Step one is the part nobody puts on a form: making sure you are actually ready to file. A divorce legally ends a marriage. It does not, by itself, settle who stays in the house, how the children’s time is divided, or who pays support. Those matters can be handled together with the divorce, handled separately, or already be settled in an agreement. Knowing which applies to you decides how complicated the rest of this list will be.
This guide follows the sequence for a typical application at the Superior Court of Justice in Brampton, located at 7755 Hurontario Street. In Ontario, only the Superior Court can grant a divorce. The Ontario Court of Justice, in the same building, can deal with parenting and support, but it cannot end a marriage.
Please treat what follows as general information and not legal advice. Fees, forms and filing systems are updated from time to time, and any of these steps may look different if your matter is disputed or involves circumstances outside the usual pattern.
Step 1: Confirm you qualify
Canada’s Divorce Act sets the requirements, and they are short:
- Marriage breakdown. This is the only ground. Most people prove it by having lived separate and apart for at least one year. Adultery and cruelty are also listed in the Act, but they tend to add conflict and rarely make the process quicker.
- Residence. Either spouse must have been habitually resident in Ontario for at least one year immediately before the application is started.
- A valid marriage. You will need to prove it, usually with a certificate.
You can start the application before the year is up, but the divorce cannot be granted until a year of separation has passed. Couples can also try to reconcile for up to 90 days in total without restarting the clock. And living under one roof does not always stop you from being “separate and apart,” if the relationship has in fact ended. People sharing a home for financial reasons or to keep the children settled should keep a record of when and how things changed, because the date can matter for property and support too.
Step 2: Choose your type of application
Ontario’s family court guide describes three starting points, and the differences are significant.
Simple application (Form 8A). One spouse applies and asks only for a divorce. This suits a person who has an agreement or order on everything else, or where nothing else needs a decision.
Joint application (Form 8A). Both spouses sign together and agree on the divorce and on any other terms. There is no respondent and no need for service, and any order sought can only be made if both consent.
General application (Form 8). One spouse asks for a divorce together with other relief, such as child support, spousal support, a parenting order or property division. That usually leads to the conferences and disclosure steps of a contested case.
If you are unsure which applies, or if your spouse’s position keeps changing, it may be worth reading about how our divorce services work or getting advice before you file, because a form chosen on the wrong assumption can cost you time.
Step 3: Gather what the court will need
Have the following available before you start:
- The original marriage certificate or registration of marriage. A souvenir certificate from a banquet hall or place of worship may not be enough. If you married in Ontario and lack a copy, ServiceOntario can provide one. If you married elsewhere in Canada, order it from that province. If you married abroad and the document is not in English or French, a certified translator should translate it. Under the Family Law Rules, the court will not grant the divorce without a certificate, unless you explain in your documents why getting one is impractical.
- Proof of a prior divorce or the death of an earlier spouse, if the marriage took place outside Canada and either of you had been married before.
- Exact names and dates, spelled as they appear on the certificate.
- Your date of separation, stated honestly and consistently across all documents.
- Any separation agreement or court order about the children or support.
- Financial documents about the children’s support, if you have children of the marriage.
That last point can catch people off guard. Section 11 of the Divorce Act says a judge must be satisfied that reasonable arrangements have been made for the support of the children, with reference to the child support guidelines. If they are not, the judge must hold off on granting the divorce. A statement that you have sorted it out privately, with no figures, may lead to questions or a rejected file.
Step 4: Complete the forms and start the file
Complete Form 8A, sign and date it, and prepare a continuing record. That means the record cover and the table of contents, the file that holds the court’s documents for your case. Legal Aid Ontario’s simple divorce guide walks through these documents. The original goes to the court, with copies for you and for the other spouse.
You can file in person at the courthouse. The Superior Court’s practice direction for the Central West Region also allows simple and joint divorce documents to be filed electronically through the Ministry’s Family Claims Online Portal. Whichever you use, you pay the first court fee when you file. Legal Aid Ontario lists this at $224.
The clerk issues your application by signing and sealing it and assigning a court file number. Check the first page carefully when you get it back, because mistakes are easier to fix now than later.
