Ottawa student guide
How to get your 40 volunteer hours in Ottawa
Every Ontario student needs 40 hours of community involvement to graduate with an OSSD. Here’s exactly how the rule works in Ottawa, what counts, how to submit your hours at OCDSB and OCSB, and how to make the whole thing painless.
The 40-hour rule, in plain English
To earn the Ontario Secondary School Diploma, every student must complete a minimum of 40 hours of community involvement — unpaid volunteer work that benefits the community. You can start the summer before Grade 9 and you have until the end of Grade 12 to finish. The requirement is the same whether you attend an OCDSB (public) or OCSB (Catholic) school in Ottawa.
What counts
Eligible activities are a service you provide to meet a real community need, in a safe setting. That includes work with:
- Not-for-profit and charitable organizations
- Hospitals and long-term care facilities
- Public-sector institutions (libraries, the offices of local, provincial, or federal representatives)
- Religious, cultural, and community events
- First Nation, Métis, and Inuit communities and organizations
What doesn’t count
Some activities are specifically excluded by the Ministry. Avoid logging:
- Anything you’re paid for, or work normally done for wages
- A requirement of a course (e.g. co-op or experiential learning)
- Activities during your school’s instructional day
- Operating a vehicle or power tools, or administering medication
- Handling money/valuables at a bank, or duties needing a regulated tradesperson
- Chores normally done at home, or court-ordered programs
Each board can keep its own approved-activity list, so when in doubt, check with your guidance counsellor before you start.
How to submit your hours
The traditional path: the organization signs a paper form confirming the date and number of hours, and you hand that form to your school’s guidance office. Your board (OCDSB or OCSB) records it against your diploma requirements. The catch is that the whole system runs on paper signatures — forms get lost, supervisors forget, and there’s no easy way for a counsellor to confirm a record is genuine.
The easy way to do it
Easy 40 fixes the boring part. You find real Ottawa volunteer shifts, show up, and the organization that hosted you confirms your attendance — you never mark your own hours. When you’re ready, you export a dated, verified record your counsellor can check against a live database in under a minute. No chasing signatures, nothing to lose.
Going past 40 hours
If you complete 50 or more hours, you may be eligible for the Minister’s Certificate of Recognition for Community Involvement — an official provincial credential (Bronze, Silver, or Gold) that strengthens job, scholarship, and university applications.
Common questions
When can I start earning my 40 hours?
You can begin counting community involvement hours the summer before you start Grade 9. They don’t have to wait until school starts — a summer volunteer shift before Grade 9 counts.
What is the deadline to finish?
You must complete all 40 hours by the end of Grade 12 to receive your OSSD. Most Ottawa students finish well before then; spreading the hours across all four years is far easier than scrambling in Grade 12.
Do hours I earned in another city count?
Yes. The 40-hour requirement is provincial, not city-specific. Hours volunteered anywhere in Ontario (or recognized by your school board) count toward your OSSD as long as the activity is eligible and properly documented.
What if I lose my signed paper form?
This is the most common reason students lose hours. Ask the organization to re-sign a copy, or use a record that is verified at the source — on Easy 40, the hosting organization confirms your attendance directly, so your record can be re-exported any time and checked against a live database.
Does Ottawa have a separate deadline for submitting hours?
Submission is handled by your school board (OCDSB or OCSB) and your school’s guidance office, not by the province. Hand your signed documentation to your guidance counsellor; boards typically reconcile hours ahead of each year’s graduation. Check your school’s guidance page for the exact cut-off.
Sources: the Ontario Ministry of Education’s high-school volunteer hours guidance and the OCDSB community involvement requirements. Always confirm specifics with your own school’s guidance office.