3. File your application online

You can now submit most family law forms and documents for a family court case online, including a  application. For more information, read the question How do I file court forms for my family law case online?

To online, go to ontario.ca/familyclaims. You will need a ONe-key ID. All you need to create this key is a username, password and email address.

You file your documents online, including:

  • Form 8A: Application (Divorce): scanned and saved as a PDF.
  • Form 36: Affidavit for Divorce: scanned and saved as a PDF.
  • Form 25A: Divorce Order: filled out electronically and saved as a PDF.
  • A copy of your marriage certificate. If you were in Canada, your certificate must be scanned and saved as a PDF. If you were married outside Canada, your certificate must be electronically issued and saved as a PDF. It cannot be a scanned PDF. And, if your certificate is not in English or French, you need a certified translation that is scanned and saved as a PDF.  

You need to include other forms if you and your partner agree on your other issues and want the court to make orders about those issues. They have to be scanned and saved as a PDF. For example:

Depending on how complex your case is, it usually takes about 30 minutes to file your joint divorce application online. Make sure you have everything ready before you start filing online. Once you’ve started, your session ends if you’re inactive for 15 minutes. Your information won’t be saved. You will need to start over again.

After you submit your court forms and documents online, you cannot view them online later. So it’s important to keep a copy of everything for your records.

Pay your fees

The total cost to apply for a joint divorce is $632. You can pay filing fees online by Visa, Mastercard, or Interac debit card.

If you can’t afford to pay the court fees, you can ask for a fee waiver certificate. This means you don’t have to pay most court fees.

You can ask for a fee waiver certificate online. Before you submit your forms and documents online, you’re told that if you can’t afford to pay the fees, you can use the online service to ask the court to waive the fees.

Look for the “fee waiver” option in the dropdown menu.

If you get a fee waiver certificate, you can submit your documents online without paying any fees. Submit your documents under “Documents submitted with a fee waiver request or certificate”.

The Ontario government’s A Guide to Fee Waiver Requests tells you which court fees can be waived and how to ask for a fee waiver.

Get a response

If you file your divorce application on a business day between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., you get an email from the court the same day. If you file your application outside regular business hours, you get an email the next business day.

The email from the court will have:

  • your divorce application with a court seal, which means your application has been  by the court
  • the date your application was issued
  • a court file number
  • the court location where your divorce application was filed

Don’t delete the email. You should also print a copy or take a screenshot for your records.

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