The Review Board must consider a request for certification and, unless the circumstances of a particular case require otherwise, make a determination within four months after the date the request is received.

The Review Board communicates its decision to applicant organizations and the donor or vendor as soon as possible, typically within four weeks of the meeting where the application was considered.

Only one appraisal is required when the estimated fair market value is $49,999 CAD or less. For applications where the estimated fair market value is $50,000 CAD or more, two appraisals are required, unless the appraisal is provided by a committee of the Art Dealers Association of Canada (ADAC) or the National Archival Appraisal Board (NAAB). In these cases, only one appraisal is required as the Review Board recognizes that such appraisals represent the opinion of more than one expert.

In particular cases, the Review Board needs additional information before making a decision. In these circumstances, the Review Board places the application on hold and notifies the applicant with a decision letter outlining what is required for the application to proceed. The applicant must submit the required information to the Secretariat within two years of the postmark date of the decision letter. If the applicant has not submitted the required information within this timeframe, the file will be closed.

The donor must submit a letter to the Secretariat requesting a redetermination of their application from the Review Board. It is recommended, though not a requirement, that additional information supporting the rationale for redetermination be submitted with the request.

The T871 tax certificate can be used for the year of donation and for the following five years. For more information on the T871 tax certificate, please contact the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).