How to Apply for the Ontario Child Benefit
There is no separate Ontario Child Benefit application: applying for the Canada Child Benefit is the application, and the CRA assesses you for the Ontario benefit at the same time.
How to Apply for the Canada Child Benefit
Apply for the Canada Child Benefit through birth registration, CRA My Account, or Form RC66 — who qualifies, when payments start, and what changes to report.
Applies in: across Canada
The short answer
Apply once, through one route, as soon as you qualify. The Canada Child Benefit (CCB) is a monthly, tax-free payment from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to help with the cost of raising a child under 18. It does not start on its own, except through the birth-registration route described below. The three routes are: consent to share information with the CRA when you register a newborn's birth, apply online through CRA My Account, or mail Form RC66, Canada Child Benefits Application. Allow about 8 weeks for an online or birth-registration application, and about 11 weeks for a mailed one.
This guide covers process only. It gives no benefit dollar amounts and no financial advice: amounts depend on your children, their ages, and your family net income, and they are indexed, so a figure copied from an old article can be wrong by the time you read it.
Who can apply
You can apply if all of these fit:
- You live with a child under 18.
- You are mainly responsible for the child's care and upbringing.
- You are a resident of Canada for tax purposes.
- You or your spouse or common-law partner meets a status condition: Canadian citizen, permanent resident, protected person, a person registered or entitled to be registered under the Indian Act, or a temporary resident who meets the CRA's residence and permit conditions.
Apply when the situation starts, not at your next tax return: when a child is born, when a child starts living with you, when you gain custody, or when a shared-custody arrangement begins, ends, or changes. If two parents share custody, each parent applies separately, and the CRA works out each parent's share on that parent's own family situation. If a child is in foster care and Children's Special Allowances are paid for a month, the CCB is not paid for that same month.
One practical point catches people out. If you and your spouse or common-law partner live with the child, the CRA needs both of your tax returns each year to keep the benefit going, even if one of you had no income. A missing return is a common reason payments stop.
Route 1: birth registration for a newborn
This is the simplest route, and it is only for a newborn. When you register the birth with your province or territory, the form asks whether you consent to your information being shared with the CRA, and asks for your Social Insurance Number (SIN).
If you consent and give your SIN, the vital statistics agency sends your name, date and place of birth, SIN, and mailing address, plus the child's name, date and place of birth, sex, and birth registration number, to the CRA. The CRA then decides whether you qualify. Do not also apply through CRA My Account or Form RC66 for the same child: a second application can delay the first one.
If you do not consent, nothing is sent to the CRA, and you need to use route 2 or route 3. Your marital status is not sent with the birth registration, so tell the CRA separately if it has changed. The Automated Benefits Application is offered in every province and territory except Nunavut — if you live in Nunavut, use route 2 or route 3.
Route 2: CRA My Account online
Use this route if you missed the birth-registration step, if the child is older, if a child has just started living with you, or if a custody arrangement has changed. Sign in to CRA My Account, open "Apply for child benefits," and confirm your contact information, marital status, and citizenship. Then add the child's name, sex, and date and place of birth, review the application, and submit it.
The CRA may ask for documents after you submit, such as proof of the child's birth. You can send those through the "Submit documents" service in My Account. Keep the child's details exactly as they appear on the birth record: a spelling difference between the application and the record is a needless source of delay. Allow about 8 weeks from a complete online application to the first payment.
Route 3: Form RC66 by mail
Use the paper route if you cannot apply online, or if your situation is complex — for example, if you are new to Canada and need to document residence and immigration status. Complete Form RC66, Canada Child Benefits Application, attach the documents the form asks for, and mail it to your tax centre.
Newcomers may also need Schedule RC66SCH, which covers status in Canada and income for periods when no Canadian tax return was filed. Do not leave that schedule out if it applies to you: the CRA cannot work out the benefit without the income history it asks for. Allow about 11 weeks for a mailed application, and keep a copy of everything you send.
Whichever route you use, set up direct deposit through CRA My Account if you can. It avoids mail delays for cheques.
How the amount is worked out
The CRA works out the benefit from three things: how many eligible children you have, their ages, and your family net income from the previous year's tax return. Younger children attract a higher maximum than older children, and the amount falls as family net income rises. The benefit is recalculated each July, using the most recent tax returns on file.
That July recalculation is why filing matters. If your income fell, the payment can rise; if it rose, it can fall; if a return is missing, the CRA has nothing to recalculate from, and payments can stop. Provincial and territorial child benefits are separate programs, but the CRA often pays them together with the federal benefit in one deposit. Check the CRA's current figures and calculator for your own situation, and treat any dollar figure in an older article as out of date until you have checked it.
When payments start and how they arrive
Payments are monthly, by direct deposit or cheque. If your total benefit for the year is under $240, the CRA does not split it into monthly payments: it pays the whole amount as one lump sum with the July payment.
