If you have been searching for a “consumer proposal template” so you can fill one out yourself and send it to your creditors, there is something important you need to know before you spend another minute looking. In Canada, a consumer proposal is not a letter you write. It is a formal legal filing under a federal statute, and there is exactly one type of professional allowed to prepare and file it on your behalf.
That is not bad news. It actually protects you. It means no one can talk you into signing a badly built proposal, and it means the person handling your file answers to a federal regulator. This guide explains who actually creates a consumer proposal in Canada, what the official form looks like, what it costs, and what you should be doing instead of hunting for a template.
What Is a “Consumer Proposal Template,” Really?
Here is where a lot of confusion starts. There is a template. It is called Form 47, and it is a prescribed form published by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy (OSB). You can look at it online. It is a short document that states the debtor is making a proposal, lists how claims will be paid, names the administrator, and sets out the payment terms.
What you cannot do is print it, fill it in, and file it. Form 47 sits in the OSB’s forms library for Licensed Insolvency Trustees, not for the public. The form is only one page of a much larger filing package that also includes a sworn statement of your income, assets, liabilities and monthly budget, a Form 49 notice to creditors, and the administrator’s report to creditors on Form 48. Those documents have to line up with each other and with the requirements of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. A form filled out on its own is not a consumer proposal. It is just paper.
You may also run into pages describing a “WHO consumer proposal template.” That is a mix-up. The World Health Organization has nothing to do with Canadian insolvency law, and no international body publishes consumer proposal forms. The only authority here is the OSB, a federal agency under Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.
Who Can Actually File a Consumer Proposal in Canada
Only a Licensed Insolvency Trustee can file a consumer proposal. Under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, the LIT takes on a specific role for proposals: they are called the administrator. No lawyer, accountant, credit counsellor, debt consultant, or debt settlement company can file one, no matter what their advertising says.
This matters because the debt settlement industry has a long history of charging Canadians upfront fees to “prepare” paperwork that ultimately has to be handed to a trustee anyway. If a company asks you for money to draft a proposal, you are paying twice for something the trustee is legally required to do. According to the OSB’s guidance for people who owe money, the trustee is the one who assesses your situation, explains your options, and files the documents.
A Licensed Insolvency Trustee is federally licensed and supervised. They have a duty to both you and your creditors, which is why the offer they help you build has to be realistic on both sides. That dual duty is also why proposals get accepted so often: a trustee will not file something creditors are obviously going to reject.
Why Having a Trustee Build It Works in Your Favour
The moment your proposal is filed, an automatic stay of proceedings kicks in. Most collection calls, lawsuits, and wage garnishments have to stop.
Trustee fees on a consumer proposal are set by a government tariff. They come out of the payments you were already going to make, not as a separate bill.
Unlike bankruptcy, a consumer proposal generally lets you keep your house, car, and RRSP as long as you keep up the payments.
Interest stops accruing on the covered debts. You make one predictable monthly payment for a set term.
The trustee builds the offer around what you can genuinely afford after living expenses, then puts it to creditors for a vote.
The Real Trade-Offs You Should Know
A consumer proposal is recorded as an R7 rating and generally stays on your file for three years after you finish paying, or six years from filing, whichever comes first.
Unsecured debts must be under $250,000, not counting the mortgage on your principal residence. Above that, you are looking at a Division I proposal or bankruptcy.
Creditors vote. If they reject it, the proposal is annulled and you have to start over with a different plan.
Fall three months behind and the proposal is automatically annulled. Your original debts, including the interest that was frozen, come back.
Insolvency filings are searchable through the OSB’s public registry, though in practice almost nobody looks.
Who Should Consider a Consumer Proposal
- You have between roughly $10,000 and $250,000 in unsecured debt and no realistic path to paying it in full.
- You have steady income but the minimum payments are consuming it.
- You own a home with equity, or a paid-off vehicle, and want to keep it.
- You are facing a wage garnishment or a creditor lawsuit and need it to stop.
- You owe money to CRA. Tax debt can be included, which surprises a lot of people. We cover this in detail in our guide to using a consumer proposal for tax debt.
- You want a definite end date rather than an open-ended repayment plan.
Who Should Look at Something Else
- Your debt is small enough that a tightened budget clears it in two or three years. A debt management plan may be a lighter option.
- Your income is irregular or you have no surplus at all. A proposal needs a payment you can sustain; bankruptcy may be the more honest answer.
- Almost all your debt is secured, like a mortgage or a car loan. A proposal deals with unsecured debt.
- You expect a large inheritance, settlement, or sale of property soon that would clear the balance.
- You are under $250,000 but only barely, and your situation is still changing. Talk to a trustee before locking anything in.
