with a current interest calculation. You can't file one Form 20P and request multiple enforcement documents at different times — each request needs fresh numbers.

Keeping Your Filing Clean

The surest way to avoid rejection is maintaining a running ledger from the day your judgment is entered. Track the judgment date, total awarded, each quarterly rate period, every payment received with its allocation, and the running balance. When you need to file Form 20P, you're just transcribing current figures from your ledger.

Our Ontario judgment enforcement guide includes a payment ledger worksheet and walks through Form 20P field by field, including the interest calculation for judgments that span multiple quarterly rate periods.

See more Ontario guides →