If a payment does not arrive, check CRA My Account first for the next payment date and for any message asking for documents. A payment can be held up by an unreported change, a missing tax return, or a document the CRA is still waiting for. Fix the underlying item rather than reapplying: a second application for the same child does not speed up the first one.
What to report, and when
Report changes as soon as they happen, through CRA My Account where possible:
- A change of address.
- A change in marital status, also reportable on Form RC65, Marital Status Change.
- A child starting or stopping living with you.
- A shared-custody arrangement beginning, ending, or changing.
- A child leaving Canada, or a change in your own residence or immigration status.
Late reporting cuts both ways. If your benefit should have gone up, you may have missed money you were owed. If it should have gone down, the CRA can treat the extra payments as an overpayment and recover them. A short update in My Account is cheaper than either outcome.
Mistakes that delay or stop payments
The mistakes that show up again and again are avoidable. Applying twice for the same child, once through birth registration and again online, delays the file. Skipping a tax return, even a nil return, stops the July recalculation. Waiting to apply until tax time loses months you could have been paid for. Leaving out Schedule RC66SCH when it applies leaves the CRA without the income history it needs. And ignoring a CRA request for documents leaves the application sitting unfinished while the weeks pass.
If you are unsure which route fits, use birth registration for a newborn where it is offered, CRA My Account for anything after that, and Form RC66 by mail only when you cannot apply online or your situation needs the paper schedules. That order covers nearly every family, and it keeps the file to a single application the CRA can process without untangling a duplicate.
Applying for the Canada Child Benefit, in five steps
- Check that you qualifyYou live with a child under 18, you are mainly responsible for the child's care and upbringing, and you are a resident of Canada for tax purposes.
- Pick one application routeBirth registration for a newborn, CRA My Account online, or Form RC66 by mail. Use one route only, so the CRA does not end up with two applications for the same child.
- Submit the application and any documents asked forProof of the child's birth is commonly asked for. Newcomers may also need to show immigration status and residence information.
- Wait for the CRA to decideAllow about 8 weeks for an online or birth-registration application, and about 11 weeks for a mailed application.
- Payments start monthlyPayments are monthly by direct deposit or cheque. If the yearly total is under $240, the CRA pays it as one lump sum with the July payment instead.
Questions people ask
Who can apply for the Canada Child Benefit?
The person who lives with a child under 18 and is mainly responsible for the child's care and upbringing, and who is a resident of Canada for tax purposes. You or your spouse or common-law partner must also meet a status condition, such as Canadian citizenship, permanent residence, protected-person status, registration under the Indian Act, or the temporary-resident conditions set out by the CRA.
Do I have to apply for the Canada Child Benefit, or does it start on its own?
You have to apply. The one exception is the birth-registration route: if you consent to sharing your information with the CRA when you register a newborn's birth, and you give your Social Insurance Number, the CRA receives that information and decides eligibility without a separate application. If you do not consent, you still need to apply through CRA My Account or by mail.
How long does a Canada Child Benefit application take?
Allow about 8 weeks for an application made through birth registration or CRA My Account, and about 11 weeks for a mailed [Form RC66](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/forms/rc66.html) application. Missing documents or a second application for the same child can slow the file down, so apply once, through one route, and send what the CRA asks for.
How is the Canada Child Benefit amount worked out?
The CRA works it out from the number and ages of your children and your family net income from the previous year's tax return. The amount falls as family net income rises, and it is recalculated each July. This guide gives no dollar figure because the amounts are indexed and depend on your family situation, so check the CRA's current figures and calculator before you rely on a number you saw elsewhere.
What changes do I have to report to the CRA?
Report a change of address, a change in marital status, a child starting or stopping living with you, a change in a shared-custody arrangement, and a child leaving Canada. You can report most changes through CRA My Account, and a marital-status change can also be reported on [Form RC65](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/forms/rc65.html). Reporting late can mean an overpayment you have to repay.
Do I have to file a tax return to keep getting the Canada Child Benefit?
Yes. You and your spouse or common-law partner must file a tax return every year, even in a year with no income to report. The CRA uses those returns to recalculate the benefit each July, and payments can stop if a required return is missing.
Sources
- Canada Revenue Agency, Who can apply — Canada child benefit (CCB) — the eligibility conditions, the status conditions including the 18-month temporary-resident rule, the female-parent presumption, the shared-custody 40–60% test, and the Children's Special Allowances exclusion.
- Canada Revenue Agency, Booklet T4114, Canada Child Benefit — the three application routes, the Automated Benefits Application offered everywhere except Nunavut, Form RC66 and Schedule RC66SCH, the yearly tax-return requirement, and the July 2026–June 2027 calculation.
- Canada Revenue Agency, Payment dates — Canada child benefit (CCB) — the 2026 payment dates, the under-$240 lump-sum rule, and the July recalculation.
- Canada Revenue Agency, Form RC66, Canada Child Benefits Application — the paper application form, which also registers children for the GST/HST credit and related federal, provincial, and territorial programs.
Related guides: how to file a GST/HST return in Canada, how to apply for Express Entry from outside Canada.