Divorce Checklist for Ontario

Under section 3(1) of the federal Divorce Act (RSC 1985, c 3), at least one spouse must have been ordinarily resident in Ontario for a minimum of one year immediately before filing the Application for Divorce. Ordinarily resident means Ontario is where you maintain your regular home, even if you travel occasionally for work or personal reasons. Citizenship and immigration status do not affect eligibility. You must also establish that the marriage has broken down, which under section 8(2) of the Divorce Act requires proving at least one year of separation, adultery, or physical or mental cruelty. Most Ontario divorces proceed on the one-year separation ground. You may file during the separation year, but the court will not grant the divorce until the full year has elapsed. Gather documents proving your Ontario address such as a driver's licence, utility bills, or lease agreements to confirm residency when completing Form 8A.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice requires an original or certified copy of your marriage certificate or marriage registration when you file your Application for Divorce. If you married in Ontario, you can order a certified copy from ServiceOntario for $15 (short form) or $36 (long form) online at ontario.ca/page/get-marriage-certificate-background. If you married elsewhere in Canada, contact that province's vital statistics office. For marriages outside Canada, you must obtain a certified translation of the foreign marriage certificate into English or French by a certified translator, plus an affidavit from the translator confirming the accuracy. Under Rule 36 of the Family Law Rules (O. Reg. 114/99), the marriage certificate must be attached to your Form 36: Affidavit for Divorce as an exhibit. The information on your certificate — including names, date, and place of marriage — must match exactly what you enter on Form 8A.

Although not legally required to file for divorce, a written separation agreement under Part IV of the Family Law Act (RSO 1990, c F.3, sections 54-59) can dramatically simplify and accelerate your Ontario divorce. A separation agreement is a domestic contract that outlines how you and your spouse will divide property, handle spousal support, arrange parenting time and decision-making responsibility for children, and address child support obligations. Under section 55 of the Family Law Act, each party must receive independent legal advice and make full financial disclosure for the agreement to be enforceable. Both parties must sign the agreement before a witness. A valid separation agreement allows you to proceed with a simple or joint divorce using Form 8A rather than the more complex Form 8, significantly reducing court time, legal costs, and emotional strain. Ontario's family mediation services at https://www.ontario.ca/page/family-mediation can help you negotiate terms.

Ontario's Family Law Rules (O. Reg. 114/99, Rule 13) require full, sworn financial disclosure in all family cases involving support or property claims. You must collect comprehensive financial records before filing, as incomplete disclosure can result in court sanctions, cost orders, or unfavourable rulings. Under Rule 13(3.1), you must serve a completed Financial Statement — Form 13 for support-only claims or Form 13.1 for property and support claims — along with Form 13A: Certificate of Financial Disclosure listing all supporting documents. Required supporting documents include your last three income tax returns with Notices of Assessment and Reassessment, your most recent pay stub, bank statements for all accounts, investment account statements, real property valuations, pension statements showing the valuation date value, and documentation for all debts including mortgage statements and credit card balances. For self-employed individuals, include business financial statements for the last three fiscal years.

For a simple divorce where you seek only the divorce order itself, complete Form 8A: Application (Divorce), available at https://ontariocourtforms.on.ca/en/family-law-rules-forms/8a/. If you are also claiming parenting arrangements, child support, spousal support, or property division, use the general Form 8: Application instead. Under Rule 8 of the Family Law Rules (O. Reg. 114/99), the application must state the grounds for divorce under section 8 of the Divorce Act, the date of marriage, the date of separation, whether there are children of the marriage, and any existing court orders or domestic contracts. For joint applications, both spouses complete and sign one Form 8A together. You must also indicate compliance with section 7.7 of the Divorce Act regarding the lawyer's duty to discuss reconciliation and inform the applicant about mediation and negotiation services. The application must be typed and identify which court location you are filing in under Rule 5.