Step 5: Serve your spouse, unless it is a joint application
Your spouse must be properly served with the issued application and a blank answer form (Form 10). You cannot serve the documents yourself. An adult other than you must hand them over. That may be a friend or relative over the age of 18, or a professional process server. The server then completes an Affidavit of Service (Form 6B) and swears it before a commissioner, and that affidavit is filed with the court.
Your spouse then has 30 days from service to serve and file an answer, or 60 days if served outside Canada and the United States. Do not assume someone is refusing to participate because you have not heard anything. Count the days from the date on the affidavit.
What if you cannot find your spouse, or they keep avoiding service? The court can permit another method of service or, in the right circumstances, waive it. This requires a motion, with evidence of what you tried, such as messages to relatives or attempts at a last known address in Brampton or elsewhere. In many cases involving spouses abroad, proper service takes planning, so allow time.
Then watch for an answer. If your spouse files an answer that disputes something, your case stops being simple. It may then be subject to disclosure, a mandatory information program and a case conference. If there is no answer, or it is withdrawn, you can keep going toward an uncontested divorce. If you filed jointly, you go straight to the next step.
Step 6: Swear the affidavit and prepare the draft order
Now you prepare the package a judge will review, without a hearing in most cases:
- Form 36, Affidavit for Divorce. You swear that your application remains correct, attach your marriage certificate unless already filed, and describe the arrangements for any children. If there are children, section 21 income information must be included as exhibits. On a joint application, this evidence comes from both of you, so ask the court office how it wants the affidavits prepared.
- Form 25A, Divorce Order. The rules call for three copies of the draft order.
- Stamped, self-addressed envelopes, one for each party, so the signed order can be mailed.
- Support documents, if your divorce order is to contain a support order. These include an extra copy of the draft order for the Family Responsibility Office and two copies of a draft support deduction order.
- Form 36A, Certificate of Clerk, which court staff complete.
You pay the second fee at this stage. Legal Aid Ontario lists it at $445, so court fees are $669 in total if you are not eligible for a waiver. A small commissioner’s charge may apply for your affidavit, and you should confirm the current amounts with the court before paying. People with low incomes may be able to obtain a fee waiver, which is worth looking into if the fee is a barrier.
Step 7: Wait for the clerk and a judge
The court gets a clearance from the federal Central Registry of Divorce Proceedings to confirm no other divorce proceeding has been started for the two of you in Canada. The clerk then puts the file before a judge. The judge may:
- grant the divorce as set out in your draft order
- return the documents for corrections
- ask for more information, sometimes with a court attendance
Timelines vary with the court’s workload and the quality of your package. Do not book a wedding or a move that depends on this date. Corrections are the most common source of delay, and a mismatched name or a thin explanation of child support is often the cause.
When it takes effect. Once signed, the order takes effect on the thirty-first day after it was made, unless an appeal is started or the court shortens the period in special circumstances. You remain legally married until then, which is why you should not remarry the moment you receive the order.
When the divorce is effective, either of you can ask the court for a Certificate of Divorce (Form 36B). This is the document that proves you are divorced and that you will usually need to remarry. Keep it somewhere safe.
Three deadlines that outlast the divorce
A completed divorce can start a clock people do not expect, so check these before you file:
- Equalization of property. An application for an equalization payment under Ontario’s Family Law Act must be brought within two years of the divorce, or six years after separation if that comes first. People who have not settled property should not assume a divorce changes nothing.
- Your will and beneficiaries. A divorce can affect how a will treats a former spouse, and life insurance and registered plan designations may need updating too. Get advice about your own documents.
- Benefits and status. Health coverage under a spouse’s plan and certain immigration or sponsorship questions may be affected. If either of you holds a sponsorship undertaking or depends on a spouse’s status, check before filing.
When to get help
Plenty of people complete a straightforward simple or joint divorce on their own. Consider speaking to a lawyer if you have children and support is unsettled, if your spouse is abroad or cannot be found, if property has not been resolved, if there has been family violence, or if you have doubts about something you signed. For readers in the Peel area, we also offer a page on our family law work in Brampton that may help you decide what you need.