How to Get Your Divorce Certificate in PEI (Form 70T)

Your divorce isn't legally final the day the judge signs it. In Prince Edward Island, a mandatory 31-day appeal period must expire before anyone can request the actual Certificate of Divorce — the document you need for every post-divorce administrative update.

Divorce Judgment vs. Certificate of Divorce

These are two different documents, and the distinction matters:

Divorce Judgment (Form 70S): The court order signed by the judge granting the divorce. Issued immediately after the hearing, but the marriage is not legally dissolved yet.

Certificate of Divorce (Form 70T): The official proof that your marriage has been dissolved. Only available after Day 32. This is the document that Access PEI, Service Canada, banks, and passport offices require.

During that 31-day window, you're still legally married. You cannot remarry, and government agencies won't process name changes or other updates based solely on the Judgment.

How to Request Form 70T

Where: The Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island (Family Section) registry where your divorce was filed — typically the Sir Louis Henry Davis Law Courts in Charlottetown.

What to file: A Requisition for Certificate of Divorce (Form 70U). This is a short form requesting the registry to issue the certificate.

Cost: $25 for the official Certificate of Divorce. Additional certified copies cost $10 to $20 each.

Timeline: Once you submit Form 70U after Day 31, the Deputy Registrar verifies that no appeal was filed, then signs, seals, and issues the certificate. Processing typically takes a few business days.

Why You Need Multiple Certified Copies

Order three to five certified copies. You'll need to present the original sealed certificate simultaneously to multiple agencies, and some will retain it temporarily for processing:

• Access PEI (driver's licence update)
• Health PEI (health card)
• Service Canada (SIN and passport)
• Your bank (joint account separation)
• Your mortgage lender (title transfer or refinance)
• Vital Statistics (if pursuing a formal name change)

At $10 to $20 per copy, spending $60 to $100 on extras saves weeks of waiting for one certificate to come back from one agency before submitting it to the next.

What Happens if Someone Appeals

Appeals of PEI divorce judgments are rare — they must be filed with the PEI Court of Appeal within the 31-day window and require substantial grounds. If an appeal is filed, the Certificate of Divorce cannot be issued until the appeal is resolved. The court registry will inform you if this has occurred when you submit your Form 70U.

The Clock Starts at Signing, Not Service

The 31-day count begins on the date the Divorce Judgment is signed by the judge — not the date you receive your copy or the date it's entered in the registry. If the judgment was signed on March 1, you can submit Form 70U on April 1 (Day 32).

The Prince Edward Island After-Divorce Checklist includes a day-by-day timeline from judgment to certificate, with a tracker for coordinating all the agency updates that follow.

See more Prince Edward Island guides →