Form 36: Affidavit for Divorce is the sworn statement that provides the factual basis for granting your divorce. Under Rule 36(4) of the Family Law Rules, this affidavit must confirm the date and place of marriage, the grounds for divorce (typically one year of separation under section 8(2)(a) of the Divorce Act), that there is no possibility of reconciliation, and that there are no collusion or connivance issues under section 11 of the Divorce Act. You must attach your original marriage certificate or a certified copy as an exhibit to Form 36. The affidavit must be sworn or affirmed before a commissioner for taking affidavits — this can be done at the court counter (free) or at a notary public or lawyer's office (typically $21-$50 fee). For joint applications, each spouse must complete and swear their own separate Form 36. The information in your affidavit must precisely match what you stated in Form 8A, including all names, dates, and addresses.

Form 25A: Divorce Order is the draft order you prepare for the judge to review and sign if the divorce is granted. Under the Family Law Rules, this form must be typed — handwritten versions will be rejected. The draft order should state that the marriage is dissolved and include the effective date, which by law is 31 days after the date the order is made, per section 12(1) of the Divorce Act. If your divorce includes terms about parenting arrangements, child support, or spousal support, those terms must also be included in the draft order. You should prepare three copies of Form 25A: one for the court file, one to be mailed to you, and one to be mailed to your spouse. You must also provide two self-addressed stamped envelopes so the court can mail the signed orders to both parties. The draft order is filed alongside your Form 36 and other divorce materials when placing your matter before a judge for review.

File your completed forms with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in the municipality where you or your spouse resides. The filing fee for the Application for Divorce is CAD $214.00 under Ontario Regulation 417/95 (Superior Court of Justice — Fees). This includes a mandatory $10 federal fee paid to the Department of Justice for the Central Registry of Divorce Proceedings (CRDP), which cannot be waived. If you cannot afford the filing fee, you may apply for a fee waiver using the FW-A forms available at https://www.ontario.ca/page/have-your-court-fees-waived — eligibility is based on your financial circumstances. Upon filing, the court clerk assigns your case a court file number, issues your application, and electronically transmits your information to the CRDP in Ottawa within 7 days. Note that additional fees apply later: $445 to place the matter on the hearing list for an uncontested divorce, and $25 for the Certificate of Divorce. Total court fees for a simple uncontested divorce are approximately $669 plus the $25 certificate fee.

After the court issues your Application for Divorce, you must arrange for personal service on your spouse under Rule 6 of the Family Law Rules (O. Reg. 114/99). You cannot serve the documents yourself — an independent person aged 18 or older must deliver the documents personally to your spouse. This can be a friend, family member, or a professional process server. The server must hand your spouse the issued Form 8A (or Form 8), the Continuing Record and Table of Contents, and any other filed documents. After service is completed, the person who served your spouse must complete Form 6B: Affidavit of Service, swearing or affirming when, where, and how the documents were delivered. This Form 6B must be commissioned before a commissioner for taking affidavits. File the completed Form 6B with the court to prove service was effected. If your spouse cannot be located, you may apply to the court for an order for substituted service or dispensing with service under Rule 6(16).

Under Rule 8.1 of the Family Law Rules (O. Reg. 114/99), both parties must attend the Mandatory Information Program (MIP) within 45 days of the case being started, unless the case involves only a simple divorce with no contested issues. The MIP is a free information session lasting 1 hour for cases without children and 2 hours for cases involving children. During the session, a lawyer and a family or mental health professional explain family law basics, the court process, and alternative dispute resolution options including mediation, arbitration, and collaborative family law. You attend separately from your spouse. Upon completion, you receive a certificate that must be added to your Continuing Record and filed with the court. The MIP can be attended in person at the courthouse or online via Zoom through the Family Law Information Program (FLIP) at the court's website. Failing to attend can delay your case or result in cost orders against you.

