Consumer Proposal Fees in Canada: What Is Regulated and What to Ask

The safest answer to “how much are consumer proposal fees?” is: ask for the complete written payment and its components. A copied percentage or fee table is not a quote for your file.

The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy (OSB) says a Licensed Insolvency Trustee’s remuneration is federally regulated. The OSB’s consumer-proposal guidance also explains that a proposal can offer to pay a percentage of debt, extend the payment period, or do both, with a term of no more than five years for an eligible individual.

Those rules do not create one universal total for every person. Your written estimate should reflect the debts listed, the proposed amount and term, the administration of the file, and any costs outside the proposal.

What Your Written Breakdown Should Show

Ask the LIT to identify these items separately:

• the total amount you would pay if the proposal is completed as written;
• the amount distributed to creditors under the proposal;
• regulated LIT remuneration;
• disbursements, taxes, and government charges, if applicable;
• debts and secured payments that remain outside the proposal; and
• any separate debt-advisory, credit-repair, referral, loan, or other third-party fee.

The important question is not “What do most people pay?” It is: “What would I pay in this file, what does each dollar cover, and what changes if the proposal is amended, missed, or completed early?”

Fee Claims to Treat Carefully

Be cautious with pages that promise any of the following without a current source and scope:

• one exact tariff for every trustee or province;
• zero upfront cost as a guarantee;
• a standard percentage of debt for every proposal;
• a guaranteed monthly payment or creditor outcome; or
• a fixed bankruptcy comparison that ignores income, assets, exemptions, and obligations.

The OSB’s review of consumer-insolvency business practices warns that separate debt-consultant fees can be charged in addition to regulated LIT remuneration. Read the OSB review and ask whether an intermediary is required before agreeing to extra services.

A Simple Payment Illustration

Once a real or illustrative total is known, the arithmetic is straightforward:

illustrative monthly payment = illustrative total ÷ number of payments

For example, an illustrative $18,000 total over 36 payments is $500 per month. That example does not prove that $18,000, 36 payments, or $500 is available or appropriate for any particular file. Run your own scenario in the consumer proposal calculator, then replace the illustration with a written LIT assessment.

Compare the Full Cost, Not Just the Fee Line

Compare total cash outlay, legal protection, asset treatment, tax and support obligations, credit reporting, and failure risk:

• Consumer proposal cost in Canada
• Consumer proposal vs bankruptcy
• Consumer proposal vs debt consolidation
• Consumer proposal timeline

If you have received a lawsuit, garnishment notice, or other urgent collection document, use notice triage before making a decision from a fee headline.

Bottom Line

Consumer proposal fees are not a universal internet price. Use the OSB’s guidance to understand the formal process, request a written itemized estimate from a LIT, identify separate fees, and use the calculator only for arithmetic. Start with the consumer-proposal hub or find a Licensed Insolvency Trustee for file-specific guidance.

This article is general information, not legal or financial advice.