October 27, 2026

What a CCDC 9A Statutory Declaration Tells Ontario Owners

CCDC 9A is a statutory declaration: a statement the contractor’s signing officer swears before a commissioner, saying that everyone the contractor owed money to on your project has been paid up to the last progress payment it received from you, except for holdback, amounts deferred by agreement and amounts in genuine dispute. Under the current CCDC 2 – 2020 contract it comes with every application for payment after the first, and a separate one comes with the application to release holdback. The form is free from CCDC, and the current edition is CCDC 9A – 2018.

For an owner it’s one of the few pieces of paper each month that says, under oath, where your last payment went. It isn’t a lien release, and it doesn’t replace the other checks you make before paying. Below: what the 9A and its subcontractor version, 9B, say, how they sit beside Ontario’s holdback and lien rules, and the checks worth making each month. It’s practice, not legal advice: where money is in dispute, a construction lawyer reads your contract.

What CCDC 9A and 9B are

The Canadian Construction Documents Committee publishes two declarations, both 2018 editions, both free and electronic only:

Sources: CCDC 9A and CCDC 9B on ccdc.org, checked October 2026.

Each form has two boxes at the top: one for “second and subsequent progress payments” and one for “release of holdback”. The two are separate declarations. The Ontario Construction Association, which commissions these forms for its members, puts it plainly: one declaration can’t be used for both conditions, so a holdback application comes with its own 9A.

What the declaration actually says

The 9B wording, from a copy of the 2018 form posted by a contractor for its subtrades, reads in part:

I solemnly declare that, as of the date of this declaration, I am an authorized signing officer, partner or sole proprietor of the Subcontractor, and as such have authority to bind the Subcontractor, and have personal knowledge of the fact that all accounts for labour, sub-subcontracts, products, services, and construction machinery and equipment which have been incurred directly by the Subcontractor in the performance of the work as required by the subcontract, and for which the Contractor might in any way be held responsible, have been paid in full as required by the subcontract up to and including the latest progress payment received, as identified above, except for: 1) holdback monies properly retained, 2) payments deferred by agreement, or 3) payment withheld by reason of legitimate dispute which has been identified to the party or parties from whom payment has been withheld.

CCDC describes the 9A as the same sworn statement, made by the contractor on its contract with you, so the person who “might in any way be held responsible” is you rather than the contractor. Read the copy you’re given; the structure is the one above. Phrase by phrase:

• “Personal knowledge.” The officer is swearing to what they know, not passing on what the accounts department told them. That’s why the form has to be signed by someone with authority, in person.
• “Incurred directly.” The contractor speaks for its own accounts: its subcontractors, suppliers, equipment rentals and its own labour. It doesn’t speak for what a subcontractor owes further down. That’s what the 9B is for.
• “Might in any way be held responsible.” On the 9A that’s you, the owner. In Ontario that mostly means anyone with lien rights against your property.
• “Up to and including the latest progress payment received.” The declaration looks back, not forward. The header names the last application the contractor has been paid for.
• The three exceptions. Holdback properly retained, payments deferred by agreement, and amounts withheld in a legitimate dispute that has been identified to the person not being paid. Everything else is declared paid.

Which payment it speaks to

This is the part owners most often misread. When the contractor sends in application number 6, the 9A that comes with it is about application number 5, the last one you paid. It tells you that the money you released last month has gone where it was supposed to go. It says nothing about the trades whose work is in this month’s claim, because they haven’t been paid for it yet.

That’s why there’s no 9A with the first application: there’s no previous payment to account for.

Where your contract asks for a statutory declaration

CCDC 2 – 2020

The 2020 edition of CCDC 2, the standard stipulated price contract, made the declaration a monthly item. Each application for payment after the first must include evidence of compliance with workers’ compensation legislation and a CCDC 9A statutory declaration by the contractor (MLT Aikins, April 2021). Under CCDC 2 – 2008, a statutory declaration was only required when the contractor applied for the statutory holdback at the end. Torkin Manes (February 2021) notes that supplementary conditions often added these deliverables to the old form, and the 2020 edition brought them into the standard text.

So if you’ve signed CCDC 2 – 2020 without changing the payment provisions, the contractor already owes you a 9A every month from the second application on. If you’re still on a 2008-based contract, check your supplementary conditions; many owners added the monthly declaration there. Our guide to the CCDC 2 stipulated price contract walks through the rest of the payment part of that form.

