(LSEO)File and serve

You'll need

• Enough time until your hearing date to serve your documents on the other person
• Your completed Notice of Application (Form F31)
• Your sworn Affidavit (Form F30) and its attached exhibit(s)
• $80 to file your Notice of Application
• A blank Affidavit of Ordinary Service (Form F16)
• A responding Affidavit (Form F30), if you need one

This step is divided into three parts.

1. File the documents

Make copies of your documents

1. Make three photocopies (so you have the original plus three copies) of:
   • the Notice of Application (Form F31),
   • your sworn Affidavit (Form F30) with exhibits, if any, and
   • any other Affidavits you'll be relying on.
2. Keep the originals together and make three separate sets that contain one copy of each document:
   • the registry keeps the originals and sometimes one copy
   • one set is for you
   • one set is to serve on the other person

File the documents at the registry

File the Notice of Application (Form F31) and the supporting documents at the Supreme Court registry. The registry clerk will stamp your documents with the court seal and put your documents into the file for your case.

2. Serve the documents

You can serve the documents by ordinary service. This means you can:

• drop them off at a residential or business address,
• send them by regular mail,
• fax them with a Fax Cover Sheet (Form F95), or
• email them.

You must serve the documents on the other person at least eight full business days before the date set for the hearing. This means that eight full business days must pass in between the day the documents are considered served on the other person and the hearing day. If you mail the documents, you need to allow an extra week.

Complete the Affidavit of Ordinary Service (Form 16)

If you think the other person won't show up, you'll need to prove that you've served your documents on them by filling out an Affidavit of Ordinary Service (Form F16).

Attach copies of the served documents to the Affidavit. Each copy must be marked as an Exhibit and labelled Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C, etc. (depending on how many documents there are). If the documents aren't attached and properly marked, your Affidavit won't be accepted by the court and you'll have to have the documents served again.

Take the Affidavit and attachments to a lawyer, a notary public, or a clerk at the court registry to swear or affirm that the documents have been served. (There's a fee for this.) The lawyer, notary, or clerk will sign the Affidavit, and stamp and sign each attachment.

3. Wait and respond, if necessary

Wait for a response

The other person must respond within five business days from when they're served with your Notice of Application (Form F31).

The other person responds by filing:

• an Application Response (Form F32), and
• each Affidavit (Form F30) and any other document referred to in the Application Response that hasn't already been filed.

If the other person agrees with what you're asking for, you have three options:

• Withdraw your application if you don’t need an order.
• You both show up in court on the date set for the hearing and ask for a consent order (an order you both agree to).
• Switch to our step-by-step guide Get an interim family order in Supreme Court if you both agree and follow the steps. The process for getting an interim order if you agree can be simpler and you might not have to go to court.

Prepare another affidavit, if necessary

If you receive an affidavit from the other person that contains new facts or issues, you might want to complete a responding Affidavit (Form F30). You must only respond to new information in the other person's new affidavit.

You must file your responding affidavits before 4 pm on the business day that's one full business day before the date set for the hearing. (This means that one full business day must pass in between the day you're served and the hearing day.)