How to Serve Divorce Papers in Northwest Territories

After filing your Sole Petition (Form 2) at the Supreme Court registry, the next step is serving the respondent — formally delivering the court documents so they are legally notified of the divorce proceeding. In the Northwest Territories, the rules around service are strict, and mistakes at this stage are one of the most common reasons desk divorce applications get rejected.

If you filed a Joint Petition (Form 5), skip this entirely. Both spouses signed the petition together, so no service is required.

Personal Service Is Mandatory

NWT rules require that the respondent be personally served — meaning someone must physically hand them a copy of the filed petition, face to face. Dropping documents at their door, mailing them, or sending them by email does not count as valid service.

The person serving the documents must be:

• At least 18 years old
• Someone other than the petitioner (you cannot serve your own spouse)

This can be a friend, family member, colleague, or a professional process server. Professional process servers in the NWT typically charge $50–$150, depending on location and difficulty of locating the respondent.

Along with the petition, the server must also deliver a separate document: the Notice to Attend Parenting After Separation Workshop (if children are involved and the respondent has not already attended).

The Affidavit of Service

After delivering the documents, the server must swear an Affidavit of Service before a Commissioner for Oaths. This affidavit is a critical piece of evidence — without it, the court cannot confirm the respondent was notified, and the desk divorce application will be rejected.

The affidavit must include:

• The exact date service occurred
• The exact time of service
• The street address where service took place
• How the server identified the respondent (recognized them personally, confirmed their identity by asking, etc.)
• A photograph of the respondent, attached as an exhibit

The photograph requirement is an NWT-specific rule that catches many self-represented filers off guard. If the Affidavit of Service does not include a photo or a clear explanation of how identification was confirmed, the judge reviewing the desk divorce file will send it back.

File the sworn affidavit at the Supreme Court registry immediately after service is complete.

When the Respondent Cannot Be Found

If the respondent is evading service or cannot be located, the petitioner must apply to the court for a Substitutional Service Order under Rule 388 of the Rules of the Supreme Court. This requires:

1. An affidavit detailing every effort made to locate the respondent — contacting relatives, searching social media, checking with employers, utility companies, and Canada Post forwarding records.
2. A proposed alternative method of service — such as sending the documents via social media direct message, certified email, or publishing a legal notice in a newspaper where the respondent was last known to reside.

The court grants substitutional service only when the petitioner has demonstrated genuinely exhaustive search efforts. A single failed attempt at the respondent's last known address is not enough.

Response Deadlines After Service

Once served, the respondent has:

• 25 days to file an Answer if served within the Northwest Territories
• 30 days if served outside NWT but within Canada
• A period set by the court if served outside Canada

If the respondent does not file an Answer within the deadline, the petitioner files a Direction to Note in Default, and the case proceeds as uncontested.

The Northwest Territories Divorce Filing Process Guide includes a service tracking sheet with the exact Affidavit of Service requirements, response deadline calculator, and instructions for the substitutional service application if your spouse cannot be found.

See more Northwest Territories guides →