After being served, the respondent has 30 calendar days to serve and file a Form 10: Answer if served within Canada or the United States, or 60 calendar days if served outside Canada or the United States, as set out in Rule 10(1) of the Family Law Rules (O. Reg. 114/99). The filing fee for an Answer is CAD $171.00. If the respondent files an Answer, they may also include their own claims (counterclaims) for support, property, or parenting arrangements. The applicant then has 10 calendar days to serve and file a Reply using Form 10A. If the respondent does not file an Answer within the required timeframe, they are noted in default under Rule 12(1). A respondent in default cannot participate further in the case without the court's permission and cannot file any documents or present evidence, though the court retains discretion to set aside the default under Rule 12(4) for meritorious reasons. Time is counted starting the day after the effective service date, including weekends and holidays.

The Central Registry of Divorce Proceedings (CRDP), maintained by the federal Department of Justice in Ottawa, must issue a Clearance Certificate confirming that no other divorce proceeding between the same parties exists anywhere in Canada. Under section 12.1 of the Divorce Act and Rule 36(6) of the Family Law Rules, the court cannot grant a divorce without this certificate. The court electronically transmits your application information to the CRDP within 7 days of filing. The clearance process typically takes 4 to 8 weeks, though delays can occur if there are common names or discrepancies between the names on your marriage certificate and divorce application. The $10 federal fee paid at filing covers this process. You do not need to take any action to obtain the certificate — the court handles the request automatically. However, you should follow up with the court clerk if you have not received confirmation after 8 weeks. This waiting period runs concurrently with the respondent's 30-day answer period, so it does not necessarily add time to the overall process.

For contested divorces, Rule 17 of the Family Law Rules (O. Reg. 114/99) requires a case conference as the first substantive court event. Both parties must serve and file a Case Conference Brief (Form 17A) — the applicant 6 business days before the conference, and the respondent 4 business days before. Both must confirm attendance by filing Form 17F: Confirmation of Conference by 2:00 p.m. three business days before the conference. At the case conference, a judge identifies issues, explores settlement possibilities, and sets a timetable for the case. If issues remain unresolved, the court schedules a settlement conference where the judge more actively facilitates negotiation. If settlement fails, a trial management conference precedes the trial itself. Under the new Rule 43 (effective January 22, 2025), parties can also opt for Binding Judicial Dispute Resolution — a summary process where one judge both mediates and decides unresolved issues. For uncontested divorces, these conferences are not required and the matter proceeds by desk review.

Once the CRDP Clearance Certificate has been received by the court and either the respondent has been noted in default or all issues have been resolved, you must file the remaining divorce materials for a judge to review. For an uncontested desk review, submit Form 36: Affidavit for Divorce (with the marriage certificate attached), Form 25A: Draft Divorce Order (typed, 3 copies), two self-addressed stamped envelopes, and Form 6B: Affidavit of Service if it was a sole application. The filing fee to place the matter on the hearing list is $445 under O. Reg. 417/95. The judge reviews the file without a hearing and, if satisfied that all requirements of the Divorce Act are met — including compliance with sections 7.7 (reconciliation duty), 11 (bars to divorce), and 15.1-16 (support obligations) — signs the Divorce Order. Processing time for the judge's desk review is typically 4 to 8 weeks depending on the court's caseload. The court mails signed copies of the Divorce Order to both parties using the self-addressed stamped envelopes.

Under section 12(1) of the Divorce Act, a Divorce Order takes effect on the 31st day after the day it is made. During this 31-day appeal period, either party may appeal the divorce under section 21 of the Divorce Act. You are not legally divorced until the appeal period expires. Once the 31 days have passed without an appeal being filed, you may request a Certificate of Divorce from the court office where your Divorce Order was made. The Certificate of Divorce is your official proof that your marriage has been legally dissolved. You must present this certificate if you wish to remarry. The fee for a Certificate of Divorce is $25 under O. Reg. 417/95. You can request the certificate in person at the court office, by mail, or through the Justice Services Online portal. It is advisable to keep your Certificate of Divorce in a safe location alongside your other vital documents, as you may need it for future legal, financial, or immigration matters.