Canadian · Professional Licensing
Verify a lawyer or paralegal in Canada.
Canadian lawyers are regulated province by province. There is no single national register, so you check the law society for the province where the person practises. This page lists the official registers for ten provinces and links to a short guide for each.
Use the official register for the answer: there is no single national register used here. Pick the province, open that law society’s register, and compare the listing with the person who contacted you. Nothing on this page checks anyone’s licence.
Law society registers by province
Each link below goes to that province’s official register. The guide pages explain what each register says it shows and its stated limits.
- Ontario — Law Society of Ontario: Lawyer and Paralegal Directory ↗ (lawyers and paralegals)
- British Columbia — Law Society of British Columbia: official register ↗
- Alberta — Law Society of Alberta: official register ↗
- Saskatchewan — Law Society of Saskatchewan: official register ↗
- Manitoba — Law Society of Manitoba: official register ↗
- Quebec — Barreau du Québec: official register ↗
- Nova Scotia — Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society: official register ↗
- New Brunswick — Law Society of New Brunswick: official register ↗
- Newfoundland and Labrador — Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador: official register ↗
- Prince Edward Island — Law Society of Prince Edward Island: official register ↗
Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are not covered by these guides.
How to verify someone, step by step
- Find out where the person says they practise, and open that province’s register above.
- Search by last name (some registers require it) and compare the name, firm and location with what you were given.
- Read the practising status and any discipline or conditions the register shows.
- If you cannot find a match, do not assume the worst or the best: some registers exclude non-practising or former members. Contact the law society to confirm.
- Do not use contact details from a message that approached you. Use the number the law society publishes.
Why registers differ between provinces
Each law society sets its own search fields, what a profile shows and how far back discipline history goes. For example, the Law Society of Alberta shows discipline history back to 1 January 2015 only, while the Law Society of BC says history before November 1983 does not appear. Quebec’s Barreau calls its roll of members the Tableau de l’Ordre. Several registers also say they may not be fully current, so use the register as a first check and confirm important details with the law society.
Referrals and complaints
Most law societies say they regulate lawyers but do not recommend them; several point to separate legal information or referral services. Each guide above names the referral and complaint routes the regulator itself publishes.
Frequently asked questions
Is there one national register of lawyers in Canada?
Not in this guide. Lawyers are regulated by the law society of each province, so you check the register for the province where the person practises. Each link above goes to that provincial register.
How do I verify a lawyer in Canada?
Open the law society register for the person’s province, search their name and compare the listing with the details you were given. If you cannot find a match, contact the law society.
Does the Barreau du Québec have a “tableau des membres”?
The Barreau’s official term is the Tableau de l’Ordre. Its Trouver un avocat page offers a search by lawyer that gives access to all lawyers who are members in good standing of the Tableau de l’Ordre.
Where are paralegals checked?
In Ontario, the Law Society of Ontario licenses paralegals and its Lawyer and Paralegal Directory covers both. For other provinces, check the provincial law society’s own pages for who it regulates.
Does this page verify a lawyer for me?
No. It does not search anything and nothing you type here is transmitted. It links to the official registers; each regulator’s own result is the authoritative record.
Guide only — not a verification tool
This page links to provincial law society registers described in the guides it points to. It does not check anyone’s licence or standing, it is not affiliated with or endorsed by any law society, and nothing you might type here is transmitted anywhere. Use the official register linked above and confirm directly with the regulator. Not legal advice.