Joint vs Simple Divorce Application in Ontario: Which to File?

If you and your spouse only want to end the marriage, and you are not asking the court to decide support or property, Ontario gives you two main routes. You can file a joint application together, or one of you can file a simple application and serve the other.

The right choice usually depends on whether you and your spouse agree and can work together. This article compares the two routes, the documents and fees involved, and what happens at the end. Court fees change, so check them before you file.

Check that you can divorce in Ontario first

Only legally married couples can divorce. The only ground for divorce under the Divorce Act is breakdown of the marriage.

Breakdown is usually shown by living separate and apart for at least one year before the divorce is decided, and being separated when the proceeding started. There is no one-year wait if the spouse the proceeding is against has committed adultery or treated the other spouse with physical or mental cruelty that makes living together intolerable.

An Ontario court can hear a divorce if either spouse has been habitually resident in Ontario for at least one year immediately before the proceeding starts. Only one spouse needs to meet this.

A short attempt to reconcile does not necessarily restart the clock. The one-year period is not treated as interrupted if you lived together again for periods totalling no more than 90 days, mainly to try to reconcile.

Joint application or simple application: the differences

Under the Family Law Rules, either spouse may start a divorce case. They can file an application naming the other spouse as respondent, or both can file a joint application with no respondent.

A respondent must serve and file an answer within 30 days after being served with the application. If the respondent is served outside Canada and the United States, that time is 60 days. The Form 36 affidavit is filed by the applicant if the respondent files no answer or withdraws it, and by the applicants in a joint application. Which route fits you depends on your situation, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer.

Service, answers and documents

In a simple application, the application must be specially served by someone other than the party who has to serve it. Special service methods include leaving a copy with the person, mail with a signed Form 6 acknowledgment postcard, or leaving a copy at the residence and mailing another copy. Documents are served before they are filed, and proof of service is then filed.

The respondent has 30 days after being served to serve and file an answer. If the respondent was served outside Canada and the United States, the time is 60 days. If there is no answer and no request for more time, the applicant can take steps toward an uncontested trial decided on the applicant's evidence alone.

If your spouse cannot be served in the usual way, the court may order substituted service by a method it chooses. If reasonable efforts to find the person have failed and no substituted method is likely to work, the court may order that service is not required.

Whichever route you use, the court cannot grant the divorce until these are in place:

• A marriage certificate or marriage registration certificate, unless the application explains why it is impractical to file one.
• A report on earlier divorce cases started by either spouse, issued under the Central Registry of Divorce Proceedings Regulations.
• An affidavit in Form 36.

Fees, online filing and who can help

Superior Court of Justice fees listed in O. Reg. 293/92 include $214 to file an application, $171 to file an answer, and $214 for an answer that includes the respondent's own request for a divorce. Placing an application on the list for hearing is $445. The Ministry of the Attorney General also collects a $10 divorce filing fee for the federal Central Registry of Divorce Proceedings, and this fee cannot be waived.

Fee amounts have been described differently in different places, so recheck the current amounts on e-Laws before you file.

Simple and joint divorce applications can be filed online with an Ontario.ca login. Documents must be completed, signed and dated and saved as PDF or Word files, and online fees are paid by Visa, Visa Debit, Mastercard or Debit Mastercard. Since October 14, 2025, all online filings for the Toronto region must go through the Ontario Courts Public Portal, while Family Submissions Online is still available for family cases in other regions. You cannot file online to request an urgent hearing, or if your court date or legislated deadline is three business days or less away.

A family legal services provider, such as a licensed paralegal, may represent a party in an uncontested divorce, or one started by joint application, if the only claim is for divorce and the parties ordinarily live in Canada.

When the divorce takes effect and what to do next

A divorce takes effect on the 31st day after the day the judgment granting it is made. The court may order an earlier date if special circumstances justify it and the spouses agree and undertake that no appeal will be taken, or any appeal has been abandoned. Once it takes effect, the divorce dissolves the marriage and has legal effect throughout Canada.

After that, either party can ask the clerk to check the record for appeals. If satisfied, the clerk issues a divorce certificate in Form 36B.

• Confirm the separation and one-year Ontario residence requirements.
• Decide with your spouse whether a joint application is realistic.
• Confirm that you only want a divorce, with no support or property claims, since a simple application cannot include them.
• Gather the marriage certificate and your Form 36 affidavit information.
• Recheck the current fees on e-Laws and choose the correct online portal for your region.
• Speak with a lawyer if you have support, property, pension or parenting questions, since those are not decided in a simple divorce application.

Frequently asked questions