Mortgage documents checklist for Nova Scotia
Most “mortgage document checklists” for Nova Scotia are solicitor closing packages written for lawyers. This is the borrower’s version: what the lender needs to approve you, grouped by how you earn and where the down payment comes from, and a separate note on what your lawyer needs and why their list looks different.
What documents do I need for a mortgage in Nova Scotia?
Six things: photo ID, proof of income (a letter of employment, two pay stubs and your latest T4 if salaried), 90 days of bank statements showing the down payment, a list of your current debts, the MLS listing and signed purchase agreement once you have one, and a home insurance binder before closing. Self-employed, seasonal and rural files need more.
Identity
- Two pieces of government identification. A driver’s licence or passport for the photo piece; a birth certificate, permanent resident card or other government document as the second, where the lender accepts it. The lawyer will ask for the same two pieces at signing.
- Social Insurance Number. Used for the credit bureau pull. You give written consent first, and one inquiry is shared across the lenders we send the file to.
- Current address and two-year address history. Lenders match this against the credit bureau. If you moved recently, expect to be asked about the old address.
Income, by how you are paid
The lender is trying to answer one question: is this income likely to continue for the term of the mortgage? The documents differ because the evidence differs. Find your row.
Salaried
- Letter of employment on company letterhead, dated within 30 days, stating your position, start date, salary and whether you are past probation. Signed by someone in HR or management with a phone number the lender can call.
- Two most recent pay stubs showing year-to-date earnings.
- Most recent T4. If your year-to-date pace does not match the salary in the letter, the lender will ask why.
Hourly, overtime, commission or bonus
- Letter of employment stating your hourly rate and guaranteed hours per week.
- Two most recent pay stubs.
- Two years of T4s. Overtime, shift premiums, commission and bonus are averaged over two years, not taken from the current pace. If the second year is lower than the first, most lenders use the lower figure.
Self-employed, incorporated or contractor
- Two years of Notices of Assessment from CRA, plus proof that any balance owing has been paid.
- Two years of full T1 General returns, including the Statement of Business Activities if you are a sole proprietor.
- Two years of business financial statements if incorporated, and the corporate Notices of Assessment.
- Articles of incorporation or a business registration from the Nova Scotia Registry of Joint Stock Companies, showing you own the business and how long it has existed.
- Business bank statements and GST/HST returns where the lender or insurer asks; CMHC lists these for its self-employed program.
If your declared income is much lower than what the business actually brings in, the file goes a different way. Self-employed mortgages in Nova Scotia →
Pension and retirement income
- T4A slips for each pension.
- Pension statements or award letters showing the monthly amount and that it is for life or for a defined period.
- CPP and OAS statements, available from your Service Canada account.
- RRIF or investment statements if you are drawing from savings; the lender will want to see the balance supports the withdrawal for the term.
Seasonal, fishery and EI-supplemented
- Two years of Notices of Assessment and T1 Generals. Lenders average the total, including EI, over two years.
- Records of Employment for each season, showing the pattern is consistent.
- A return-to-work letter from the employer, or for fishers the licence and the buyer’s settlement statements, confirming the coming season.
This is a common Nova Scotia file, from the South Shore to Cape Breton, and lenders that understand it exist. The two-year pattern is what makes it work.
Canadian Armed Forces
- Most recent pay statement from the CAF pay system, showing rank and allowances.
- Posting message if you are relocating to or within Nova Scotia; lenders accept it in place of a start date at a new job.
- Two years of T4s if allowances make up a meaningful share of your income.
New to Canada
- Work permit or permanent resident card.
- Letter of employment and pay stubs, as for a salaried borrower.
- International credit report where one is available from your previous country, or twelve months of rent and utility payment history if Canadian credit is thin.
- Proof the down payment funds have been in Canada, or a clear paper trail of the transfer.
Down payment
- 90 days of statements for every account the money sits in, showing your name, the account number and every transaction. Large deposits that are not payroll need their own explanation and paper trail.
- Gift letter from an immediate family member, signed, stating the amount and that it is not repayable, plus a statement showing the gift deposited.
- RRSP or FHSA statements if you are drawing under the Home Buyers’ Plan or from a First Home Savings Account. The lender wants the current balance; the withdrawal paperwork happens at closing.
- Agreement of purchase and sale on your existing home, plus its current mortgage statement, if the down payment is coming from a sale. The lender nets the two to see what you will have.
- Proof of closing costs on top of the down payment. Deed transfer tax and legal fees are paid in cash, and lenders want to see that money too. Deed transfer tax by municipality →
The property, once you have an offer
- MLS listing sheet or, on a private sale, the property’s PID and civic address.
- Signed agreement of purchase and sale with every schedule and any amendments, including the financing condition date.
- Condo documents if it is a condominium: the estoppel certificate, budget, reserve fund study and recent minutes. Lenders read these.
- Well water test and septic inspection on properties outside municipal services. The lender usually wants a potability result and evidence the septic works.
