Step 1

Gather your documents

Start by gathering and organizing your documents. This step explains what documents and information you need and how to get them.

---

Your marriage certificate

When you ask the court to grant a divorce, you need to file proof of your marriage in the form of marriage certificate. See our self-help guide How to get a copy of your marriage certificate.

A photo of your spouse

When your spouse is served with his or her copy of the documents, the person who does the serving must have a way to identify your spouse. A good way to do this is to give the process server a photo of him or her. (See Step 4 for details.)

Your separation agreement or court order

You may have a separation agreement or court order that sets out what you've agreed to or what the court has already ordered about custody, access, guardianship, and child support / maintenance.

If so, refer to that separation agreement or court order when filling out the documents for divorce. You'll also need to attached a copy to documents you file with the court.

Important: If you need to get a separation agreement, contact a family justice counsellor or family law lawyer for help. See Who can help? A document referred to in an affidavit, which may be attached to the affidavit. The document must be identified by the commissioner of oaths, lawyer, or notary public at the time he or she administers the deponent's oath or affirmation.

The court forms you need to complete

For a sole divorce, you need to complete most or all of the following 10 court forms. You can either download them all at once now or wait until you get to the step that describes what to do with each form (links are provided in those steps as well).

Important: At this time, earlier versions of Acrobat Reader and the Preview application on Mac computers (and some servers and the Google Chrome browser) don't support these new forms, so you may need to either update your Acrobat Reader or use a PC at your local library or a friend's place to access them.

Guide step	Link to form	Additional notes
Step 2	Notice of Family Claim (Form F3)	See also How to fill out a Notice of Family Claim [Form F3].
Step 2	Financial Statement (Form F8)	If you're claiming child or spousal support. See also How to deal with a Supreme Court Financial Statement [Form F8].
Step 4	Affidavit of Personal Service (Form F15)	See also How to serve Supreme Court documents.
Step 5	Affidavit — Desk Order Divorce (Form F38)
Step 5	Child Support Affidavit (Form F37)	If there are children of the marriage.
Step 7	Requisition (Form F35)
Step 7	Certificate of Pleadings (Form F36)
Step 7	Final Order (Form F52)
Step 10	Requisition (Form F17)	Optional, if you want to get a Certificate of Divorce.
Step 10	Certificate of Divorce (Form F56)	Optional, if you want to get a Certificate of Divorce.

Steps 2 through 10 provide useful information about the forms and detailed instructions on what to do with them.

Tips: To see how the new forms work, especially the Notice of Family Claim, watch our video, How to Use the Supreme Court Family Forms.

Or see the Supreme Court Civil and Family Forms "How To" Guide on the Court Services Branch website.

If you need help, see Filling out court forms — Who can help.

If you're in Vancouver and need help with these forms, the Vancouver Justice Access Centre's Self-Help and Information Services can help you.