What to do if the other party doesn't respond to your application for an order
If the other party hasn't responded to your application for a court order, and the deadline to respond has passed, what you should do next depends on which documents you filed and in which court:
Provincial Court
Application to Obtain an Order or
Application to Change or Cancel an Order
File an Affidavit of Personal Service and ask for an appearance. The court clerk will give you a court date. When you go to court, the judge can make an interim order or a final order.
More information
If you are trying to get, change, or cancel an order in Provincial Court and the other party doesn't respond within the amount of time set out in the rules:
- File an Affidavit of Service at the registry. For more information, see our self-help guide How to serve Provincial Court documents.
- When you go to the registry, ask the court clerk to give you a court date. This is called an appearance. The court clerk will send a notice to the other party, and the other party may show up to the court date.
- Prepare your documents.
(For help, see one of our guides: either Changing family orders or How to get an initial family order if you don't yet have one.)
- Go to the court date with your documents. Be ready to tell the judge which order you want and why. If the other party (respondent) doesn't show up, the judge has many different choices:
- Make an interim order.
- Assume that the other party consents (agrees) to the order.
- Make assumptions about the other party's income (in the case of support orders).
- Issue a summons that requires the other party to attend court.
- Make a final order. (For more information, see our fact sheet What makes an order final?)
Be aware that, even if the other party doesn't respond to your application before the deadline, if they show up at a court date or respond later, the judge or master could allow their response and extend the timelines — especially if they do not have a lawyer. This is because it is difficult to make a fair decision without having heard from all of the parties involved.
Supreme Court
Notice of Family Claim (Form F3)
You have to prove that the other party has been served and that appropriate arrangements have been made for any children in order to get a desk order.
More information
If you file a Notice of Family Claim (Form F3) in Supreme Court and the other party does not respond within the timeframe set out in the rules, this is known as an undefended family law case (or for divorce, it might be called uncontested). Special rules apply to these cases. The court can make an order for divorce, custody, guardianship, support, and property division without having heard from one of the parties. This is called a desk order.
However, before the court can do so, you must take a number of steps to prove that the other party has been served with the documents and that appropriate arrangements have been made for any children. For step-by-step help with this process, see our self-help guide How to do your own undefended (uncontested) divorce. (You can still use this guide for other orders even if you aren't asking for a divorce order.)
Be aware that, even if the other party doesn't respond to your application before the deadline, if they show up at a court date or respond later, the judge or master could allow their response and extend the timelines — especially if they do not have a lawyer. This is because it is difficult to make a fair decision without having heard from all of the parties involved.
Notice of Application (Form F31) for a non-final order or a change order
Show up in court with your materials, and the judge or master can make an order.
More information
Taking a case to trial can take a long time and be very expensive. Most family cases are not resolved at trials. Instead, many people ask the court for a non-final order (sometimes called an interim order) and then negotiate a final resolution later, outside of court. For more information, see our fact sheet What makes an order final?
If you have filed a Notice of Application (Form F31) asking the court for a non-final order and the other party doesn't respond by the deadline:
- Follow the step-by-step instructions in the self-help guide that applies to you (either How to get a non-final family order or How to change a family order), including filing and serving all the required documents.
- Go to court on the appointed day. Be ready to let the judge/master know which orders you want. You will need to show evidence that you served the other side with the documents. The judge/master will then decide whether to:
- hear your application without the other party there,
- make an order about what other evidence needs to be brought to court before a decision can be made, or
- make a non-final order.
Be aware that, even if the other party doesn't respond to your application before the deadline, if they show up at a court date or respond later, the judge or master could allow their response and extend the timelines — especially if they do not have a lawyer. This is because it is difficult to make a fair decision without having heard from all of the parties involved.
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