Can You Remarry After Divorce in Ontario? Waiting Rules

If you have a divorce order in hand and are thinking about marrying again, the first question is when you are legally free to do so. The date on the order is not always the date your marriage ends.

This article explains when a divorce takes effect in Ontario, how you prove it, and what the marriage licence office will ask to see. If your divorce was granted outside Canada, the steps are different.

When the divorce is final

A divorce takes effect on the 31st day after the day the judgment granting it is made. Ontario's court guide says the divorce order will state that the divorce is effective 31 days after the order was made.

There is an exception. The court can make the divorce take effect earlier if special circumstances justify it and both spouses agree and undertake not to appeal.

Once the divorce takes effect, it ends the marriage and has legal effect throughout Canada. Until then, you are still married.

How an appeal can delay things

No appeal may be brought more than 30 days after the order was made, although an appellate court can extend that time on special grounds. A pending appeal delays when the divorce takes effect.

This matters for planning. If the other spouse might appeal, or the appeal time might be extended, the date you expected may not hold. A lawyer can tell you whether anything is outstanding in your file.

Proving your divorce

Once a divorce takes effect, the clerk will issue a Certificate of Divorce (Form 36B) at either party's request, after checking that no appeal is pending and no extension of the appeal time is outstanding. The certificate is proof of the date of the divorce.

Here is how to get the certificate:

• The certificate costs $25.
• You can request it online with an Ontario.ca Login, in person at the courthouse, or by mail.
• You need the court location, the court file number and the year the divorce was granted.

Getting a marriage licence

For a divorce granted in Canada, you must bring official proof of the divorce when you apply for an Ontario marriage licence. That can be a copy of the final decree, the final judgment or a certificate of divorce.

The provincial marriage licence fee is $75, and municipal fees may also apply.

If you were divorced outside Canada, you must mail ServiceOntario's Marriage Office a licence application, a Statement of Sole Responsibility, a legal opinion letter from an Ontario lawyer explaining why the divorce should be recognized, and the divorce decree, translated if needed. Processing may take up to 4 weeks.

What to do next

• Check the effective date written in your divorce order.
• Confirm with the court that no appeal is pending before you rely on that date.
• Request your Certificate of Divorce (Form 36B) and keep several copies safe.
• Gather what the licence office asks for, including proof of your divorce.
• Review your will. If you divorce after making a will, gifts to your former spouse and their appointment as executor are revoked, and the will is read as if the former spouse had died first, unless the will shows a contrary intention.
• Check and update the beneficiary designations on your insurance and registered plans so they name the people you want them to name.
• Ask a lawyer about the matrimonial home. If only one spouse has an interest in it, the other spouse's right of possession ends when they stop being spouses, unless a separation agreement or court order says otherwise.

Frequently asked questions