Many people finish a divorce believing they already hold the final paperwork. They have a signed order from the Superior Court of Justice, stamped and mailed, and they put it in a drawer. Months or years later, when a marriage licence issuer, a foreign consulate or an immigration application asks for proof, they discover there is a separate document they never requested.
That separate document is the certificate of divorce, Form 36B under Ontario’s Family Law Rules. It is a brief one-page confirmation that a marriage between two named people was dissolved as of a specific date. Getting one is usually straightforward and inexpensive. The trouble comes from misunderstanding what it does, when it becomes available, or which office to ask.
The following is general information and not legal advice. Court procedures and fees do get revised, so confirm the current details with the court office or on Ontario’s website before relying on them.
Order and certificate: two different documents
A divorce order is the judge’s decision. It is usually made on Form 25A, and it may contain other terms, such as parenting or support provisions if those were part of the case. It is dated the day the judge signed it.
A certificate of divorce does not decide anything. It records an existing fact. Section 12(7) of the Divorce Act says that once a divorce has taken effect, a judge or officer of the court shall, on request, issue a certificate stating that a divorce dissolved the marriage of the named people effective on a specified date. The certificate also has an advantage over the order: it shows the date the divorce actually took effect, whereas the order shows only when the judge granted it.
It is a little like the difference between a home sale contract and the registered deed. One creates the outcome, and the other is what third parties look to as proof.
The 31-day wait
You cannot get a certificate the day the order is signed, because the marriage has not ended yet. Under section 12(1) of the Divorce Act, a divorce takes effect on the thirty-first day after the judgment. As a hypothetical, an order signed on March 3 would take effect on April 3.
The waiting period exists largely because of the right to appeal. If an appeal is pending when that period ends, the divorce generally does not take effect until the appeal has been dealt with. Rule 36(8) of the Family Law Rules reflects this. When a party asks, the clerk checks the court record and confirms two things: that no appeal is outstanding, or any appeal has been disposed of, and that no order has extended the time for appealing, or that any extended time has expired without an appeal.
Can you shorten the wait? Only in limited cases. Section 12(2) lets a court order an earlier effective date if it finds special circumstances, and if the spouses agree and undertake not to appeal. Courts look for a real reason. A wedding date chosen without allowing for the 31 days may not be enough on its own, though each judge decides on the facts. A hypothetical spouse with a serious medical issue or an urgent immigration timeline would have a stronger argument. This needs to be raised with the court, preferably with advice, well in advance.
Until the 31st day passes, you are still legally married. Going through a marriage ceremony before then would be a serious problem.
How to request a certificate
If you included stamped envelopes with your original filing, or the file allows for it, Rule 36(8) provides that the clerk will mail or email the certificate to the parties once it is issued, unless the court orders otherwise. So check your mail and your email folders before ordering. But do not assume that it will arrive automatically, since a certificate is issued on a party’s request.
Ontario’s guidance gives three ways to ask:
- Online, using an Ontario.ca login.
- In person, at the courthouse. If you divorced in Peel Region, that means the Superior Court of Justice at 7755 Hurontario Street in Brampton.
- By mail, to the courthouse where the case was started.
The province lists the fee as $25. Debit and major credit cards are accepted, and cheques or money orders payable to the Minister of Finance are for mail requests. Have these three details ready:
- the court location
- the court file number
- the year the divorce was granted
You can also send someone in person on your behalf. They will need the court file number, the names of the parties, the date of the divorce, and their own name, address and phone number.
You divorced long ago, or somewhere else
The certificate comes from the court that granted the divorce, which is not necessarily the one nearest your home. If you now live in Brampton but your divorce was granted in Windsor or Winnipeg, you will have to deal with that court. A Brampton clerk cannot issue a certificate for a file held elsewhere, and courts in other provinces have their own process and fees.
If you do not remember where the file was or do not have a file number, the federal Central Registry of Divorce Proceedings may be able to help. Ontario’s guidance says it may give you the court’s address and a reference number you can pass on to court staff. This is useful for people who were divorced decades ago and who lost the paperwork in a move, or who were the respondent in a case and paid little attention at the time.
Allow extra time for older files. Records may be stored off-site, and the province warns that such requests can take longer. If you have a date in mind, such as a marriage or an immigration deadline, start ordering well ahead.
