How Your Funding is Released

Funding Certificates: General Information

Your Certificate of Eligibility Part-Time Loans and Grants (“funding certificate”) will be available at your financial aid office approximately two weeks from the date indicated on your funding summary. Note that your certificate will be released to you no earlier than the start of your study period that the funding was issued for.

You must provide proof of your identity before your financial aid office will release your funding certificate to you.

When you are given your funding certificate, you will also be provided with a Canada Student Loan Agreement for Part-Time Students (“loan agreement”). You must put your contact and banking information on this document so that the National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC) knows where to deposit the part-time aid listed on your funding certificate.

    Note for Students Studying Via Distance Education/Correspondence:

    Contact your financial aid office for details on how to obtain your funding certificate and loan agreement form.

    Note for Students Studying Outside Canada:

    Your funding certificate and loan agreements form will be sent to the mailing address that you indicated on your OSAP Application for Part-Time Students. Both you and your school must complete the applicable sections on the funding certificate before you negotiate your funding certificate.

Ontario Part-Time Grant

If your assessment indicates that you are eligible for an Ontario Part-Time Grant, it will be issued to you in the form of a cheque. The cheque will be sent to your financial aid office approximately four to six weeks after your enrolment has been confirmed and processed.

Negotiating Your Funding Certificate

You must submit both your funding certificate and your completed loan agreement form to the NSLSC kiosk at your school or to a designated Canada Post outlet to get your aid released to you.

Note:

Your funding certificate must be negotiated within 30 days of the date on which your financial aid office signs it. If your financial aid office signs the funding certificate in the last month of your study period, you must negotiate it by the end of that month.

Disbursement of Funds From Your Funding Certificate

Your entire Part-Time Canada Student Loan will be disbursed once you have negotiated your funding certificate. Any Canada Student Grant funds listed on your funding certificate will be disbursed in two equal instalments. The first instalment is disbursed once you have negotiated your funding certificate. The second instalment is disbursed half way through your study period. The second disbursement date is listed on your funding certificate.

Proving Your Identity

Your identity will be verified before any form of OSAP funding (i.e., funding certificates and/or grant cheques) will be given to you.

  • If you are attending a school located in Canada, your financial aid office will be reviewing the two pieces of identification that your provide from the list below to confirm your identity.
  • If you are attending a school located outside of Canada, you will be providing the required documentation used to verify your identity as part of your application. The type of documentation will be outlined to you as part of your application process.

If you are attending a school located in Canada, you will be required to one piece of identification for each of the following two categories:

    Required Identification #1: Photo ID

      • one piece of valid photo ID issued in Canada by the federal, a provincial or a territorial government. You can provide the actual identification or a legible photocopy or fax of the documentation.

    Examples of acceptable forms of photo ID are:

      • a valid driver's licence,
      • passport,
      • provincial health card with photo,
      • BYID card (issued by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario), or
      • permanent residency or citizenship card

    If you do not have any of the above documentation, you must go to the appropriate government agency in order to obtain the government-issued photo ID in order to receive your loan/grant funding certificates and/or grant cheques.

    Required Identification #2: Proof of Social Insurance Number (SIN)

    Examples of acceptable proof of your Social Insurance Number include:

      • Your Social Insurance Number card (a photocopy is acceptable), or
      • an official Government of Canada document that indicates your Social Insurance Number (e.g., a Canada Revenue Agency Notice of Assessment, a Canada Pension Plan Statement of Contributions, or a Confirmation of Social Insurance Number from Service Canada).

    Only SIN cards issued by the Canadian Government are acceptable for OSAP identification purposes.

    Unacceptable Documentation:

    The following documentation is not acceptable for OSAP purposes to verify your identity:

      • Student ID cards,
      • T-4, T-4A, T-5 documents, or
      • “replica” SIN card not directly issued by the Canadian government

If you have any questions about the requirements for proving your identity, please contact your financial aid office.