Divorce Resources in Ontario: Court Forms, Legal Aid & Filing Guide

To file for divorce in Ontario, you must meet the residency requirement under section 3(1) of the Divorce Act (Canada): at least one spouse must have ordinarily resided in Ontario for at least one year immediately before the application is filed. The sole ground for divorce under section 8(1) of the Divorce Act is breakdown of the marriage, established by one year of separation, adultery, or physical or mental cruelty. The vast majority of Ontario divorces rely on the one-year separation ground. You file your Application for Divorce (Form 8A for uncontested, Form 8 for contested) at the Superior Court of Justice in the municipality where you or your spouse lives. The filing fee is CAD $214 under O. Reg. 417/95, plus the mandatory $10 federal fee for the Central Registry of Divorce Proceedings under SOR/86-547.

After filing the application, you must serve the respondent with the court documents. For a sole divorce, personal service is required under Rule 6 of the Family Law Rules, and you must file an Affidavit of Service (Form 6B) proving proper service. The respondent has 30 days to file an Answer if served within Canada, or 60 days if served outside Canada. For a joint divorce, both spouses sign the application together and no service is required. You must also file an Affidavit for Divorce (Form 36) sworn before a commissioner, your original Marriage Certificate or Marriage Registration Certificate, and the Draft Divorce Order (Form 25A). Both parties must attend the Mandatory Information Program within 45 days under Rule 8.1 of the Family Law Rules, unless exempted.

Once all documents are filed and the respondent's time to answer has expired (or the answer has been filed), you must set the matter down for hearing by filing a Requisition and paying the $445 placement fee under O. Reg. 417/95. A judge reviews the application in chambers without a hearing for uncontested divorces. If the judge is satisfied that all requirements are met, the Divorce Order (Form 25A) is signed. The divorce becomes effective 31 days after the order is granted under section 12(1) of the Divorce Act. After the 31-day appeal period, either party may request a Certificate of Divorce from the court. The entire uncontested process typically takes three to four months from filing to final order, depending on court backlogs.

If your divorce involves claims for parenting arrangements, you must also file Form 35.1: Affidavit (Decision-Making Responsibility, Parenting Time, Contact). If support or property division is claimed, you must file a Financial Statement — either Form 13 (support claims only) or Form 13.1 (property and support claims) — along with Form 13A: Certificate of Financial Disclosure and all supporting financial documents under Rule 13 of the Family Law Rules. Financial statements must be updated if information is more than 30 days old before any case conference, settlement conference, or trial. The duty of full and frank financial disclosure is mandatory, and failure to comply can result in imputed income, cost awards, or the court striking your pleadings.

Ontario does not require a standalone parenting class for divorce. However, under Rule 8.1 of the Family Law Rules, all parties in family court proceedings must attend a Mandatory Information Program (MIP) within 45 days of the case being started. If the divorcing couple has children, the MIP session is two hours long (one hour without children). The first hour covers family law basics, the court process, and alternatives to litigation such as mediation, arbitration, and collaborative family law. The second hour addresses the effects of separation and divorce on children, co-parenting strategies, and community resources available for families. MIP sessions are free and conducted by a lawyer and a family or mental health professional at the courthouse where the application was filed. Virtual MIP sessions are available across Ontario. Both parties must attend their own separate session — they do not attend together. A certificate of attendance is issued upon completion and must be filed with the court. Failure to attend may result in cost orders or case delays.

Family mediation is not mandatory in Ontario divorce proceedings, but it is strongly encouraged by both the courts and the legislature. Under the Consolidated Provincial Practice Direction for Family Proceedings (Superior Court of Justice), judges regularly encourage parties to use alternative dispute resolution methods including mediation, arbitration, and collaborative family law. Affordable court-connected mediation services are available at all Superior Court of Justice locations across Ontario. The Ontario government provides a family mediation information page at ontario.ca/page/family-mediation explaining available services. While mediation cannot legally grant a divorce (only a court can do that under section 8 of the Divorce Act), mediation can resolve all substantive issues — parenting arrangements, decision-making responsibility, child support, spousal support, and property division — resulting in a separation agreement that the court can then incorporate into the divorce order. Mediation may become mandatory if required by a domestic contract such as a marriage contract or separation agreement. Referrals to private family mediators are available through the Ontario Association for Family Mediation (OAFM) and the Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario (FDRIO).

Under Rule 13 of the Ontario Family Law Rules, every party in a family law case involving support or property claims has a mandatory duty of full and frank financial disclosure. If only support is claimed, you must file Form 13: Financial Statement (Support Claims). If property division or equalization is also claimed, you must file Form 13.1: Financial Statement (Property and Support Claims), which requires financial snapshots at three critical dates: the date of marriage, the valuation date (typically the date of separation under section 4(1) of the Family Law Act), and the current date. These three-date values determine the Net Family Property (NFP) equalization calculation. You must also file Form 13A: Certificate of Financial Disclosure along with supporting documents including income tax returns and notices of assessment for the past three years, current pay stubs, and statements for all bank accounts, pensions, registered savings plans, and investments closest to the valuation date. Financial statements must be updated if information is more than 30 days old before any case conference, settlement conference, motion, or trial (6 days' notice for applicants, 4 days for respondents). Failure to provide full disclosure can result in imputed income, cost awards, striking of pleadings, contempt findings, or the setting aside of agreements — even years after signing — under section 56(4) of the Family Law Act.