BC Divorce Forms: Which Forms You Need and Where to Get Them

The Forms Are Free — the Confusion Isn't

Every form you need for a BC divorce is available free from the Supreme Court website. The problem isn't access. It's knowing which forms you need, in what order, and what happens when one is filled out incorrectly.

The BC Supreme Court registry rejects desk order applications at a remarkably high rate, and the most common reasons are form-related: wrong affidavit, missing schedule, expired sworn date. Here's the full inventory, organized in the order you'll actually use them.

Stage 1: Opening Your Court File

Form F3 — Notice of Family Claim. This is your opening document for a sole (one-party) divorce application. It tells the court you're claiming a divorce and identifies what other orders you want — parenting, support, property division. Each type of claim has its own schedule attached to Form F3: Schedule 1 for divorce, Schedule 2 for parenting, Schedule 3 for support, Schedule 4 for property.

Filing fee: CA$200 at the Supreme Court registry.

Form F1 — Notice of Joint Family Claim. The alternative to Form F3 when both spouses are filing together. A joint application eliminates the need for personal service and the 30-day response period, which can save weeks of processing time. Both spouses sign Form F1.

Filing fee: CA$200. If you have already filed a separation agreement with the court, the Notice of Joint Family Claim is free under that existing file; filing the agreement costs CA$30, reducing the standard sequence by CA$170.

Registration of Divorce Proceedings. This isn't a BC form — it's federal. You complete it through the federal government's online portal and print it for filing. It registers your divorce with the Central Registry of Divorce Proceedings in Ottawa, which checks for competing applications elsewhere in Canada. Filing fee: CA$10.

Stage 2: Serving Your Spouse (Sole Applications Only)

Form F15 — Affidavit of Personal Service. After someone other than you personally hands the court documents to your spouse, that server swears Form F15 describing who they served, when, where, and how they confirmed identity. A photo of the respondent must be attached as an exhibit.

Joint applications skip this entirely — no service required.

Stage 3: The Desk Order Application Package

This is the package that gets your case in front of a judge — filed after the 30-day response period expires (sole) or immediately (joint), and only once the one-year separation has been reached.

Form F35 — Requisition. A short form requesting the court to grant a final order without a hearing "in the form attached." Think of it as the cover letter for your desk order package.

Form F17 — Requisition. A separate requisition asking registry staff to search the court database and confirm that no Response (Form F4) or Counterclaim (Form F5) has been filed by your spouse.

Form F38 — Affidavit (Desk Order Divorce). The sworn statement that is the heart of your application. It details both spouses' personal information, dates of marriage and separation, grounds for divorce, confirmation that reconciliation is not possible, and parenting arrangements. This affidavit must be filed within 30 days of being sworn — miss that window and you'll need to re-swear and pay another CA$40 commissioning fee.

Form F37 — Child Support Affidavit. Required if there are dependent children. It sets out both parents' incomes, the children's primary residence, and the exact child support amount being paid or proposed. The figures must align with the Federal Child Support Guidelines tables — a mismatch is one of the most common rejection reasons.

Form F36 — Certificate of Pleadings. You fill out the top portion; the registry clerk completes and signs the rest to certify that all pleadings and service requirements are satisfied. It's the registry's internal quality gate.

Form F52 — Draft Final Order. This is the actual divorce order. You draft it; the judge signs it. It includes the divorce grant, any parenting or support terms, and property division orders if applicable.

Stage 4: After the Order

Form F56 — Certificate of Divorce. Optional. Once the divorce is final (31 days after the judge signs the order), you can request this certificate as clean proof of your single status. Useful for remarriage or international purposes. Cost: CA$40 in person, CA$50 by mail.

Forms You Might Also Need

Form F4 — Response to Family Claim. Filed by the respondent if they want to contest any part of the claim. If this gets filed, you're off the desk order track.

Form F5 — Counterclaim. If the respondent wants to make their own claims (different parenting arrangement, different property split), they file this alongside Form F4.

Form F29/F30/F34 — Substitutional Service. If your spouse can't be found or is evading service, you apply for an order allowing alternative service (mail, email, social media, registry posting). Form F29 is the requisition, F30 is the supporting affidavit detailing your search efforts, and F34 is the draft order.

Forms F17, F85, and F86 — Fee waiver application. Form F17 is the requisition, Form F85 is the Order to Waive Fees, and Form F86 is the supporting affidavit. If court fees would cause financial hardship, you can apply to have them waived under Supreme Court Family Rule 20-5.

Where to Get All Forms

All Supreme Court family forms are available at the BC Supreme Court website under the family law forms section. The federal Registration of Divorce Proceedings is completed separately through the Department of Justice online portal.

For a form-by-form walkthrough with filing deadlines and a document assembly checklist, the British Columbia Divorce Filing Process Guide covers every form in sequence — from your first filing visit to the final certificate.

See more British Columbia guides →