Sole application for an uncontested divorce

Who this guide is for

This guide is for someone who wants to make a sole application for a simple, uncontested divorce. This means you and your spouse both agree on all your family law issues and only need to apply for a divorce order. Only you will file for divorce. The other person doesn't have to file anything in a sole uncontested divorce.

Use this guide if all the following statements are true:

• You want to file for divorce in BC.
• You and the other person agree about getting a divorce.
• You already have written agreements or orders for:
  • parenting,
  • child support,
  • spousal support, and
  • how to divide your property and debt.
• One of you has lived in BC for at least one year right before you start your divorce and is living in BC when you start the divorce proceeding.
• You've been separated for at least one year.
• You're not applying for divorce on the grounds of cruelty or adultery.

What if this guide isn't for you?

How long does it take to do your own divorce?

It's possible to do your divorce in four to five months once you've settled all your issues. But there are wait times, and it might take longer if:

• your Supreme Court registry is busy,
• one person lives outside the court registry's jurisdiction, or
• your application is rejected and needs to be resubmitted.

How much does it cost to do your own divorce?

You'll pay a few different court fees when you apply for a divorce:

• The fee to open a family law case with the Supreme Court:
• $30 — if you've already filed a separation agreement with the Court (it will have a court file number on it that you can use for your divorce application), or
• $200 — if you don't have a filed separation agreement and the Notice of Family Claim is the first court document you're filing.
• $10 to file the Registration of Divorce Proceedings form.
• $80 to make the final application.

You might also have to pay for:

• making photocopies of your documents,
• having your affidavits sworn. It costs around $40 to have this done at the court registry, but places offering notary services might charge different prices,
• getting a certified copy of your original marriage certificate or registration of marriage. In BC, this costs $27,
• having your marriage certificate translated into English and getting an Affidavit of Translation, if needed,
• hiring a process server to serve your documents on the other person, if you choose to hire a professional, and
• ordering a Certificate of Divorce (Form F56), if you want one. This costs $40.

Get legal help

Talk to a lawyer

Before you begin your own divorce, meet with a family lawyer to find out about your rights and responsibilities. You and the other person might have a right to spousal or child support or to property, pensions, or other assets that you don't know about. Or you might have to pay spousal or child support or take responsibility for certain debts. The court won't usually order a divorce unless your family law issues (particularly child support) have been settled in an agreement or court order.

To find a lawyer, call the Lawyer Referral Service.

Dividing property and debts

Dividing property and debts can be complicated. If you have property and debt together, get legal advice.

You only have two years from the date of your divorce to claim (start a court action for) spousal support or your share of property and debt. See Dividing property and debts after you separate for more information.

If you can't afford a lawyer

If you can't afford a lawyer, you can get legal help in other ways, including:

• free (pro bono) legal clinics
• family duty counsel
• family advice lawyers
• family justice counsellors

Staff at Justice Access Centres in Abbotsford, Nanaimo, Surrey, Victoria, and Vancouver can also answer your questions and help you fill out forms. Call someone who can help or find your nearest office.

If you want to use a mediator, see Making mediation happen in a family law case in Supreme Court. 

You'll need

• your original marriage certificate,
• money to pay a translator to translate your marriage certificate into English, if needed,
• a copy of your separation agreement or court order(s), if you have any,
• a recent photo of the other person, if needed, and
• your change of name certificate, if needed.

Your marriage certificate

To get a divorce, you need your original marriage certificate or a certified true copy of your marriage registration. The court won't accept the certificate you received from the place where you got married.

If you were married and need to get a marriage certificate:

• In BC, see Marriage Certificates to find out what BC marriage certificates look like and how to order one from the BC government's Vital Statistics Agency.
• In another province or territory, contact the office equivalent to Vital Statistics in that province or territory. 
• In another country, contact the office responsible for marriage records in the country where you were married.

There's usually a fee to have your original marriage certificate or a certified copy sent to you. In BC, it costs $27 to order your marriage certificate from the Vital Statistics Agency.

Your separation agreement or court order

You need your separation agreement or court order to show what you've agreed to or what the court has already ordered about parenting, child support, spousal support, and other family law issues.

If you haven't already filed your agreement with the Supreme Court, do that now to open a family law case. For more information, see Step 2: File your agreement, if you have one.

A photo of the other person, if needed

The person who serves documents on the other person (either a professional process server or another adult) must have a way to identify them. The process server can either:

• use a photo that you've provided (and have sworn in an affidavit it's a true likeness of the person), or
• copy or take a photo of the other person's driver's licence or other photo identification (ID).

