(SSSD)File and serve your documents

File and serve your documents

Supreme Court registries accept filings in person or remotely by email, mail, fax (to fax filing registries), or using Court Services Online. 

This step is divided into three parts:

You'll need

  • your completed Notice of Family Claim,
  • your completed Registration of Divorce Proceedings form,
  • your original marriage certificate or a certified true copy of your registration of marriage,
  • your translation into English and Affidavit of Translation, if needed,
  • your change of name certificate, if needed,
  • photocopies of your documents,
  • $10 to file your Registration of Divorce Proceedings form, and
  • $200 to file your Notice of Family Claim if you didn't file your separation agreement.

If you already filed your separation agreement, filing your Notice of Family Claim is free because you already have an open family law case.

Fees sometimes change, so call the registry or check the Supreme Court Family Rules to confirm the amount. If you use Court Services Online, you can pay with a credit card, Interac Online, or BC Online. If you file your documents in person, you can pay with a card or online service, in cash, or with a certified cheque or money order made out to the Minister of Finance. Many court registries will also take debit cards, but check first.

You can file your documents at any Supreme Court registry. You have to go back to the same court each time you need to deal with the court again, so it's a good idea to choose one that's close to where you live or work.

If you're in a community that isn't close to a Supreme Court registry and you need to file documents, visit the BC Supreme Court website for courthouse locations and contact information. Or, you could file your documents using Court Services Online.

Make copies of the forms

Make three copies of the completed and signed Notice of Family Claim (Form F3).

Sort and staple the pages to make four stapled sets (the original and three copies):

  • The registry keeps the original.
  • One copy is for you.
  • The other copy is to serve on the other person.
  • The person who serves the documents (a process server or another adult) will attach a copy to their Affidavit of Personal Service (Form F15).

Photocopy your marriage certificate and Registration of Divorce Proceedings form if you'd like to keep copies of them. You file both of these at the registry, so you won't get to keep your original marriage certificate.

If you had a legal change of name, make a copy of your change of name certificate.

File your forms at the registry

The staff at the registry's divorce counter check to make sure your documents are complete. They take your payment and stamp the completed documents with the court seal, and put them in a file for your case.

The registry keeps the originals and gives the stamped copies back to you.

You now have an open Supreme Court family law case with a court file number. Put this number on the rest of the forms you're preparing so the registry knows that you already have an open file.

You'll need

  • An adult (a process server you hire, or a friend or relative) to serve your documents on the other person
  • A blank Affidavit of Personal Service (Form F15)
  • The other person's home or work address
  • The other person's telephone number and email address, if possible
  • A photo of the other person, if needed

The filed Notice of Family Claim must be served by personal service. This means that someone has to physically give the form to the person who needs to receive it. You can't do this yourself — someone else (who's at least 19) must serve it for you. This can be a friend or relative, or you can hire a professional process server.

Process servers charge different amounts. Before you hire one, get quotes from several companies and check that they'll provide you with a sworn Affidavit of Personal Service.

Serving by personal service

Give the person serving the documents:

  • two copies of the filed Notice of Family Claim — one for the other person (the respondent) and one attached to an Affidavit of Personal Service (Form F15),
  • the other person's home and work addresses,
  • the other person's telephone number and email address (so the person serving the documents can contact them to arrange a time for service); and
  • a photo of the other person.
You don't need a photo if the person being served gives a copy or photo of their driver's licence or other photo identification (ID) to the person serving the documents.

If the person serving the documents has to use a photo to identify the other person, they need to swear or affirm that the photo is a "true likeness of the respondent."

You can also add a short statement about this to your Affidavit — Desk Order Divorce when you come to it — you deal with this form in Step 5: Fill out the next forms. Or, you can fill out a separate Affidavit and have it sworn by a commissioner for taking affidavits, but that takes more time and costs more money.

If your friend or relative will give the other person the documents, you or they can email or text the person receiving the documents to arrange a time to meet.

The person serving the documents must:

  1. Compare the copies to the originals to make sure they're the same.
  2. Give one copy to the other person.
  3. Copy or take a photo of the photo ID that the person being served provided.
  4. Make a note of the date and time where the documents were served.
  5. Provide you with a sworn Affidavit of Personal Service.

Affidavit of Personal Service

The person who served the documents must:

  1. Fill out the Affidavit of Personal Service (Form F15), including the date and time they served the documents.
  2. Attach the copies of the served documents and the photograph or description (if used) to the affidavit.
  3. Mark each copy as an exhibit and label them Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C, etc.
  4. Take the affidavit (with the attachments) to a lawyer, notary public, or 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 it with their name and contact information. They'll also stamp and sign each attachment.
  5. Return the completed affidavit and the attachments to you.
If the documents aren't attached and properly marked, the court won't accept the affidavit and you'll have to have the documents served again.

You can attach your sworn Affidavit of Personal Service to your final application for divorce. It will be your evidence that the documents were served on the other person.

You can apply to the court for permission to let the other person know about the divorce by alternative (substitutional) service. For example, you can ask that the court consider the documents as served if you:

  • send them to the other person by email, text, or direct message through a private social media platform, like Facebook Messenger,
  • give the Notice of Family Claim to someone the other person knows well, or
  • post a classified ad in a local newspaper.

See Arrange for alternative (substitutional) service to learn more about this.

You'll need

  • To wait 30 days

The respondent has 30 days to file and serve on you a Response to Family Claim (Form F4). They also have the right to file and serve a Counterclaim (Form F5) to start their own claim (for example, for child support, spousal support, parenting or other orders).

If the other person doesn't respond to your Notice of Family Claim within 30 days, you can continue with your sole application for an uncontested divorce.

If you receive a response, your divorce is not uncontested and you can't finish this guide. See Contested divorce to find out what to do next.

Updated on 28 February 2023

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