Form 3: Application About a Family Law Matter

Check the order you need

• A new order about parenting, contact, guardianship, child support, spousal support or a companion animal.
• An order changing or cancelling a final family-law order, subject to the Rules. Rule 24 excludes changing or cancelling a final order about property division in respect of a companion animal.
• An order to set aside or replace a written family-law agreement.
• Interim versus final orders: a Form 3 claim sets out the family-law orders sought. An interim order may be made at a family management conference under Rule 50. After attending that conference, a party seeking a further interim order, or to change or cancel an existing interim order, may use Form 39 to request scheduling under Rule 156. Form 39 does not replace the underlying filed claim.
• Other proceedings: protection orders, priority parenting matters and case management applications use their own processes (including Forms 12, 15, 10 or 11 if it applies).

Complete Form 3 step by step

1. Parties and registry: use the correct court location, names and service details; include the existing case number if relevant.
2. Relationship and children: fill out the sections for relationship history, children and care arrangements when they apply.
3. Existing orders: describe and attach relevant current orders or agreements, including safety-related orders where asked.
4. Requested orders: choose the exact order types. Complete the matching schedules for parenting, support, guardianship, contact, spousal support or companion-animal matters; do not fill unrelated schedules.
5. Facts: write concrete, numbered facts that explain why the orders are requested. Distinguish what already happened from what you want the court to order.
6. Supporting documents: include Form 4 financial disclosure when required for support and a copy of any existing order or agreement being addressed. For appointment as a guardian under section 51: with Form 3, file the Consent for Child Protection Record Check (Form 5 under the Family Law Act Regulation) and the registry’s request for a Protection Order Registry search, and certify that you have initiated a criminal record check (Rule 25(2)). The separate Guardianship Affidavit (Provincial Court Form 5) and three check results are required later within Rule 26 timelines.

File it and serve the other party

1. File the completed Form 3 and required attachments with the correct Provincial Court registry.
2. Arrange personal service by an adult who is not a party, with the required reply instructions and attachments.
3. Have the server complete a Form 7 Certificate of Service where required. If no reply is filed within 30 days, the Rule requires the applicant to file the certificate.
4. The respondent generally has 30 days after service to file Form 6 (and Form 4 when required). A filed Form 3 is not an automatic judgment.

Worked example

Example: write a specific parenting request

Consider a fictional parent asking for more parenting time. “I want a fair schedule” does not tell the other parent or the court exactly what is being requested. A clearer example is: “Parenting time every Tuesday from school dismissal to 7 p.m. and on alternate Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with exchanges at the child’s school or an agreed public place.” Those times are only an example, not a recommended schedule.

• Put the specific parenting-time request in the appropriate Schedule 1 answer, along with the child-focused reasons.
• If asking only to allocate parental responsibilities (such as decision-making about school), describe those decisions instead. Do not invent a parenting-time request merely to fill another box.
• If also applying for child support, complete its separate schedule and supply financial information where the rules require it. A parenting schedule does not calculate support by itself.

Start the free Form 3 questions, then review every page of the completed official-form draft before filing or serving it.

Common mistake

Writing “I want fair parenting time” without stating the actual schedule sought, or assuming the other party can be served by an informal message. The requested order and method of service need to match the Rules.