3. File your application online

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

To file online, go to the Justice Services Online website. 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 married in Canada, your marriage certificate must be scanned and saved as a PDF. If you were married outside Canada, contact the government where you were married to get a copy of your marriage certificate. 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:

• If you're asking for decision-making responsibility or parenting time , Form 35.1: Affidavit (decision-making responsibility, parenting time, contact). These used to be called custody and access .
• If you're asking for child support or spousal support :
  • Form 13: Financial Statement (Support Claims)
  • Support Deduction Order
  • Support Deduction Order Information Form

  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 issued by the court
  • the date your application was issued
  • a court file number
  • the court location where your divorce application was filed

  If your divorce application deals with decision-making responsibility, parenting time, support, property division , or the matrimonial home , you also get 2 copies of Form 8.0.1: Automatic Order. This order tells you what you must do next. For example, it says that you must:

  • Serve your partner with your documents and a copy of the Automatic Order. See What does serving your documents mean in a family court case?.
  • Attend a Mandatory Information Program (MIP) session within 45 days, if you have not already done so. See What is the Mandatory Information Program in my family court case?
  • Serve and file a financial statement with supporting documents, if there are support issues. See What is a financial statement? What documents do I have to give my partner?

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