Starting and Responding to a Family Law Case

This order will be issued by the court office automatically for all Applications and Answers when claims are first made with respect to decision-making responsibility, parenting time or support. Once you have filed your documents, court staff will give you a copy of the automatic order. You will keep a copy for yourself and make another copy that you need to serve on the other party in your case.

You can find more information about Rule 8.0.1 and Automatic Orders here: Family Law Rules. The Ministry of the Attorney General has also prepared a Tip Sheet that you may find here: Helpful Tips for Automatic Orders.

Toronto region only (i.e., 47 Sheppard Avenue East or 311 Jarvis Street courthouses), effective October 14, 2025: Ontario Courts Public Portal

Effective October 14, 2025, counsel and parties in family law and child protection cases in Toronto (47 Sheppard Avenue East or 311 Jarvis Street) are expected to file or request issuance of their documents electronically through the Ontario Courts Public Portal (OCPP). The OCPP replaces the Family Submissions Online (also referred to as the Justice Services Online) portal, which will no longer be available for filings in Toronto. The OCPP replaces Family Submissions Online, which will no longer be available for filings in Toronto as of October 3, 2025.

Uploading a document to the OCPP does not constitute filing the document. Court staff review documents that are uploaded to the OCPP and notify the party who has uploaded the materials within three business days if the documents have been accepted or rejected for filing.

Parties and counsel are responsible for ensuring that each document complies with the Family Law Rules, statutory requirements, practice directions, notices or orders issued by the Court.

The latest versions of all court forms, available on the Ontario Court Forms website should be used. The forms are available here: Family Law Rules Forms | Ontario Court Services.

When uploading a document into the OCPP, ensure the document is under 500 pages in length. Large documents, such as a book of authorities that is over 500 pages in length, should be broken down into Volumes (e.g. Book of Authorities Vol. 1; Book of Authorities Vol. 2).

Institutional litigants and counsel in Toronto are required to file family documents through the OCPP

Institutional litigants (e.g. an agency designated as a children’s aid society, the Family Responsibility Office, Office of the Children’s Lawyer and Ontario Works) and counsel shall use the OCPP to submit documents to the court for filing or issuance, subject to the following exception:

• documents in support of a sealing motion or that are subject to a sealing order

Documents that fall under this exception may be filed with the court office in person, or directly emailed to the court, at one of the following email addresses, as applicable: 47Sheppard.OCJ.courts@ontario.ca or 311Jarvis.OCJ.courts@ontario.ca.

It is expected, however, that institutional litigants and counsel will maximize the use of the OCPP, and will make all best efforts to ensure that documents related to known court events are filed in a timely fashion.

Note that from within the OCPP, it is possible for urgent filings such as documents for a court event or statutory deadline that is three business days or less away (e.g., for an urgent hearing) to be flagged as time sensitive prior to completing the filing on the OCPP by selecting the “Time Sensitive” checkbox. “Time Sensitive” checkbox.

Get help submitting a document through the OCPP

The Ministry of the Attorney General’s Court Services Division offers support to counsel and self-represented litigants with inquiries.

Phone: 1-800-980-4962
Email: CourtsPortal@ontario.ca
Hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

If a party is not able to file documents through the OCPP

Self-represented parties are encouraged to use the OCPP, but in-person services continue to be available at the court counter in the following circumstances:

• where a party is not able to file documents through the OCPP (for example, due to accessibility-related reasons or technology limitations)
• where documents are being filed for a court attendance that is three business days or less away (for example, for urgent or emergency matters)

Current court counter hours are posted here for 47 Sheppard Ave E and here for 311 Jarvis St. If a party requires additional support in filing documents, please contact the Accessibility Coordinator at the courthouse where the matter is being heard. Information about accessibility resources in Ontario courts, including accessibility coordinators is found here: Going to court: accessibility | ontario.ca.

Any paper document that is filed in-person will be returned to the party once it has been digitized by court staff. The party is required to retain the original and produce it on request, in accordance with Rules 1.1(10) and (11.1) of the Family Law Rules.

All regions except for Toronto region: Family Submissions Online Portal (also known as the Justice Services Online platform)

The Family Submissions Online portal provides a simple method to electronically submit court documents, at every step in a case, in any new or existing family proceeding in the Ontario Court of Justice in all regions except for Toronto. Note, however, that there are limitations to documents that may be filed at this time. Please check the Family Submissions Online portal to ensure that your documents may be filed using the portal.

If the court clerk accepts the document for filing or issuance, they are considered filed as per the date indicated on the document.

Counsel and parties must keep any document that was originally signed, certified, or commissioned in paper format until the court finally disposes of the matter or if a notice of appeal is not served in the case, the time for serving the notice has expired.

When a document has been filed electronically, it is not necessary to file a paper copy.

Important Information Regarding Electronic Filing

Naming Protocol for Documents:

When documents are filed with the court using the Family Submissions Online portal, the document name must indicate contain the following information in the following order:

• Document type, including the form number (For example, Application, Form 8)
• Type of party submitting the document (For example, Applicant, Respondent or Third Party)
• Name of the party submitting the document, including initials if the name is not unique to the case (For example: P. Smith and B. Smith – initials must be used if the parties share a last name; Smith and Thomas – initials are not required if the parties do not share a last name), and
• Date on which the document was created or signed, in the format DD-MMM-YYYY (For example: 12-JAN-2021).

Below are sample document names:

Application Form 8 – Applicant – P. Smith – 12-JAN-2021

Notice of Motion Form 14 – Respondent – J. Brown – 21-DEC-2021

Affidavit General Form 14A – OCL – 01-JUL-2021

Document names shall not include firm-specific naming conventions or court file numbers.

Abbreviations may only be used as follows:

APP for Applicant
RESP for Respondent
O for Other 

Maximum attachment file length

When uploading a document to Ontario Courts Public Portal, ensure the document is under 500 pages in length. Large documents, such as a book of authorities that is over 500 pages in length, should be broken down into Volumes (e.g. Book of Authorities Vol. 1; Book of Authorities Vol. 2).