The divorce application in Ontario - step by step

The divorce application is the formal document you file with the Superior Court of Justice to ask Ontario to grant your divorce. For a simple or joint divorce, that document is Form 8A. For a general application (a divorce plus other claims), it is Form 8. The application is the start of the legal process — but it is not where the work begins. The work begins with settling parenting, support, and property before you file, usually in a separation agreement. The application itself is procedural: confirm eligibility, fill in the right form, attach the supporting documents, pay the fees, file.

What follows is the actual sequence Ontario family courts use, end-to-end, for an uncontested divorce application. Skip a step and the file gets sent back. Run it in order and most applications finish in four to six months.

Step 1 — Confirm you are eligible to apply

You must be legally married (a separation agreement does not give you a divorce). You must have been separated for one year by the time the divorce is granted — you can apply before the year is up, but the court will not finalize the order until the full year has elapsed. And at least one of you must be ordinarily resident in Ontario for at least one year. If your marriage took place outside Canada, you need a certified copy of the foreign marriage certificate plus a sworn translation if it is not in English or French.

Step 2 — Choose the application route

Three routes, three different forms:

• Simple divorce — one spouse applies, asking only for the divorce. Form 8A. Used when everything else has been settled. See simple divorce in Ontario.
• Joint divorce — both spouses apply together as joint applicants. Form 8A signed by both. See joint divorce in Ontario.
• General application — divorce plus other claims (parenting, support, property). Form 8. This is a contested file by default.

Most Ontario men with a signed separation agreement use simple or joint. Most without one end up in a general application.

Step 3 — Complete the form

All Ontario family-law forms live at ontariocourtforms.on.ca. The application captures basic facts about the marriage (date, place, names), the separation date, the ground for divorce (almost always one-year separation), and confirmation that child support is in place for any children under 19 at the Federal Child Support Tables amount. Get the separation date right — every timeline runs off it.

Step 4 — Gather supporting documents

• The marriage certificate (original or certified copy, sworn translation if foreign).
• Proof of child support arrangements if there are children under 19.
• A draft Form 36 (Affidavit for Divorce), to be sworn closer to when you ask for the order.
• The filing fees, ready to pay at submission (ontario.ca/page/court-fees).

If you cannot afford the filing fees, complete a Form 25.7 Fee Waiver Request.

Step 5 — File the application

File with the Superior Court of Justice in the region where you or your spouse ordinarily lives — in person, by mail, or online through the Family Submissions Online portal. The court assigns a court file number. From that point on, every document references that number.

Step 6 — Serve the other spouse (skip if joint)

Ontario Family Law Rules require formal service: the application must be physically delivered to the other spouse by someone other than you, usually a special process server, and an Affidavit of Service is filed back with the court. A joint divorce skips this step entirely.

Step 7 — Wait the response period

The served spouse has 30 days to file an Answer (60 if served outside Canada). No Answer filed = the file becomes uncontested, and you move to the order request.

Step 8 — Request the divorce order

File the Affidavit for Divorce (Form 36) and ask the court to grant the divorce. The file is reviewed by a judge on paper — no hearing. The judge signs the order, and the marriage is legally over the day the order takes effect.

Step 9 — Request the certificate of divorce

31 days after the divorce order, once the appeal window has closed, you can request the certificate of divorce using Form 36B. The certificate is the document you will need to remarry. It is not mailed to you automatically — you have to ask for it.

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