Online Divorce in BC: How to Get Divorced Without Going to Court

Many BC couples who agree on everything can now get divorced without ever standing in a courtroom. The forms can be prepared online, filed electronically, and decided by a judge on paper.

This guide explains what the Province's Online Divorce Assistant does and does not do, how e-filing and desk orders work, the court fees as of 1 November 2026, and when you need more than the online tools.

What "online divorce" means in BC

In British Columbia, only the Supreme Court can grant a divorce. No website, app or form service can do it for you. What has moved online is the paperwork around the court's decision, in three parts:

• Preparing the forms. The Province's free Online Divorce Assistant walks spouses who agree through a questionnaire and produces completed joint divorce forms.
• Filing them. Court Services Online lets registered users file many Supreme Court documents electronically instead of taking them to a registry counter.
• Getting the order. An uncontested divorce can be granted on written materials, often called a desk order divorce, so neither of you has to appear before a judge.

Put together, these mean many couples can complete a divorce without setting foot in a courtroom. The legal requirements are exactly the same as for any other divorce, and a judge still reviews the file.

Can you use the online route? Four things to check

• Residence. A BC court can hear a divorce if either spouse has been habitually resident in BC for at least one year immediately before the case is started (Divorce Act, section 3(1)). Only one of you needs to meet this test.
• A ground for divorce. The only ground is breakdown of the marriage. Most people rely on separation: you must have lived separate and apart for at least one year before the divorce is decided, and have been living apart when the case started (section 8(2)(a)). Living together again for up to 90 days in total, mainly to try to reconcile, does not interrupt that year.
• Child support. If you have children of the marriage, the judge must be satisfied that reasonable arrangements have been made for their support, having regard to the child support guidelines. If not, the divorce is put on hold until they are (section 11(1)(b)).
• Agreement. A joint case can be started only if all relief other than the divorce itself is by consent (Supreme Court Family Rules, Rule 2-2(1)). If you still disagree about parenting, support or property, the online route will not resolve that for you.

For an overview of every route, including contested cases, see our guide on how to get a divorce in BC.

The Online Divorce Assistant: what it does and does not do

The Ministry of Justice's Online Divorce Assistant is a free, secure questionnaire for a joint divorce, meaning you and your spouse apply together. The Province's page says both of you must agree on the divorce and on all related family law issues, such as spousal support and the division of family property and debts. Your answers are saved, so you can work at your own pace, and at the end you can print the forms and file them at your local registry or file them online.

Its limits matter just as much:

• Joint divorces only. It does not prepare a sole application, which is what you need if your spouse will not sign.
• It prepares forms, not outcomes. Completing the questionnaire does not mean the judge will accept the result. The child support test still applies, and the judge can ask for more evidence.
• It does not settle anything for you. Property, debts, pensions and support should already be dealt with, usually in a written separation agreement, before you rely on it.

Filing online through Court Services Online

Court Services Online (CSO) is the Province's electronic filing service. Its help pages say that only registered CSO users with an active account can e-file, and that documents excluded under the Supreme Court Family Rules cannot be filed this way; one example is a proof of marriage from a foreign jurisdiction, unless it was issued electronically (Supreme Court Family Rules, Rule 22-4(5)). Confirm that each document in your package can be e-filed before you submit it.

As of 1 November 2026, CSO charges a $7 service fee for each filing package. The fee applies even if the package is not accepted, and it is in addition to the court's own filing fees. CSO says users with indigent status do not pay it.

E-filing saves a trip to the registry. It does not change what the registry checks: incomplete or inconsistent documents can still be sent back for correction.

The desk order: a divorce without a hearing

Under the Supreme Court Family Rules, a joint case is an "undefended family law case" as long as neither spouse has filed a notice of withdrawal. A sole case is undefended if no response to the claim has been filed. In an undefended case, you can apply for the final order by requisition instead of going to trial (Rule 10-10(1)).

What goes in the package

Rule 10-10(2) lists what must be filed. For a divorce, that typically means:

• Requisition (Form F35) and a draft of the proposed order.
• Proof that the case is undefended and a registrar's certificate (Form F36) that the pleadings and proceedings are in order.
• Proof of service of the notice of family claim, in a sole case where no response was filed.
• Affidavit for divorce (Form F38), plus a Child Support Affidavit (Form F37) where appropriate.
• Statement of information (Form F102) if you are also asking for a child support, spousal support or parenting order under the Divorce Act, and an affidavit in Form F101 if guardianship is sought.

Under Rule 10-10(5), the judge may grant the order without anyone attending, direct that you or your lawyer attend, or require further evidence. Our article on desk order divorce in BC covers the timing rules for the affidavit and the most common reasons packages come back.

Swearing your affidavit by video

The divorce affidavit must be sworn or affirmed before someone authorized to take affidavits, but that no longer has to happen in the same room. Under Rule 10-4(6.1), an affidavit sworn by video conference must say, in its last numbered paragraph, that the person swearing it was not physically present but appeared by video. For more on who can take an affidavit, see who can commission an affidavit in BC.

Where the person swearing is outside BC, the Law Society of BC's Code says a BC lawyer should use remote commissioning only if there is no other practical way to do it under the procedures where that person is. The Code also notes that following the remote process does not mean a court will necessarily accept the affidavit. If one of you lives elsewhere, see getting a BC divorce when one of you lives outside BC.

After the judge signs

A divorce generally takes effect on the 31st day after the judgment is made (Divorce Act, section 12(1)). Neither of you can remarry until then. Once it has taken effect, you can ask the registry for a certificate of divorce; our guide to the certificate of divorce in BC explains how.

Court fees as of 1 November 2026

Government and court fees for an uncontested divorce in the BC Supreme Court are set by the Supreme Court Family Rules (Appendix C) and a federal fee order:

• $200 to start the family law case, whether by joint or sole notice of family claim.
• $10 federal fee for each divorce application, paid for the Central Registry of Divorce Proceedings (people on legal aid whose provincial filing fees are waived do not pay it).
• $80 to file the requisition for a desk order.
• $7 per package if you e-file through Court Services Online.

Example: a joint divorce filed online in two packages, one to start the case and one for the desk order application, would come to $200 + $10 + $80 + $14 = $304 in government and court fees. A certificate of divorce, if you want one later, is a separate $40 in person or $50 by mail.

When the online route is not enough

• Your spouse will not sign. You can proceed alone with a notice of family claim, which is normally served personally on your spouse by someone 19 or older who is not a party. See divorce when your spouse won't sign or can't be found.
• You cannot find your spouse. You may need a court order allowing another method of service before the case can go ahead.
• Issues are still unsettled. For married spouses, the Family Law Act's two-year limit for property division and spousal support claims runs from the date of the divorce judgment (section 198(2)). Settle or start those claims first; see our guide to family law deadlines in BC.
• You have been apart for years. Separation never becomes a divorce on its own. Our article on whether there is an automatic divorce after a long separation explains why someone still has to apply.

Want to divorce without a court appearance? Get the paperwork right first

Our family lawyers can confirm whether you qualify, review your separation agreement and child support arrangements, prepare and e-file a joint or sole application, and arrange for affidavits to be sworn by video where the rules allow.

Call 604-259-2844 or send us a message to arrange a consultation by video or at our Vancouver office.