JURISDICTION: PROVINCE OF ONTARIO / CANADA
SUBJECT MATTER:
• Court Docket Entry Standards
• Electronic Filing (Justice Services Online)
• Identity Alignment (ICAO Doc 9303)
DATE OF PUBLICATION: January 17, 2026
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Legal Practitioners, Court Clerks, Registry Officers, and SelfRepresented Litigants.
In the Ontario justice system, accurate data entry is critical for ensuring that court records, background checks, and enforcement orders correctly link to an individual. For persons with only one legal name (a mononym), the standardized "Rule of Thumb" is to treat that name as the Primary Identifier and record it in the Surname/Last Name field.
When entering a mononym into any Ontario court database (including the Ontario Courts Public Portal or Justice Services Online):
• Surname Field (Required): Enter the full single legal name here.
• Given Name Field: Leave this field BLANK.
• Placeholder Prohibition: Do not use placeholders such as "XXX," "FNU," "N/A," or "LNU." These characters interfere with search algorithms and create "dirty data" that can cause your case to be excluded from official record searches.
Standard Configuration:
• Legal Name: MARISSA
• System Entry: [Surname: MARISSA] [Given Name: (Leave Blank)]
Effective January 11, 2021, all electronic filings in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice must follow the Standard Document Naming Protocol. If a party has a mononym, the protocol is adapted as follows:
Format: Document Type – Party Role – Single Name – Date (DD-MMM-YYYY)
• Example Filing: Affidavit – Plaintiff – MARISSA – 17-JAN-2026
• Style of Cause: The party should be identified solely by that name: MARISSA v. [Defendant Name].
This practice is designed to align with three key regulatory standards:
1. ICAO Doc 9303: International passport standards require at least one name in the "Primary Identifier" (Surname) position of the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ).
2. Ontario Change of Name Act: Section 2(4) explicitly allows for single names determined in accordance with traditional culture or identity.
3. Vital Statistics Act (Ontario): Ensures that individuals with single names are not forced to "invent" a first or last name for government registration.
Incorrectly splitting a name (e.g., entering "Mar" as first name and "Issa" as last name) results in significant legal friction:
• Failed Background Checks: A search for the legal name "MARISSA" will return no results if the record is split.
• Service of Process: Legal service may be challenged if the name on the summons does not exactly match the name on the individual's government-issued identification.
• Enforcement Issues: Sheriffs and enforcement officers may be unable to garnish wages or seize assets if the court order name is improperly formatted.
Before submitting a docket entry or filing:
• [ ] Does the name match the Primary Identifier on the Passport?
• [ ] Is the Given Name field truly blank (no periods, no "XXX")?
• [ ] Does the Style of Cause reflect the mononym without an artificial surname?
