Practice Direction regarding filing documents electronically in Toronto through the Ontario Courts Public Portal

This Practice Direction only applies to counsel and parties with family and child protection cases in Toronto family courts, where the new Ontario Courts Public Portal will be initially available. This Practice Direction will be updated as the Court Digital Transformation initiative is expanded and the Ontario Courts Public Portal is made available in additional locations.

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 (Portal). The Public Portal replaces Justice Services Online, which will no longer be available for filings in Toronto as of October 3, 2025.

Uploading a document to the Portal does not constitute filing the document. Court staff review documents that are uploaded to the Portal 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.

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

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 Portal 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 Portal, and will make all best efforts to ensure that documents related to known court events are filed in a timely fashion.

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

Self-represented parties are encouraged to use the Portal, 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 Portal (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.

File family documents through one mode only

Parties and counsel should not attempt to file their documents in more than one way (i.e. if filing electronically, documents should not also be filed in person, or submitted via email).

Case Center

Case Center is a separate online platform where judges, counsel, parties, and court staff view electronic court documents before and during hearings.

In all court locations where parties are permitted and/or required to file through the Ontario Courts Public Portal:

• parties should not submit any document directly to Case Center unless a judge has provided direction or permission to do so
• court staff have the exclusive responsibility for posting filed documents into Case Center

Electronic Filing outside of Toronto

When filing documents electronically at any court location outside of Toronto, parties and counsel may continue to file through Justice Services Online (JSO).

Get help in completing family court forms

The Family Law Guided Pathways is a free online tool that assists users in completing family court forms. The pathways ask users questions and then puts the answers into the forms that are needed. When completed, the user can save or print the completed court documents and file the completed forms with the court.

The Steps to Justice website provides information about various legal problems, including on topics in family law.

For help in preparing a draft family court order, standard wording for orders is available on the Ontario Court Forms website, in the section titled “Standard Clauses”.

Get help submitting a document through the Portal

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.