A divorce granted outside Canada is a different matter, because no Ontario court holds the record and no Form 36B will be issued. Recognition of a foreign divorce has its own rules, and in Ontario a person whose earlier marriage ended outside Canada generally needs written authorization from the Minister before a marriage licence can be issued, as section 8(3) of the Marriage Act sets out. If that describes you, build in time for that step.
When you will actually need it
Getting married again. Section 8(2) of Ontario’s Marriage Act says an issuer shall not give a marriage licence to someone whose previous marriage was dissolved in Canada unless they produce the final decree or judgment, a certified copy of it, or a certificate of divorce. The issuer may also ask you to deposit material it considers relevant. In Brampton, licences are handled through the city, so check its current requirements before your appointment. A certificate is often the cleanest thing to bring, since it shows that the divorce has taken effect.
Sponsoring a spouse or partner. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s document checklists generally ask a previously married applicant for proof that the earlier marriage has ended. In a Canadian divorce, the certificate is the usual document. An officer may ask questions if your paperwork only shows a date of judgment. Program rules change, so check the current IRCC checklist before you apply.
Updating benefits, records and accounts. Employers, pension administrators, insurers and banks sometimes ask for proof when changing marital status or a beneficiary. Requirements differ, so ask what they will accept. Keep in mind a practical limit: a certificate does not itself change a beneficiary designation or a title on property.
Use in another country. Families with ties abroad may be asked for a divorce record by a foreign consulate, a registrar or a religious authority. Those bodies sometimes want additional formalities, such as authentication or an apostille, and Ontario’s Official Documents Services handles requests of that kind. Ask the receiving authority precisely what it needs before you order, including whether it wants the certificate, a certified copy of the order, or both. For court file copies, Ontario lists separate per-page fees that are different from the certificate fee.
Religious requirements. Your faith community may have its own process to end a marriage, and it may ask to see the certificate. The reverse is also true: a religious divorce alone does not end a marriage under Canadian law. For most Canadian marriages, a divorce order under the Divorce Act is what ends it.
What the certificate does not do
It is worth being clear about the limits of this piece of paper, as people sometimes assume a certificate wraps everything up.
It does not settle property. In fact, a divorce starts a clock. Under section 7(3) of Ontario’s Family Law Act, an equalization application must be brought within two years of the divorce, or within six years of separation if that comes first. A spouse who assumes there is time to sort things out later can get caught.
It does not end a support or parenting obligation. Those continue according to any order or agreement.
It does not automatically rewrite your estate plan. Under Ontario’s Succession Law Reform Act, a divorce generally revokes gifts to a former spouse and their appointment as an executor in a will, unless the will shows a contrary intention, but it does not necessarily deal with every part of your plan. Beneficiary designations on life insurance, RRSPs and similar plans generally need separate updating. This is a good moment to review those documents.
It also does not change a home’s title. If your name or your former spouse’s name needs to be taken off a property, that has to be done with a separate land registration, and usually a mortgage lender’s involvement.
Fixing an error
Read the certificate as soon as it arrives. Compare the names and the dates against your marriage certificate and divorce order. Small differences, such as an initial or a spelling variation common with transliterated names, can cause trouble with foreign authorities and with immigration officers.
If the certificate has simply been completed incorrectly, start by raising it with the court office. If the mistake is in the divorce order itself, the fix may require asking the court. Rule 25(19) of the Family Law Rules allows the court, on motion, to change an order that contains a mistake. Do not alter anything on the document by hand, even a very obvious typo, since a marked-up certificate may be rejected or raise questions.
If your legal name has changed since the divorce, keep the linking documents with it, such as a change of name certificate. The certificate will reflect the names in the court record, and a receiving authority may need proof that you are the same person.
Keep it safe
Once you have it, make several scans and store the paper original with your other vital records, such as your passport and birth certificate. A replacement is possible through the same process, but you may be asked for the court file number, so record that somewhere secure. Writing the number and the courthouse on the same page as your other vital document details can save you a call to the federal registry later.
If you are at an earlier stage and have not yet obtained a divorce, our divorce services page describes how a case typically unfolds. If something about your certificate has become urgent, or a foreign authority is asking for something you do not recognize, you are welcome to contact our office with the details of what has been requested.