Other contracts and other people who ask

Others on the same project may ask for one too:

• Your lender. Construction lenders usually want one with each draw. Our guide to construction financing in Ontario shows how a draw request is put together.
• Your landlord. On a tenant fit-out, the landlord is likely to ask for the declaration and a clear lien search before paying out the allowance, as covered in our guide to the tenant improvement allowance in Ontario.
• On construction management projects. Where you hold several trade contracts directly, each trade contractor is your contractor, and each one’s declaration is made to you. Our article on CCDC 17 trade contracts covers keeping the paperwork per contract.

How it fits the prompt payment clock

Ontario’s Construction Act runs a fixed clock from the day you receive a proper invoice: 7 days to flag anything missing, 14 days to give a notice of non-payment for any amount you dispute, and 28 days to pay the rest, less holdback.

The Act defines a proper invoice as one that contains the information listed in section 6.1(1) and “meets any other requirements that the contract specifies”. If your contract says an application for payment includes a 9A, the declaration is one of those requirements. Since January 1, 2026, an invoice that’s missing a required item is deemed proper unless you tell the contractor in writing, within seven days of receiving it, what’s missing and what’s needed to fix it (s. 6.1(2)).

Two practical results follow.

1. The 9A check happens in the first week. If application 6 arrives without a declaration, or with one that’s unsigned or uncommissioned, you write to the contractor by day 7. Miss day 7 and the invoice is deemed proper whether the declaration came or not.
2. Certification can’t hold up the invoice. A contract term that makes giving a proper invoice conditional on the payment certifier’s prior certification or your prior approval has no effect (s. 6.3(2)). Certification still happens, just after the invoice arrives. CCDC 2 – 2020 deals with this by having the application go to you and the consultant at the same time (Torkin Manes, 2021).

How a dispute over a missing declaration would be decided depends on your contract’s wording and is a question for your lawyer. Keep the dated notice you gave inside the seven days. The construction liens and holdback guide sets out the full invoice clock with each section.

What a 9A does and doesn’t do for you in Ontario

What it gives you

A 9A gives you a sworn statement, from a named officer with authority to bind the company, that last month’s money reached the people the contractor owed, and it records the contractor’s position on anything it is withholding from a trade.

It also sits on top of an obligation the contractor already has. Under section 8 of the Construction Act, every amount owing to or received by a contractor on account of the contract price, holdback included, is a trust fund for the subcontractors and suppliers it owes. The contractor can’t use that money for anything else until they’re paid (s. 8(2)), and it has to keep trust funds in a bank account and keep written records of what comes in and goes out (s. 8.1). Directors and officers who assent to a breach of trust they know, or reasonably ought to know, about can be personally liable for it (s. 13(1)). The 9A is the officer putting their name to compliance with that, under oath, every month.

What it doesn’t do

The declaration is evidence. It doesn’t change anyone’s legal rights.

Four things in particular sit outside it.

It isn’t a lien release. A subcontractor or supplier keeps its lien rights whatever the contractor declares. Liens arise and expire on the timetable in the Act: generally 60 days after publication of the certificate of substantial performance, or after the contract or subcontract is completed, abandoned or terminated, or (for a subcontractor) its own last supply (s. 31). A sworn statement from the contractor doesn’t shorten that.

It doesn’t change your holdback obligation. Your personal liability to lien claimants is capped at the holdback you were required to retain (s. 23). Pay out more than 90% because the 9A looks clean, and the shortfall is yours if a trade turns out to be unpaid. Keep the 10% every month regardless.

It doesn’t override a written notice of lien. If you’ve received written notice of a lien before you pay, the Act says you keep back enough to cover it as well as the holdback (s. 24(2)). A 9A saying “all paid” doesn’t change that.

It doesn’t cover the excepted amounts. “Deferred by agreement” and “withheld by reason of legitimate dispute” are carved out by the form itself. Those amounts are owed, and they’re exactly the ones most likely to become liens. If the contractor is using either exception, you want to know what’s behind it.

A false declaration

Each 9A and 9B carries the same warning at the foot of the form: making a false or fraudulent declaration contravenes the Criminal Code and could carry fines or imprisonment on conviction. Perjury under section 131 of the Criminal Code includes a false statement made with intent to mislead by solemn declaration, knowing it to be false, and section 132 makes it an indictable offence. Separately, the trust and director-liability sections above give unpaid trades a civil route.