Your change of name certificate, if needed

You don't need to apply for a legal name change to use the name you had before you were married. After you separate, you can use either your name from before you were married or the other person's name without legally changing it.

If you had a legal name change and want to change it back or change your name to something new, you can do that in your divorce application. To do this, you also need your change of name certificate from the Vital Statistics Agency.

If you have an agreement about parenting arrangements, contact with a child, child support, and/or spousal support and you haven't yet filed it with the court, do that now. Filing your agreement is a simple process. (See File Your Agreement in Supreme Court.) You also save money if you do it before you file anything else.

You'll need

• a copy of your signed parenting and/or support agreement,
• a blank Requisition (Form 17.1), and
• $30 to pay the filing fee.

How to file your agreement

Make a copy of your signed parenting and/or support agreement.

Fill out the Requisition (Form F17.1) to ask the court to file the agreement.

On the first page, fill in your name as Claimant #1 and the other person's name as Claimant #2. Check the box to confirm that there are no orders made or currently being sought.

Take the Requisition, a copy of your agreement, and the $30 filing fee to the registry.

You can file your agreement at the Supreme Court registry where an existing case between you and your spouse is filed. If no court action has been started, you can file at the registry closest to where you live.

The staff at the family registry counter checks that the agreement is complete. Then they take your payment and stamp the agreement with the court seal. If there is already an existing family law case, they put the agreement into your court file.

If no court action has been started, the registry will stamp a court file number on your agreement when you file it. You now have an open family law case. Put the same court file number on the rest of the forms you're preparing so the registry knows that you already have an open file. This way you won't have to pay the $200 fee to open a case when you file your Notice of Family Claim.

You'll need

• A blank Notice of Family Claim(Form F3)
• A blank Registration of Divorce Proceedings form
• A copy of your separation agreement or court order(s), for reference
• Your original marriage certificate, for reference

Notice of Family Claim (Form F3)

The Notice of Family Claim gives the court details about:

• you and the other person,
• your marriage and separation, and
• what you're asking the court for.

This form has a main section plus optional schedules for different types of orders. Because you've already settled your issues in a separation agreement or court order(s), you only need to fill in the general information and Schedule 1 – Divorce.

When you’ve filled out the whole form and schedule, you can either:

• print the form so you can sign it in pen, or
• preview the document and sign it digitally.

Registration of Divorce Proceedings form

Fill out the Registration of Divorce Proceedings form online. In Section 1, type the date you'll go to the registry to file the application for divorce. This might be different from the date you fill out the form.

Once you've filled out the form, print it out (this generates a barcode used to process the form). Take this form with your Notice of Family Claim for filing at the court registry.

Supreme Court registries accept filings in person or remotely by email, mail, fax (to fax filing registries), or using Court Services Online. 

This step is divided into three parts:

You'll need

• A blank Affidavit — Desk Order Divorce (Form F38)
• A blank Child Support Affidavit (Form F37), if you have dependent children
• A blank Requisition (Form F17)
• A blank Requisition (Form F35)
• A blank Certificate of Pleadings (Form F36)
• A blank draft Final Order (Form F52)
• Your separation agreement or court orders
• Your photo identification (ID)
• Someone to swear or affirm your affidavits (a lawyer, notary, or other commissioner)

Fill out your affidavit(s)

You won't need to go to trial and give evidence to a judge. Instead, you write your evidence in affidavits. An affidavit is a form that you fill out and swear or affirm that the information in it is true.

You need to fill out:

Affidavit — Desk Order Divorce (Form F38)

This sets out all the facts of your marriage and separation, and gives information about parenting time, if you have children.

Child Support Affidavit (Form F37)

This gives information about your children and child support, if you and the other person have children. Attach your separation agreement or court orders to this form as exhibits. Write a letter on each exhibit (for example, Exhibit A and Exhibit B).

Fill out four more forms

Next, you need to fill out four more forms that will help the court to process your divorce application.

Requisition (Form F17)

This short form asks the registry to search their records to see if the other person ever filed a response or counterclaim to your Notice of Family Claim. (This will prove that your case is uncontested.) You don't need to list documents. In the form, under Required, on the first page, simply type or write this statement:

"A search for a Response to Family Claim or Counterclaim filed in this matter."

Requisition (Form F35)

This form tells the court that you want a divorce and, if you want one, a name change. It also tells the court what documents you're providing to support your application. In the form, under Required, on the first page, type or write this statement:

"A Final Order, without a hearing, in the form attached."

