Documenting financial losses for restitution

Documenting financial losses for restitution

Restitution is the money the Court may order an offender to pay the victim for financial losses the victim suffered as a result of a crime. Restitution can only be ordered for losses that were suffered from the time of the crime to sentencing and that are easy to calculate.

1. Start recording financial losses as soon as possible after the crime.
2. Restitution can only cover the victim’s actual financial losses or expenses up to the date of the sentence. For example, restitution can be ordered for:
   • costs to replace or fix property damaged or lost because of the crime
   • lost income due to the crime
   • costs for temporary housing, moving, food, childcare, and transportation due to a spouse, common-law partner, or child moving out of the offender’s household because of harm or threat of harm from the offender
   • costs that victims of identity theft had to pay to re-establish their identity, or to correct their credit history and their credit rating
   • costs that victims of non-consensual publication of an intimate image had to pay to have that image removed from the Internet or other digital networks
3. Keep the following documents:
   • receipts
   • records and copies of all invoices
   • pay stubs to help prove lost wages
   • bills for cost of repairs or replacements and estimates for replacement items (for example, stolen or damaged items that needed replacement or repair)
   • any other documents that prove financial losses due to the crime

The Court may decide not to order restitution. The Court must give reasons for its decision. Restitution may not cover everything the victim has lost and recorded.

For more information, see the Restitution fact sheet.

Disclaimer: This infographic contains general information only and is not intended as legal advice.