Ontario Records Retention Schedule
A one-page retention schedule you can print, share with your team, and use as the starting template for your own policy. Every period below is tied to its source so you can defend it. Confirm sector-specific rules with your advisors.
ClayGen Consulting
Ontario Records Retention Schedule
How to use this schedule
- Print this page or save it as a PDF, then walk it against the records your business actually holds.
- For each category, confirm the retention period applies to you, note the system the records live in (file share, accounting app, email, paper), and assign an owner.
- Decide the disposition at the end of each period: destroy, anonymize, or move to a documented long-term archive.
- Where two rules overlap (for example tax and a limitations period), keep records for the longer of the two.
- Review the schedule annually and whenever a regulation or your business changes.
Tax and corporate records
| Record category | Retention period | Source / basis | Disposition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tax returns and supporting source documents | 6 years from the end of the last tax year they relate to | Canada Revenue Agency | Destroy (CRA permission required to destroy earlier) |
| GST/HST records | 6 years from the end of the last tax year they relate to | Canada Revenue Agency | Destroy |
| Payroll records (for tax purposes) | 6 years (employment standards may require longer, see below) | Canada Revenue Agency | Destroy at the longer applicable period |
| Records of long-term property, the share register, and information affecting a sale or wind-up | Indefinitely (do not destroy) | Canada Revenue Agency | Retain permanently |
| Corporate minute book, by-laws, director and shareholder minutes, registers | Permanent (life of the corporation) | Federal and Ontario corporate statutes (CBCA / OBCA) | Retain permanently |
| Records of a dissolved corporation | 2 years after the date of dissolution | Canada Revenue Agency | Destroy after 2 years |
Employment records (Ontario ESA)
| Record category | Retention period | Source / basis | Disposition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employee record: hours worked, wages, public holiday and overtime calculations | 3 years after the work was performed or the record was made | Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 | Destroy |
| Vacation time and vacation pay records | 5 years after the record was made | Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 | Destroy |
| Excess-hours and overtime-averaging agreements | 3 years after the last day work was performed under the agreement | Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 | Destroy |
| Leave documents (notices, certificates, correspondence) | 3 years after the leave expired | Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 | Destroy |
| Discipline, performance, and signed employment agreements | Duration of employment plus the limitations period (2 years in Ontario) | Ontario Limitations Act, 2002 (good-practice basis) | Destroy after the limitations period |
Customer and personal information (PIPEDA)
PIPEDA does not set a fixed retention period. Personal information must be kept only as long as necessary to fulfill the purpose it was collected for, then destroyed, erased, or anonymized. Use the shortest defensible period for each purpose.
| Record category | Retention period | Source / basis | Disposition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active customer records | As long as the relationship is active and the purpose continues | PIPEDA (retention limited to necessary purpose) | Review at relationship end |
| Post-relationship customer records | Limitations period for disputes (2 years in Ontario for most contract claims) | PIPEDA + Ontario Limitations Act, 2002 | Destroy or anonymize |
| Customer records supporting tax positions | 6 years after the relevant tax year | Canada Revenue Agency | Destroy or anonymize |
| Marketing and consent records | Until consent is withdrawn (keep proof of consent while relied on) | PIPEDA / CASL (consent basis) | Destroy after withdrawal |
Sector-specific retention
These rules override the general defaults. If your business operates in a regulated sector, the period below is the floor.
| Sector | Record category | Retention period | Source / basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | Adult patient records | 10 years from the last entry | PHIPA / College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario |
| Healthcare | Records of a minor patient | 10 years after the patient turned or would have turned 18 | PHIPA / College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario |
| Healthcare | Recommended overall retention | 15 years (Limitations Act exposure) | College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario guidance |
| Legal | Closed client files | 15 years from file close (guideline; some matters far longer) | Law Society of Ontario, Guide to closing, retaining and destroying client files |
| Legal | Trust account records | 10 years plus the current period | Law Society of Ontario By-Law 9 |
| Legal | Other accounting records | 6 years plus the current period | Law Society of Ontario By-Law 9 |
| Financial services | Client files, books, and records | Minimum 7 years, durable and accessible | Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) |
| Construction | Project records | Through the Construction Act limitation period plus the tax retention period | Ontario Construction Act + Canada Revenue Agency |
Build your own (blank rows)
Add the categories specific to your business. Print this page and fill the rows by hand, or copy the structure into a spreadsheet.
| Record category | Retention period | Justification | Disposition |
|---|---|---|---|
Sources
- Canada Revenue Agency, "Where to keep your records, for how long and how to request permission to destroy them early" (canada.ca).
- Government of Ontario, "Your guide to the Employment Standards Act: Record keeping" (ontario.ca).
- Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, PIPEDA fair information principle on limiting retention (priv.gc.ca).
- College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, "Medical Records Management" policy (cpso.on.ca); records governed by PHIPA.
- Law Society of Ontario, "Guide to closing, retaining, and destroying client files" and By-Law 9 (lso.ca).
- Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization, books and records retention guidance (ciro.ca).
For the full explanation of how these periods fit together, read Records Retention Basics for Ontario Businesses. For the privacy side, see our PIPEDA compliance checklist.
Prepared by ClayGen Consulting, claygen.ca. This resource is general information, not legal, tax, or accounting advice. Confirm the requirements that apply to your business with your advisors and the relevant regulator before relying on it.
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