A mortgage document checklist by deal type: because one generic list undersells every file type but one.

• →Government-issued photo ID, matched to the FINTRAC identity-verification requirement.
• →Two recent pay stubs and a letter of employment confirming position, income, and length of service.
• →Most recent Notice of Assessment, or two years' worth if income includes bonus or overtime that varies year to year.
• →Signed purchase agreement (Agreement of Purchase and Sale) with all schedules and amendments attached.
• →Proof of down payment with 90 days of history on the source account, plus a gift letter if any portion is gifted.
• →Void cheque or pre-authorized debit form for the funding account.

This is the baseline list every other deal type below builds on or diverges from — it's rarely the whole story for anything but this file type.

Everything above minus the pay stubs and employment letter, replaced with a business income stack. See working out self-employed income from a T1 and T2 for how these documents actually get turned into a qualifying figure.

• →Two years' personal T1 Generals and Notices of Assessment.
• →T2125 (Statement of Business or Professional Activities) for a sole proprietor, or two years' T2 Corporation Income Tax Returns and corporate NOAs for an incorporated borrower.
• →Business registration or articles of incorporation, and current business licence where applicable.
• →Recent business account bank statements showing ongoing activity, plus GST/HST returns if the lender requests them.
• →Accountant-prepared financial statements, if available, particularly for a business with financial statements more current than the latest tax return.

• →Current mortgage statement showing outstanding balance, rate, and maturity date.
• →Most recent property tax bill or statement, and proof of home insurance.
• →Updated income documentation — the same pay stub/NOA or self-employed stack above, refreshed to current.
• →Updated credit bureau pull, since a refinance or switch requalifies the file against current debts, not the ones on file at the original approval.
• →For a refinance specifically (not a straight switch): purpose of funds documentation if any portion is being used for debt consolidation, renovation, or another stated purpose.

Note the stress-test distinction here matters: a straight switch of an uninsured mortgage — same lender relationship type, no increase to loan amount or amortization — hasn't required MQR requalification since November 2024, while a refinance that increases the loan amount still does. See renewal vs. refinance in Canada for the fuller distinction.

• →Everything from the applicable purchase or refinance list above, for the borrower's own income.
• →Signed lease agreement for an existing tenancy, or an appraiser's opinion of fair market rent where no lease exists yet.
• →Prior year's tax return showing rental income already declared, if the property has been rented before.
• →Property tax and condo fee statements for the rental unit specifically, since these feed directly into whichever rental income method the lender applies.
• →Existing mortgage statement on the rental property, if it's already owned and being refinanced.

Which of these actually moves the ratio depends on the rental income method the lender applies — see rental offset methods compared before assuming a figure.

• →Permanent resident card, work permit, or other immigration status document confirming legal status in Canada.
• →Foreign income and employment history, translated and often supported by an international credit report or a reference letter from a foreign financial institution, since a Canadian bureau file may be thin or nonexistent.
• →Canadian bank statements showing savings history since arrival, alongside any funds transferred from abroad with a documented source.
• →Proof of Canadian employment or a confirmed offer, since foreign employment history alone typically isn't sufficient once a program's newcomer window has passed.

Newcomer programs vary meaningfully by lender in what they'll accept in place of Canadian credit history, so confirming the specific program's document list before setting client expectations matters more here than on almost any other file type.

• →Property appraisal, typically required upfront rather than ordered mid-file, since the property itself carries more of the underwriting weight.
• →A clear exit strategy in writing — how and when the borrower expects to refinance out or sell — which private lenders commonly ask for explicitly.
• →Existing mortgage and any secured debt statements, to establish current loan-to-value position.
• →Simplified income documentation compared to an A-lender file, though “simplified” doesn't mean absent — a private lender still wants a credible income picture, just a less standardized one.

Private and alternative files are the deal type where a mismatched, A-lender-style checklist wastes the most time — the underwriting emphasis shifts toward the property and the exit plan, and chasing income documents that don't move the needle for this lender type slows the file down for no benefit.