Certificate of Pleadings (Form F36)

The registry staff sign the Certificate of Pleadings to show the judge that your documents have been checked and are complete and correct.

Draft Final Order (Form F52)

Your draft Final Order sets out the court orders you're asking for. You fill in all the details, and the judge signs it. This will be your divorce order once the judge has signed it.

Swear or affirm the affidavit(s)

There are strict rules for when you can swear or affirm your Affidavit — Desk Order Divorce. You can only do it after:

• you and the other person have been separated for one year,
• your Notice of Family Claim has been filed at the court registry, and
• the 30 days for the other person to submit a Response to Family Claim (Form F4) or a Response to Counterclaim (Form F6) has passed.

How to swear or affirm an affidavit

You can have the affidavit(s) sworn by a:

• lawyer,
• notary public, or
• other commissioner for taking affidavits.

If you want to use a lawyer or a notary public (for a fee), make sure they can swear or affirm the document for you. You might need to make an appointment. Tell them that the documents are an Affidavit — Desk Order Divorce and, if applicable, a Child Support Affidavit and exhibits for your divorce. Tell the person that you don't need any advice.

You can also find commissioners in courthouse registries, at both Supreme Court and Provincial Court. See Who can swear an affidavit?

When you go to have your affidavit(s) sworn, the person swearing the documents checks your photo identification. They ask if you've read the documents, and if you swear (or affirm) that the contents are true to the best of your knowledge and belief. If you answer yes, you sign the documents, and the person swearing the documents signs the affidavit and stamps it with their name and contact information. They also stamp and sign any attached exhibits.

You'll need

• your completed forms, and
• $80 in filing fees.

Prepare your application

Now that you've completed all the documents, you need to apply for your divorce.

Make one copy of your completed forms:

• Requisition (Form F17)
• Requisition (Form F35)
• Draft Final Order (Form F52)
• Certificate of Pleadings (Form F36)
• Affidavit of Personal Service (Form F15)
• Child Support Affidavit (Form F37), if it applies, with your separation agreement or court orders attached as exhibits
• Affidavit — Desk Order Divorce (Form F38)

File your application at the registry

Take the original set and the copy of your documents to the registry. The registry staff will review your documents. If your documents are ready to file, they take your payment for your application of divorce. (As of June 2022, it costs $80.) They stamp the original and the copy, and give the copy back to you.

Ask the registry staff when your divorce order is likely to be ready for pick up.

Pick up your signed divorce order

The registry won't let you know when the order has been signed. You have to contact them after four weeks to see if it's ready.

Once you've picked up your divorce order, keep a copy of it in a safe place.

When will you be divorced?

The divorce becomes effective 31 days after the judge signed the order. For example, if the judge signed your divorce order on September 15, your divorce becomes final on October 16.

These 31 days are the appeal period. In theory, the other person can file a last-minute appeal during this time to stop the divorce. But this is rare.

You'll need

• a copy of your divorce order signed by a judge,
• the other person's last known mailing address, and
• Fax Cover Sheet (Form F95), if you fax the document

You must serve a copy of the divorce order on the other person as soon as possible, unless the court explicitly says that you don't have to. You can serve it by ordinary service.

What is ordinary service?

Ordinary service means the document can be:

• dropped off at a business or residential address,
• sent by regular mail,
• faxed with a Fax Cover Sheet (Form F95), or
• emailed.

The method you use will depend on the type of information the other person included in their address for service on their own court documents. You can only serve a document to an address they've listed. Since the other party didn't file a response, you might not have an address for service. If you don't, you must mail it to their last known address.

When is a document considered served by ordinary service?

A document that's emailed, faxed, or left at a person's address for service is considered served on that day if it's served at or before 4 pm on a business day (Monday to Friday). If it's left after 4 pm or on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, it's considered served on the next business day.

A mailed document is considered served one week after the day it was sent. If that day is a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, it's considered served on the next business day.

You don't need to complete an Affidavit of Ordinary Service.

Certificate of Divorce

You can order a Certificate of Divorce (Form F56) from the registry any time after the divorce is final.

This step is optional. Your divorce will still be legal if you don't have a Certificate of Divorce. If you want to remarry, your divorce order is enough.

Some countries require a certificate as legal proof of divorce. In Canada, you can use either the certificate or your divorce order. A certificate shows proof of your divorce without revealing all the details in your order.

Copy and keep safe

Copy and keep these important documents safe:

• your signed divorce order,
• your separation agreement or court orders, and
• your Certificate of Divorce, if you order one.