Form 6: Reply to an Application About a Family Law Matter
Use Form 6 when you have been served with a Form 3 application and need to say which proposed family-law orders you agree with, disagree with or want to counter-apply for.
Check whether your Form 3 is marked “Changed.” An original Form 3 normally has a 30-day filing deadline under Rule 28. A changed Form 3 normally requires filing and serving a reply within 14 days under Rule 190, or 30 days if the change adds a child- or spousal-support application. Court orders and other circumstances can affect your situation. In early-resolution registries, also check Rule 11 immediately. If the original Form 3 asks for child support or spousal support, Rule 28 requires you to file a Financial Statement (Form 4) with your Form 6 reply, even if you agree with the support request. This free tool does not prepare Form 4.
Free guided Form 6 PDF — for supported replies
Try the Form 6 step-by-step tool →
Answer simple questions to prepare a draft on the official court form. This version supports agreements and selected parenting, contact and guardianship replies. It does not cover every Form 6 schedule: disagreements involving child support, spousal support or companion animals, and most new counter-applications must be prepared using the official PDF. It does not file or serve anything for you.
Free help filling this form
The BC government's free Family Law Act Online Forms Assistant asks questions and uses your answers to prepare relevant Provincial Court family documents. A Basic BCeID account is required. The form finder can also help you identify the appropriate guide before you begin.
The government assistant is a separate service. Our free tool can prepare a draft Form 6 PDF for you to download. You must review it and arrange filing and service yourself.
What your reply can do
A Form 6 reply tells the court how you respond to the orders requested in Form 3. Under Rule 29, you may agree with some requests, oppose others, and include a counter application if you want orders about a different family-law matter not included in the original application.
How to complete Form 6
- Read the Form 3 application and each attached schedule. List every order the applicant requests, not just the one you feel most strongly about.
- Enter the correct registry, court file number, parties and your address for service. Use the same names and case information as the filed application.
- For each requested order, show whether you agree or disagree. Briefly set out the facts supporting your response and complete the relevant schedules in the official form.
- If you need a different order, review the counter-application part of Form 6 and the additional document requirements in Rules 25, 26 and 30. Do not treat a counter application as merely explaining why you disagree.
- If the original Form 3 asks for child support or spousal support, Rule 28(2)(b) requires a Financial Statement (Form 4) with your reply, even if you agree. Prepare Form 4 and supporting information separately.
- File Form 6, plus required additional documents, with the correct Provincial Court registry within the response period. Keep filed copies and check the next directions from the registry.
Who gives the other party your reply? For an ordinary reply to an original Form 3, Rule 33 requires the registry to provide the filed reply (and any counter application and accompanying documents) to the person who filed Form 3 within 21 days after filing. However, if you are responding to a changed Form 3, Rule 190 generally requires you to file and serve the reply within the applicable 14- or 30-day period. Check the correct route with the registry; do not assume the registry will handle service in every case.
Deadlines, changed applications and early-resolution registries
Rule 28(4) normally gives 30 days after service of an original Form 3 for filing the reply and required financial statement. Rule 190 normally requires filing and serving within 14 days after service of a changed Form 3, or 30 days if the change adds an application for child or spousal support. In an early-resolution registry, Rule 28(3) also requires the responding party to meet relevant Rule 11 early-resolution requirements before filing, unless an exception or court order applies. Do not assume those preliminary steps automatically extend the response period. Contact the registry promptly if timing is difficult.
What if you do not reply?
For an original Form 3, Rule 31 addresses the consequences of not filing a reply within the normal 30 days. Changed applications have separate shorter deadlines under Rule 190. Missing the applicable deadline can affect notice rights, and orders may be made without you. Rule 32 allows the court to require notice or attendance despite that default. Missing the deadline is therefore serious; seek prompt advice about available procedural options.
Worked example
A Form 3 application asks for a set parenting schedule and a child-support order. You could use Form 6 to agree with the need for a parenting schedule while proposing a different arrangement, then address child support separately and file the required financial materials. If you also want an order on another family-law matter, determine whether a counter application is appropriate.
Example: reply to each requested order separately
In this fictional example, Form 3 asks for Tuesday parenting time and a new weekend overnight. The person responding agrees to Tuesday afternoons but disagrees with the overnight request. The Form 6 answer should identify each request and say which part is agreed to and which is disputed. A bare “I disagree with everything” can obscure an area of agreement.
- Read every order requested in Form 3 and any attached schedules.
- Record your answer to each: agree, disagree, or the response the official form requires.
- Explain any disagreement in plain facts. Seeking a different order of your own may require a counter application and additional schedules.
- Check whether the served document is an original or changed Form 3. The reply time is not always the same; review the Rule 28/190 guidance above.
Try the free guided Form 6 PDF tool if your reply is within its supported paths. It will direct you to the official form if your situation is unsupported.
Common mistake
Submitting a letter instead of Form 6, ignoring the support-related Form 4 requirement, or waiting until the early-resolution steps are finished without tracking the 30-day deadline.
How to work through Form 6
First place the Form 3 you were served beside the blank official Form 6. The official form includes a main reply and schedules for particular requests.
Registry, file number and parties
Copy the registry and court file information from your filed papers. Check the names and contact-for-service information the form requests.
Agree or disagree with each requested order
Go through each order type in the served Form 3 and its schedules. Record which requests you agree with and which you oppose; don't assume a single general objection answers every request.
Different orders and a counter application
Disagreeing with a requested order is different from making a counter application about an additional family-law matter. Check the appropriate schedules and extra documents under the Rules before adding a new request.
Financial disclosure, deadline and next step
If the application involves child or spousal support, Rule 28 requires a Form 4 with the reply. An original Form 3 normally has a 30-day filing period; a changed Form 3 can require filing and serving within 14 days. Early-resolution registries can also require steps before filing. Contact the registry promptly if the timing is uncertain.