What It Actually Costs: A Worked Example
This is the part a template would never get right, because the number depends on what your creditors would receive if you went bankrupt instead. Here is a realistic example for someone with a steady job and no significant assets.
Notice what is not in that table: a separate line for trustee fees. The administrator’s fee is drawn from the $22,000, under a tariff set out in federal regulation. The $367 a month is the whole cost. Compare that to $55,000 in credit card debt at 21 percent, where minimum payments alone would run past $900 a month and take decades.
How Your Proposal Gets Built and Filed
If you were hoping a template would save you time, this is the honest picture of what actually happens. Most of it is the trustee’s work, not yours.
- You book a free consultation with a Licensed Insolvency Trustee. There is no charge for this and no obligation. Bring a rough list of who you owe and how much.
- The trustee assesses your full financial picture. Income, household expenses, assets, and every debt. This is where they confirm you are under the $250,000 threshold and whether a proposal is even the right tool.
- You and the trustee work out an affordable offer. The number has to clear one bar: creditors must do better than they would if you declared bankruptcy. The trustee knows where that line sits.
- The trustee prepares Form 47 and the supporting documents. This includes your sworn statement of affairs and the administrator’s report. You review and sign.
- The proposal is filed with the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy. The automatic stay of proceedings begins immediately. Garnishments and collection calls stop.
- Creditors are notified and given 45 days to respond. If no creditor holding at least 25 percent of the total claims requests a meeting, the proposal is deemed accepted. Most proposals are accepted this way, without a meeting ever happening.
- You make your monthly payments and attend two counselling sessions. The two financial counselling sessions are mandatory and are included in the cost.
- You receive a Certificate of Full Performance. Once the final payment clears, the remaining balance is legally gone. The trustee files the certificate and your file closes.
If your proposal is rejected or annulled, you are not out of options. You can look at whether filing a second consumer proposal makes sense, or weigh the differences between a proposal and bankruptcy. Rules and costs also vary a little by province, so if you are on the west coast our British Columbia consumer proposal guide covers the local specifics.
Ready to see if you qualify?
Can I download a consumer proposal template and fill it out myself?
You can view Form 47 on the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy website, but filling it out yourself has no legal effect. A consumer proposal only exists once a Licensed Insolvency Trustee files it with the OSB along with your sworn statement of affairs and the administrator’s report. A self-completed form is not a filing, does not trigger the stay of proceedings that stops collection calls, and does not bind your creditors to anything. If a website is selling you a fillable consumer proposal template, you are paying for a document that cannot be used.
What is the difference between Form 47, Form 48 and Form 49?
They are three parts of the same filing package. Form 47 is the consumer proposal itself, setting out the terms of what you are offering creditors. Form 48 is the administrator’s report to creditors, where the trustee explains your financial situation and gives an opinion on whether the proposal is reasonable. Form 49 is the notice sent to creditors telling them a proposal has been filed and explaining their right to vote or request a meeting. All three are prepared by the trustee, and all three have to be consistent with each other.
How much does a Licensed Insolvency Trustee charge to prepare a consumer proposal?
Nothing upfront, and nothing on top of your monthly payment. Trustee fees for consumer proposals are fixed by a tariff in federal regulation, and they are paid out of the money you are already contributing to the proposal. So in the example above, where the offer to creditors is $22,000 over 60 months, the trustee’s fee comes out of that $22,000. Your creditors receive the remainder. This is very different from debt settlement companies, which typically charge fees separately and in advance. The initial consultation with a trustee is free.
What happens if my creditors reject the proposal?
Creditors have 45 days from filing to respond. If creditors holding at least 25 percent of the proven claims request a meeting, one is held and a vote takes place. If the proposal is voted down, it is annulled and you are back where you started, though the trustee will usually have anticipated this and can often amend the offer before it comes to that. If the amended offer still fails, your remaining options are typically a Division I proposal or bankruptcy. Rejection is uncommon because a trustee will not file a proposal that creditors are clearly going to refuse.
Can I include CRA tax debt in a consumer proposal?
Yes. Income tax debt, GST/HST amounts and most other CRA balances are unsecured debts and can be included in a consumer proposal like any other. CRA does vote on proposals and can be a demanding creditor, particularly where the tax debt makes up a large share of the total or where returns have not been filed. Your trustee will usually want all outstanding returns filed before the proposal goes in. One exception to watch: if CRA has already registered a lien against your property, that portion of the debt is secured and is handled differently.
After 20 years of structuring multi-million dollar corporate debt facilities and corporate turnarounds in investment banking, Marcus now leads Canadian Debt Relief to apply those exact same balance-sheet optimization frameworks to Canadian household debt.
