How to file for divorce in Ontario - step by step

To file for divorce in Ontario, you have to be separated, then submit a divorce application (Form 8A or Form 8) to the Superior Court of Justice in the region where you or your spouse lives. An uncontested divorce is mostly paperwork — most men finish the process in four to six months for about $670 in court fees. The hard part is everything that has to be in place before you file: a separation agreement that settles parenting, support, and property. Get that right, and the divorce itself is the easiest legal step you will take.

The Ontario divorce process is governed by the federal Divorce Act and Ontario Family Law Rules. Most of what you read online conflates separation and divorce, or sells the paperwork as more complicated than it is. The paperwork is not the problem. The decisions underneath the paperwork are. This article walks the process end-to-end, in the order it actually happens.

Do you have to be separated before you can file?

Yes. You cannot file for divorce in Ontario the day you decide your marriage is over. The Divorce Act requires proof of marriage breakdown, and the test almost everyone uses is one year of separation. The clock starts the day you and your spouse begin to live separate and apart — not the day you file the application, and not the day you sign a separation agreement.

You can be separated while still living in the same house. The court looks at the substance of the relationship, not the address: separate bedrooms, no shared finances, no shared meals, no holding out as a couple to friends and family. Many Ontario men begin the separation period inside the matrimonial home because they have nowhere else to go, and the year still counts (Department of Justice, About divorce in Canada). You can apply for divorce before the year is up, but the court will not grant it until the full year has elapsed.

The other two grounds in the Divorce Act — adultery and cruelty — let you file without the one-year wait. They are rarely worth using. Both have to be proved, both add cost, and both turn what could be a quiet uncontested file into a contested one. See the one-year separation rule guide for the detail, and what counts as a real reconciliation attempt.

Which divorce application route fits your situation?

There are three:

1. Simple divorce. One spouse applies and asks for only the divorce — no claims for support, property, or parenting attached. Used when everything else has already been settled, usually in a written separation agreement. This is the cheapest, fastest path. See simple divorce in Ontario.

2. Joint divorce. Both spouses apply together as joint applicants. No one is "served," no one responds. Used when you both agree on everything and want to file as a team. The forms are signed by both of you and filed together. See joint divorce in Ontario.

3. General application. A divorce plus claims for parenting, support, property, or other relief. Used when there is still something to decide and you need the court to decide it. This is the start of a contested file.

Most Ontario men with a signed separation agreement use the simple or joint route. Most without one end up in a general application. The choice is functionally about whether your money and parenting questions have been answered yet. If they have not, the divorce paperwork is not the right next step — settling those first is.

What documents do you actually file?

The core document is the divorce application itself. For a simple divorce the form is Form 8A. For a joint divorce it is Form 8A with both spouses listed. For a general application it is Form 8. All Ontario family-law forms are at ontariocourtforms.on.ca.

Alongside the application you file:

• The marriage certificate. Original or certified copy. If you were married outside Canada, you file the foreign certificate plus, if it is not in English or French, a translation by a certified translator with an affidavit.
• Proof of child support arrangements if there are children under 19. The court has to see that child support is in place at the Federal Child Support Tables amount, or the divorce will be denied — this is the most common reason an otherwise clean Ontario divorce gets bounced back.
• Affidavit for divorce (Form 36) when you are ready to ask for the order, near the end of the process.
• Filing fees, paid at the time you file.

Once filed, the court issues a court file number. From that point everything else in the file uses that number.

What does an Ontario divorce actually cost?

For an uncontested divorce, the total court fees are about $670 — a filing fee to start the application and a second fee to set the matter down for the divorce order. Those amounts are set by the Superior Court of Justice and are the same for everyone (ontario.ca/page/family-court-fees).

On top of that:

• Doing it yourself. Add nothing — the $670 is the bill. Free guided pathways are available through CLEO Steps to Justice and the courts Family Law Information Centres.
• Paralegal or lawyer for the paperwork only. Flat fees of $700 to $1,500 are common for an uncontested file.
• Contested divorce. Costs run from $7,500 to $35,000 per side, and complex matters go higher. The driver is the disagreement, not the divorce.
• Fee waiver. Ontario Form 25.7 lets low-income applicants apply to have the court fees waived.

See how much does a divorce cost in Ontario for the full breakdown.

How long does the process take from filing to certificate?

About four to six months for a straightforward uncontested file, longer if there are children, asset complications, or a backlogged courthouse. The sequence:

1. File the application at the Superior Court of Justice in your region. Pay the filing fee.
2. Serve the other spouse (not required for a joint application). Ontario Family Law Rules set out exactly how service works — usually by special process server.
3. Wait the response period. The served spouse has 30 days (60 if outside Canada) to file an Answer. If none is filed, the file is uncontested and you move ahead.
4. Confirm the separation period. You have to be one full year separated by the time the divorce is granted, even if you started the paperwork earlier.
5. File the Affidavit for Divorce (Form 36) and ask the court to grant the divorce. This is where most uncontested files sit waiting on a judge review.
6. The divorce order issues when the judge signs it. The marriage is legally over the day the order takes effect.
7. The certificate of divorce issues 31 days after the order, once the appeal window closes. See the certificate of divorce in Ontario for how to request it.

A contested file extends every step. Case conferences, motions, disclosure fights, and trial dates push timelines into years rather than months.

Do you need a lawyer to file for divorce in Ontario?

Not for an uncontested or joint divorce. The Ontario courts have built guided online pathways for exactly this case, and tens of thousands of Ontarians file without counsel every year. The paperwork is procedural — fill in the right form, file the right supporting documents, pay the right fee.

You do need legal advice — not necessarily representation — in two situations:

1. Before signing a separation agreement. Independent Legal Advice (ILA) makes the agreement harder to set aside later. A one-hour ILA appointment is far cheaper than a contested file three years later. See a separation agreement in Ontario — what it is and how to get one.

2. When the other side has a lawyer and you do not. Self-representing against represented counsel is doable but not free of risk — see when your ex has a lawyer and you are self-representing in Ontario for the playbook.

For an uncontested file with a signed agreement in place, most Ontario men can do the divorce paperwork themselves with one or two hours of paralegal time as a sanity check.

The one thing to do this week

Pull out a calendar and find your separation date — the day you and your spouse actually began living separate and apart, even if you were under the same roof. Write it down. Everything in the Ontario divorce timeline runs from that date: the one-year clock, the eligibility to file, the order, the certificate. If you cannot identify the date with confidence, that is the first conversation to have — not with a lawyer, but with the person you are separating from. The rest of the process flows from that one fact being clear.

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