Family court forms in Ontario: which ones you need, by stage

Ontario family court runs on a tightly-defined set of forms. Knowing which form you need at each stage — and where to find them — turns a stressful court process into a manageable checklist. All Ontario family-law forms live in one place: ontariocourtforms.on.ca, the Ministry of the Attorney General's official Family Law Rules forms portal. Most Ontario separation files use fewer than ten forms across the entire process. The checklist below organizes them by stage so you only download what you need.

The Family Law Rules govern which form is used when. Forms are versioned periodically — always pull the current version from the official portal, never reuse an old PDF from another file.

Stage	Form(s)	Purpose
Start a case	Form 8 / 8A	Open the case (general or divorce-only)
Respond	Form 10 / 10A	Answer the application, or reply to the Answer
Financial disclosure	Form 13 / 13.1 / 13A	Disclose income, property, and debts
Conferences	Form 17A / 17B / 17C	Case, settlement, and trial-management briefs
Motions	Form 14 / 14A / 14B	Ask for a temporary order while the case continues
Change an order	Form 15 / 15A / 15B	Vary an existing support or parenting order later

Starting a case

• Form 8 — Application (General). Used to start a contested family-law case. Covers divorce plus claims for parenting time, decision-making, support, and property.
• Form 8A — Application (Divorce only). Used for a simple divorce or joint divorce. The application asks for only the divorce, with everything else already settled in a separation agreement. For the full filing walkthrough, see how to file for divorce in Ontario.
• Form 25 — Order. The order the court issues at the end of a case. Drafted by the successful party (or jointly) and signed by the judge.

Responding to a case

• Form 10 — Answer. Filed within 30 days of being served in Canada or the U.S. (60 days if served outside both). The Answer says what claims you accept, what you dispute, and what you ask for instead. Missing the deadline is serious — see how to respond to a family court application.
• Form 10A — Reply. Filed by the applicant in response to claims raised in the Answer.

Financial disclosure

• Form 13 — Financial Statement (Support claims). Used when support is in issue but no property claim is attached (typically common-law cases or cases between previously-divorced spouses).
• Form 13.1 — Financial Statement (Property and Support claims). Used when both support and property are in issue. Required in most married-couple separations.
• Form 13A — Certificate of Financial Disclosure. Lists the documents you have disclosed; filed with the court.

Both Form 13 and Form 13.1 require supporting documents — three years of T4s, recent pay stubs, account statements, debt statements, property valuations. Skimping on financial disclosure is the most common reason files stall in case conferences. Cairn's worksheets help you organize this information as you go — see what Cairn does.

Conferences

• Form 17A — Case Conference Brief. Filed before the case conference. Sets out the issues, what you propose, what you need from the other side. The judge reads this before the meeting.
• Form 17B — Settlement Conference Brief.
• Form 17C — Trial Management Conference Brief.

Motions

• Form 14 — Notice of Motion. Asks the court for a temporary order while the case continues. See motions in Ontario family court.
• Form 14A — Affidavit (General). The sworn evidence supporting the motion.
• Form 14B — Motion Form (Procedural / Uncontested). For routine procedural motions both parties agree on.

Changing existing orders

• Form 15 — Motion to Change. Used to vary an existing support or parenting order based on a material change in circumstances. See how to change a child support order and how to change a parenting order.
• Form 15A — Change Information Form.
• Form 15B — Response to Motion to Change. To respond to a Form 15 motion (consent changes use Form 15C for child support or Form 15D).

Other commonly-used forms

• Form 6B — Affidavit of Service. Files the proof that the other party was properly served (Form 6 is the separate Acknowledgment of Service).
• Fee Waiver Request (FW-A series, under the Administration of Justice Act). For low-income applicants who cannot afford court fees. Covers the filing fee and order fee.
• Form 36 — Affidavit for Divorce. Filed near the end of an uncontested divorce when asking the court to grant the order.
• Form 36B — Certificate of Divorce request. See the certificate of divorce in Ontario.

Which form starts a divorce in Ontario?

Form 8A — Application (Divorce only) starts a divorce where nothing else is in dispute. Use Form 8 instead if you are also asking the court to decide parenting, support, or property. Form 8A assumes those issues are already settled, usually in a signed separation agreement. A joint Form 8A, signed by both spouses, is the cheapest route through an uncontested divorce.

Which forms do you need for custody and parenting time?

Ontario no longer uses the word custody. Since 2021 both the federal Divorce Act and Ontario's Children's Law Reform Act call it decision-making responsibility — who decides about school, health care, and religion — and parenting time, meaning when the child is with you. Two forms carry a parenting claim:

• Form 8 — Application (General). The claim itself. Form 8A cannot carry a parenting claim, so a divorce-only application will not decide parenting.
• Form 35.1 — Affidavit (decision-making responsibility, parenting time, contact). The sworn evidence required whenever you claim decision-making responsibility, parenting time, or contact. It sets out the child's current arrangements, the schedule you propose, and your involvement to date.

There is no "full custody" form. Sole decision-making is a claim you make inside Form 8, not a separate document, and the court decides it on the best interests of the child.

What is Form 13A, the Certificate of Financial Disclosure?

Form 13A is the checklist proving which financial documents you handed over. It holds no numbers of its own — Form 13 or 13.1 carries those. Form 13A lists each document you disclosed and the date you disclosed it, then gets filed with the court. Judges read it at case conferences to see who is holding up disclosure, which is why filling it out accurately is worth the time.

What is Form 36, the Affidavit for Divorce?

Form 36 is the sworn statement asking the court to grant your divorce. It confirms the facts a judge needs: the date of separation, that there is no prospect of reconciliation, and that any child support matches the guidelines. It is filed near the end of an uncontested divorce, once the 30-day window to file an Answer has closed. Form 36B then requests the Certificate of Divorce.

Filing the right form is one part of this. Knowing what to ask before you sign is the other — and a paid hour goes further when your questions are already written down.

Where to find them

The official source: ontariocourtforms.on.ca/en/family-law-rules-forms/. Each form is available in both viewable PDF and fillable Microsoft Word format. The court also publishes guided pathways through CLEO that walk self-represented parties through which forms apply to their situation. The Family Submissions Online portal accepts most forms electronically through a My Ontario Account.

For a typical uncontested separation case, you will use Form 8A (application), the marriage certificate, supporting child-support documentation, Form 36 (affidavit), and Form 36B (certificate request). Six documents total. Contested cases add Form 10 (Answer), Form 13 or 13.1 (Financial Statement), Form 17A (Case Conference Brief), and possibly Form 14/14A (Motion). To see where each form sits in the sequence, read the family court process in Ontario.

See your specific Ontario plan at cairnguide.ca/signup.