Fee Waiver for Divorce in Ontario

Ontario's divorce court fees total $694 — $224 to file the application, $445 for the judgment package, and $25 for the Certificate of Divorce. If you cannot afford those fees, the Administration of Justice Act gives you two formal pathways to get them waived entirely. Neither pathway requires a lawyer, and both are available to self-represented filers.

Pathway 1: Form FW-A-3 (Automatic Registrar Waiver)

This is the faster route. You submit Form FW-A-3: Fee Waiver Request to Registrar, Clerk or Sheriff directly to court staff. If your household finances fall below the provincial thresholds, the registrar issues a Fee Waiver Certificate immediately — no hearing, no judge.

Who Qualifies Automatically

You qualify if your primary household income comes from one of these government support programs:

• Ontario Works (OW)
• Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)
• Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefits
• Old Age Security (OAS) combined with the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS)

You also qualify if you hold a current Legal Aid Ontario certificate.

Income and Asset Thresholds

If you are not on government assistance, you can still qualify if your household income, liquid assets, and net worth all fall below the statutory limits. These were significantly increased by O. Reg. 548/22 — older guides and checklists that cite $1,500 in liquid assets and $6,000 in net worth are out of date.

The current thresholds:

Gross annual household income is the total pre-tax earnings of everyone in the household.

Liquid assets are money or assets easily converted to cash — bank balances, unlocked RRSPs, GICs, mutual funds, stocks, and bonds. This excludes your primary vehicle, household furniture, tools of a trade, and real property.

Net worth is total household assets minus all debts and liabilities.

These thresholds are indexed to inflation and automatically adjust on January 1, 2027, and every third January 1 after that.

What Documentation to Bring

The registrar needs proof of your income. Acceptable documents include:

• Your most recent CRA Notice of Assessment
• Three consecutive recent pay stubs
• A current government benefits statement (OW, ODSP, CPP, OAS/GIS)

If your waiver is approved, it covers all filing fees for your entire case — Stage One, Stage Two, and the Certificate of Divorce.

Pathway 2: Form FW-A-4 (Judicial Waiver)

If your income or assets exceed the automatic thresholds, or if the registrar denies your FW-A-3 request, you can submit Form FW-A-4: Fee Waiver Request to Court. This goes to a judge rather than court staff.

The judge has broad discretion to grant a waiver based on a holistic review of your financial situation — not just income numbers. They consider your monthly expenses, the nature of your debts, dependents, medical costs, and any other circumstances that make the filing fees a genuine hardship.

This pathway is reviewed by a judge and is available when the automatic criteria do not capture the full picture of someone's financial situation.

Legal Aid Ontario and Divorce

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) provides certificates for some family law matters and uses its own eligibility rules. A current LAO certificate qualifies for the fee-waiver criteria described above, but LAO eligibility and fee-waiver eligibility are separate. You may qualify for a fee waiver even if you do not qualify for Legal Aid; check LAO's current rules separately.

Common Mistakes

Using outdated threshold numbers. The most frequently cited figures online — $1,500 liquid assets, $6,000 net worth — were superseded by O. Reg. 548/22. The current limits are $2,800 and $11,100 respectively.

Not applying early enough. Submit your fee waiver request before or at the same time as your filing so you know whether the fees are covered.

Forgetting Stage Two. The fee waiver covers all stages, but some filers only think about the initial $224 and are caught off guard by the $445 Stage Two fee. If you need a waiver, make sure it is in place before both stages.

The Ontario Divorce Filing Process Guide includes the full fee waiver procedure alongside every other filing step, so you can handle the waiver application as part of your normal filing workflow rather than as a separate process.

See more Ontario guides →