That’s why the form is taken seriously, but it isn’t how owners use it. If something in a declaration doesn’t match what you’re seeing, the useful response is a conversation and a request for detail, and if real money is at stake, your lawyer. A discrepancy is usually a timing issue or a disputed invoice the contractor hadn’t listed, and a phone call and a corrected schedule sort most of them out.

Before you release a progress payment: a monthly checklist

Give this to one person, usually the owner’s representative or the payment certifier, and run the same steps each month. Here’s the routine we’d set up before the first application arrives.

1. Log the date the application arrives. That’s day 0 of the prompt payment clock. Put days 7, 14 and 28 in the calendar.
2. Check the package is complete by day 7. The application, the updated schedule of values, the 9A for the previous payment (from application 2 on), evidence of workers’ compensation compliance, and anything else your contract lists. Anything missing goes back to the contractor in writing, saying what’s needed.
3. Read the 9A, not just the stamp. Is the right box ticked (progress payment, not holdback)? Does the header name the last application you actually paid, with the right date? Is it signed by an officer, dated after that payment, and commissioned? Is the CCDC seal on it?
4. Match it to your own payment record. If you paid application 5 on the 14th, a declaration signed on the 10th can’t speak to it.
5. Ask about the exceptions. If the contractor is withholding from anyone because of a dispute, or has agreed to defer a payment, ask which trades and how much. It’s a fair request, and the answer goes in your file.
6. Compare the subcontractor list to the schedule of values. Any trade that’s billed work through the contractor should be one the contractor is paying. On larger jobs, ask for 9B declarations from the main subcontractors (mechanical, electrical, structure, envelope) with the contractor’s 9A. Your contract or supplementary conditions should say so if you want it as a requirement.
7. Check the WSIB clearance is current. In Ontario, a person who directly retains a contractor for construction work has to obtain a clearance certificate before the work begins, and a new one if it expires before the work is done (Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, s. 141.2). Without one, you can be liable for premiums the contractor fails to pay (s. 141.1). The WSIB says clearances are valid for up to 90 days (page updated July 2026), so this is a check that recurs on a long job.
8. Note any written notice of lien. If one has arrived, hold back enough to cover it as well as the holdback before paying anything more, and call your lawyer.
9. Review the work and the amount by day 14. Any amount you dispute goes in a notice of non-payment, with every reason, by day 14. Many disputed amounts turn out to be changes; our article on change orders covers keeping those priced and agreed before they reach the invoice.
10. Pay the undisputed amount by day 28, less 10% holdback. Record the payment date. Next month’s 9A should speak to it.
11. File everything together, per application: application, certificate, 9A, clearance, any notice and the payment record. Section 39 of the Act lets a lien claimant require a state of accounts from you, by written request, within a reasonable time of no more than 21 days. A file kept this way makes that a short job.

Before you release holdback: the extra steps

Holdback is the money the Act keeps back to protect people with lien rights, so its release is where the declaration matters most. Since January 1, 2026, Ontario owners release it every year after the contract anniversary and again at the end of the job; the liens and holdback guide covers the timetable in full.

A separate declaration, with the holdback box ticked. The contractor’s application for holdback comes with its own 9A. Don’t accept the latest progress declaration in its place.

The annual release. You publish a notice (Form 6) within 14 days after each contract anniversary and pay the year’s holdback 60 to 74 days after it, unless a lien has been preserved (s. 26(3)–(4)). That’s two months to collect the declaration and run a subsearch before the money moves.

The final release. Once liens against the holdback have expired or been dealt with, you pay the rest within 14 days (s. 26(8)). The lien periods run from publication of the certificate of substantial performance; our guide to substantial performance in Ontario covers the certificate and the closeout list that comes with it.

Before either release, the checks we’d run:

1. A 9A for holdback release, ticked correctly, signed by an officer and commissioned.
2. 9B declarations from the main subcontractors, also for holdback release, if your contract calls for them.
3. A subsearch of title on the day before payment for any preserved lien, and a check of your own correspondence for any written notice of lien.
4. A current WSIB clearance.
5. The holdback ledger reconciled: what was retained, what was released at the last anniversary, and what’s being paid now.
6. Your lender’s sign-off, if the project is financed and the lender’s agreement requires it.

If a lien has been preserved, the annual payment waits until the lien is discharged or vacated, and then it’s due within 14 days (s. 26(4), (7)). A lien is often vacated by the contractor posting security in court (s. 44), which is work for the lawyers.