- Oil tank information: age, tag, location, and whether it is inside or outside. This drives the insurance answer.
- Home insurance binder naming the lender as mortgagee, in place for the closing date. No binder, no closing.
- Appraisal, ordered by the lender or by us, paid by you. You do not source this yourself.
Existing debts and properties
- Current mortgage statement for every property you own, showing balance, payment and renewal date.
- Property tax bill for each, so the lender can add taxes to your debt service.
- Lease agreements for any rental units, and for a rental property the lender may also want twelve months of deposits. Rental income is usually only partly counted.
- Balances on car loans, student loans and lines of credit. Most show on the credit bureau; anything that does not, such as a private loan or child support, has to be declared.
- Separation agreement if you pay or receive support; the lender treats it as a debt or as income.
What Nova Scotia lenders ask about older and rural homes
A large share of the province’s housing is older, heated with oil or wood, and outside municipal water and sewer. None of these stops a mortgage, but each adds a document. The pattern is the same across the province, from Kentville to Sydney.
- Oil tank. Insurers set age limits and want the tank tag and installation date. An older or unlabelled tank can make the home uninsurable until it is replaced, and the lender will not fund without the binder.
- Wood stove or fireplace. A WETT inspection report showing clearances are met. Ask the seller for an existing one.
- Well and septic. A water potability test from an accredited lab and a septic inspection. Some lenders lower the loan-to-value on a dug well or on large acreage.
- Wiring. Knob-and-tube, aluminum wiring or 60-amp service may need an electrician’s letter before an insurer will bind.
- Migrated title. Nova Scotia land is either migrated to the Land Registration system or not. If not, your lawyer migrates it at closing, which is a legal step rather than a lender document, but it adds time.
If the house has an oil tank, a wood stove and a well, send us the listing before you write the offer. The insurance quote and the inspections can start the same day, and the financing condition date can be set to fit them.
What the lawyer needs separately
Solicitor checklists exist because the lawyer runs a different process. They do not assess your income; they close the transaction. Their list is shorter and overlaps yours in only a few places.
- Two pieces of ID, seen in person or by verified video.
- The signed agreement of purchase and sale and any amendments.
- The mortgage instructions, which the lender sends directly to the lawyer once conditions are cleared. You do not deliver these.
- The insurance binder naming the lender.
- The closing funds: down payment balance, deed transfer tax and legal fees, by certified funds or wire a day or two before closing.
- Your instructions on title: whose name, and whether as joint tenants or tenants in common.
How the two processes fit together in time: how long mortgage approval takes in Nova Scotia →
How to send documents securely
Do not email tax returns and bank statements as open attachments. We use a secure upload link tied to your file; each document goes straight to the file and nowhere else. If you prefer paper, the Bedford office accepts it, but scanning is faster and every lender now works from digital files. Photos taken on a phone are fine if all four corners of the page are visible and the text is legible.
Before any of this starts you receive a Form 1, Mortgage Brokerage Disclosure, which Nova Scotia’s General Disclosure Regulations require a brokerage to provide and have you sign before services begin. It tells you who we act for, how we are paid and which lenders we work with. Licensing and disclosure →
Ready to send a pre-approval file? The first four groups above are all that is needed. How the pre-approval is done →
Questions people ask
Do I need all of these documents for a pre-approval?
For a pre-approval you need the first four groups: identity, income, down payment and a list of your existing debts and properties. The property documents come later, once you have an accepted offer. A pre-approval done on a verbal income figure with no documents is a pre-qualification, and lenders treat it that way.
How recent do my bank statements need to be?
Lenders want the most recent 90 days, and each statement has to show your name, the account number and the running balance. Screenshots of a balance are not enough. Any single deposit that is not payroll and is larger than a normal month’s savings will draw a question, so be ready to explain where it came from.
Can my down payment be a gift?
Yes, from an immediate family member: a parent, grandparent, sibling or child. The lender needs a signed gift letter stating the amount, the relationship and that the money is not repayable, plus proof the funds have landed in your account before closing. A gift from a friend, employer or cousin is not accepted by most lenders.
I am self-employed. Why are you asking for two years of tax returns?
Lenders and insurers qualify self-employed income on a two-year average of what you actually declared. CMHC recommends at least 24 months in business and accepts a 15% gross-up of net income on a standard file. That means two years of Notices of Assessment and the full T1 Generals, plus a proof of tax paid. If you write off most of your income, a bank-statement program is the other route.
Does the lawyer need the same documents as the lender?
No, and that is why solicitor checklists look different from this one. The lawyer needs your ID, the signed agreement of purchase and sale, the insurance binder, the lender’s mortgage instructions and the closing funds. They do not need your pay stubs or tax returns. The lender sends the lawyer the mortgage instructions directly once the file is approved.
Not sure which row you fall in?
Tell us how you are paid and where the down payment is coming from. You get back a short list of exactly what to send, and a secure link to send it, within a business day.