The periodic information certificate is the routine report an Ontario condominium corporation owes its owners. Most of the confusion about it comes from the Act itself, which says "at least once every three months", while the regulation replaces that with twice a year. This guide sets out the dates, the content and the two companion certificates, the ICU and the NOIC.
What is a periodic information certificate?
Section 26.3 of the Condominium Act, 1998 requires a corporation to send its owners a certificate "at least once every three months or at such other time periods as are prescribed". That certificate must contain the corporation's address for service, the names and addresses for service of its directors and officers, all outstanding judgments and legal actions, and a certificate or memorandum of insurance for each current policy (Act, s. 26.3 (a), referring to s. 76 (1) (d), (e), (h) and (p)).
O. Reg. 48/01 calls this the periodic information certificate, or PIC, and sets its schedule and its full content.
When is the PIC due?
The regulation sets two dates "instead of at least once every three months" (O. Reg. 48/01, s. 11.1 (4)):
- within 60 days after the last day of the first quarter of the corporation's current fiscal year;
- within 60 days after the last day of the third quarter of the current fiscal year;
- any additional periods set out in a by-law of the corporation.
The information in the certificate must be current as of the last day of the quarter it follows (s. 11.1 (6)). If a fiscal year is shorter than 12 months, it is deemed to have started one year before its end for this purpose (s. 11.1 (5)).
| Fiscal year | First PIC current as of | First PIC due by | Second PIC current as of | Second PIC due by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 to December 31 | March 31 | May 30 | September 30 | November 29 |
| April 1 to March 31 | June 30 | August 29 | December 31 | March 1 |
| July 1 to June 30 | September 30 | November 29 | March 31 | May 30 |
Count the 60 days on a calendar for your own fiscal year: the table assumes a year with no February 29 between the quarter-end and the due date.
What must the PIC contain?
The certificate uses the form the Condominium Authority of Ontario specifies (O. Reg. 48/01, s. 11.1 (7)). Beyond the four statements from section 26.3 of the Act, section 11.1 (1) of the regulation lists what it must include. The items a volunteer board most often has to look up are:
- the name and address for service of any condominium management provider or manager, and of anyone else responsible for managing the property (cl. (a));
- the methods owners may use to deliver material to the corporation, and the method of electronic communication the corporation will use (cl. (b) and (c));
- any director who is a party to a legal action with the corporation, has an outstanding judgment, has a unit "in arrears for 60 days or more", or has not completed the required training (cl. (d));
- the number of units the corporation has been told were leased during the current fiscal year (cl. (e));
- the financial implications of judgments and legal actions, including what the insurer has said about coverage (cl. (f), and subsections (2) and (3));
- the insurance deductibles, including the maximum amount that can be added to an owner's common expenses, and a warning to owners about that liability (cl. (g));
- any required insurance the corporation did not have at any time in the fiscal year (cl. (h));
- a copy of the current year's budget and its amendments, and whether a surplus or deficit is projected (cl. (k) and (l));
- the reserve fund: its balance, its balance at the start of the year, this year's planned contribution and expenditures, and any current plan to increase it under section 94 (8) of the Act (cl. (m));
- whether, during the current fiscal year, the corporation failed to pay its CAO assessment as required or to comply with the condominium returns rules in Part II.1 of the Act (cl. (o), referring to s. 1.30 (6));
- anything else a by-law requires (cl. (q)).
The reserve fund line ties the PIC to the funding plan a board adopts after each reserve fund study, which our guide on the Notice of Future Funding explains. The director arrears line ties it to the arrears ledger, covered in our guide on arrears and the condo lien.
What is an information certificate update (ICU)?
Between two PICs, some changes cannot wait. An information certificate update goes to the owners within 30 days of a change in the corporation's address for service, the directors' or officers' addresses for service, the directors or officers themselves, the condominium management provider or manager, or the delivery and electronic communication methods (O. Reg. 48/01, s. 11.2 (3), para. 1).
Two other triggers have their own clocks:
- a change in an insurance deductible: within 30 days of the day the corporation learns of it (para. 2);
- the board losing its quorum: within five days, with a request for candidates to come forward (para. 4 and s. 11.2 (2) (c)).
What is a new owner information certificate (NOIC)?
A new owner must tell the corporation their name and identify their unit within 30 days of becoming an owner (Act, s. 46.1 (2)). Within 30 days after that, the corporation sends the new owner a NOIC containing the most recent PIC and any ICU sent since, unless that owner already received them (O. Reg. 48/01, s. 11.3 (3) and (4)). If there is nothing to send, no NOIC is required (s. 11.3 (5)).
Can a small corporation dispense with information certificates?
After the turn-over meeting, the owners of at least 80 per cent of the units may consent in writing to dispense with the PIC, ICU or NOIC until the next fiscal year (O. Reg. 48/01, s. 11.4 (1)). An owner whose unit is 30 days or more in arrears cannot consent until the arrears are paid (s. 11.4 (3) and (4)). The consent covers only the rest of the fiscal year in which it is obtained (s. 11.4 (2)), so it has to be collected again each year.
How can the certificate be delivered?
Delivery follows the usual rules for documents sent to owners (Act, s. 54). The corporation may instead post the certificate on a website and send the owners a notice of the posting, on the prescribed form, that explains how to access it and that a paper copy can be requested (O. Reg. 48/01, s. 11.5). The posting must remain accessible for at least 30 days.
Where this fits in a board's year
The PIC is one of a handful of recurring obligations, with the annual general meeting, the annual return and the reserve fund study cycle. Our guide to running a self-managed condo corporation in Ontario puts them on one calendar.
Sources
- Condominium Act, 1998, S.O. 1998, c. 19, ss. 26.3, 46.1, 54 and 76 (1).
- O. Reg. 48/01 (General), ss. 11.1 to 11.5.
- Condominium Authority of Ontario, prescribed forms: periodic information certificate, information certificate update, new owner information certificate, notice of online posting.
This guide summarizes the Condominium Act, 1998 and its regulations as of October 21, 2026. It is general information, not legal advice. For a decision about your corporation, consult an Ontario condominium lawyer.