Commissioning a CCDC 9A in Ontario

Who can commission it

The declaration has to be made before someone authorized to take it. In Ontario, the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act gives every commissioner power to take declarations (s. 7). The people who are commissioners by virtue of their office are listed in O. Reg. 386/12: among them, lawyers and paralegals licensed by the Law Society, justices of the peace, and municipal clerks and treasurers in the area their municipality sits in. Others are appointed by the Attorney General, often for a limited purpose. Notaries public can also take declarations. Construction associations such as the OCA run commissioning services for members, and a company’s own officer can’t commission the company’s form.

Doing it remotely

Since 2020, Ontario has allowed a declaration to be taken by video under O. Reg. 431/20. The conditions: an electronic method that lets everyone see, hear and talk to each other in real time for the whole transaction; the commissioner confirms the declarant’s identity; a modified declaration wording that says it was done under the regulation and gives where each person was; and the commissioner takes reasonable care that the declarant understands what they’re signing, and keeps a record.

Why commissioners turn forms away

From the OCA and the Construction Association of Saskatchewan guidance, the usual problems are:

• The signer isn’t an authorized signing officer. It can’t be delegated to an employee.
• The form was signed in advance and dropped off. The declarant signs in front of the commissioner.
• The declarant filled in the “Declared before me” section, which belongs to the commissioner.
• The form is blank in places or has errors.
• One form was used for both progress payment and holdback release.
• The CCDC copyright seal is missing, or is from a different edition. A 2018 form takes a 2018 seal.

When a declaration doesn’t add up

When something looks off, it’s usually one of these.

A trade calls you to say it hasn’t been paid. Write down who, how much, and for what period. Check it against the last 9A: is that trade covered by one of the exceptions? Then ask the contractor, in writing, for its position. If the trade sends written notice of a lien, section 24 applies: keep back enough to cover it before you pay anything more. Don’t pay the trade directly unless your lawyer has looked at it; your contract is with the contractor.

The contractor lists a disputed amount. That’s the form working as intended. Ask what the dispute is; one that runs for months is a lien risk at holdback time.

The dates don’t line up, or the seal is missing. Send it back by day 7 with a note saying what’s needed.

A payment dispute you can’t resolve. Adjudication under Part II.1 of the Act gives a fast interim decision on payment disputes, and since 2026 the matters it covers include changes to the contract price, scope and delay claims (Pallett Valo, March 2026). The adjudicator works from the notices and records the parties kept, so the monthly file above is what you’d hand over.

Frequently asked questions

What is a CCDC 9A form?

CCDC 9A – 2018 is the Statutory Declaration of Progress Payment Distribution by Contractor. The contractor’s signing officer swears, before a commissioner, that the contractor’s own accounts on the project are paid up to the last progress payment it received, except holdback, agreed deferrals and identified disputes. CCDC 2 – 2020 requires one with every application after the first and another with the holdback application.

What’s the difference between CCDC 9A and 9B?

The 9A is made by the contractor that holds the contract with the owner. The 9B is the same declaration made by a subcontractor to the contractor, about the subcontractor’s own trades, suppliers and equipment. Owners who want a view below the first tier ask for 9Bs from the main subcontractors alongside the contractor’s 9A, and say so in the contract.

Does a statutory declaration replace a lien search?

No. A declaration is the contractor’s sworn statement about its own payments as of the day it was signed. It doesn’t stop anyone registering a lien within the Act’s time limits. Before releasing holdback, owners check title for preserved liens and their own files for written notices of lien, as well as collecting the declaration.

Who signs a CCDC 9A, and does it need a notary?

An authorized signing officer of the contractor (president, vice-president, secretary or an officer authorized by resolution) signs it, in person, before a commissioner for taking affidavits, a notary public or a justice of the peace. In Ontario a licensed lawyer or paralegal can commission it, and it can be done by video under O. Reg. 431/20.

Where to start

If you’re about to sign a contract, decide what you want with each application (the 9A, a WSIB clearance, 9Bs from the main subcontractors, anything your lender needs) and make sure the contract or supplementary conditions say so. If you’re mid-project, pull last month’s 9A and check it against your own payment record: right box, right application, right date, commissioned, and any exceptions explained. If a holdback release is coming up, work backwards from the payment date so the declaration, the subsearch and the clearance are all in hand before the money moves.

We’ve spent more than 20 years on office, residential, retail and industrial projects, with experience built at PCL Constructors and Oxford Properties. If you’d like an experienced hand to set up the routine, review applications and declarations each month, or work through a discrepancy with your lawyer, that’s part of our construction consulting work on payment certification and cost review.