Surcharging Across Canada: What Legal Professionals Need to Know (2025)

As credit card processing fees continue to rise, professionals in every industry are looking for ways to offset those costs without alienating clients or violating local regulations. For Canadian law firms, the challenge is twofold: ensure compliance with provincial consumer laws and law society trust accounting standards, while maintaining transparent billing practices.

This article breaks down the legality of credit card surcharges by province and territory, explains the evolving regulatory stance of Canadian law societies, and introduces alternative billing models like dual pricing that may offer a compliant path forward in stricter jurisdictions like Quebec.

What Is Surcharging?

Surcharging is the practice of passing on the cost of credit card acceptance – maximum 2.4% in Canada – directly to the client. Rather than absorbing the processing fee, the merchant (or service provider) adds it to the invoice when a credit card is used.

In October 2022, Visa and Mastercard updated their rules to allow Canadian merchants to apply these fees, as long as they follow clear requirements around disclosure, fee caps, and consumer protection.

Card Brand Rules That Still Apply

Even in provinces where surcharging is permitted, law firms must follow Visa and Mastercard’s Canadian guidelines, which include:

• Maximum surcharge: 2.4%
• Advance disclosure: Clients must be notified of the surcharge before payment is made
• Invoice transparency: The surcharge must appear as a separate line item
• Payment method: Surcharges may only apply to credit card transactions, not debit, prepaid, e-transfers, or cheques
• Cost Recovery Only: Merchants may not profit from surcharging; the fee charged must reflect the actual cost of acceptance

Province-by-Province Breakdown

In all permitted provinces and territories, firms must follow the same card brand rules and ensure client transparency.

Spotlight: Ontario

The Law Society of Ontario (LSO) was the first and remains the only regulatory body to issue detailed surcharge guidance. Following the 2022 network rule changes, the LSO confirmed that surcharges are permitted as long as:

• Clients are notified in advance (e.g., engagement letters)
  
• Surcharges are itemized on receipts and invoices
  
• The fee matches the true cost and is not marked up
  
• The surcharge is treated as a disbursement, not a professional fee
  
• If card (credit or debit) is used for a retainer, the POS system must link to a trust account

Spotlight: Quebec

Quebec remains the only province where surcharging is explicitly prohibited. Under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act (CQLR c. P-40.1):

“No costs may be claimed from a consumer unless the amount thereof is precisely indicated in the contract.”

This prohibits additional fees – like credit card surcharges – unless they are included in the contract price. The Barreau du Québec aligns with this interpretation and disallows surcharge practices.

Alternative: Dual Pricing

Instead of adding a fee, dual pricing allows firms to display two prices from the outset:

• Cash/Interac: $100 Credit Card: $102.40

This model may offer a compliant path forward, so long as both prices are clearly disclosed before payment, and the credit card price is not framed as a “fee.” This structure must be communicated in writing (e.g., quotes, engagement letters, or service menus).

All Other Provinces and Territories

Outside of Ontario and Quebec, no law society has issued formal guidance on surcharging as of 2025. However, credit card surcharges are not prohibited under provincial consumer laws in the remaining provinces and territories. As a result, businesses – including law firms – may implement surcharges provided they follow:

• Card network rules (e.g., Visa/Mastercard’s disclosure and cap requirements)
• General trust accounting and billing standards enforced by their provincial law societies
• Transparent communication through engagement letters or invoices

In the absence of regulator-specific guidelines, best practice is to treat surcharges as disbursements, ensure they reflect actual costs, and disclose them clearly and early in the client relationship.

While this patchwork approach adds complexity, it also gives legal professionals in most jurisdictions flexibility to recover payment processing fees – so long as it’s done with care and compliance in mind.

Risk Mitigation & Best Practices for Legal Professionals

Even in jurisdictions where surcharging is allowed, law firms must tread carefully. Here’s how to minimize regulatory risk:

1. Include Clear Disclosure Language 

State up front that credit card payments will incur a processing fee. Reference Visa/Mastercard rules and include a sample breakdown if possible.

2. Bill Surcharges as Disbursements (Where Permitted)

In Ontario, this is a requirement. In other jurisdictions, doing so reflects a cost incurred on behalf of the client, improving transparency.

3. Align Payment Systems with Trust Account Rules

When retainer payments are made via credit card, ensure your POS terminal links to your trust account directly to comply with law society accounting rules.

4. Review Terms Annually

Card brand rules can change. So can provincial law. Build a compliance review into your yearly risk assessment cycle.

At Rescue, we proactively monitor regulatory shifts to ensure our merchants stay compliant-no matter how the rules evolve.

Looking Ahead: Why This Matters 

With economic pressures mounting and digital payments becoming the norm, legal clients are increasingly expecting transparency around costs. Surcharging, when executed responsibly, can help law firms protect margins, educate clients, and stay compliant across jurisdictions.

Still, given the legal profession’s heightened fiduciary duties it’s essential to approach surcharge implementation with clarity.

For most Canadian law firms, surcharging is not just a possibility – it is a viable, lawful tool when applied properly. Wherever you operate, the key is clear documentation, client consent, and strict adherence to provincial laws, law societies, and card brand rules.