Affidavit of Service (Form 6B)

An Affidavit of Service (Form 6B) serves several purposes in Ontario’s family law system. It shows that you’ve provided the other party with relevant documents, and are giving the other party a fair chance to respond.

The Affidavit of Service helps prevent disputes about whether documents were received. This Affidavit also keeps your case moving forward, since delays often happen when proper service can’t be proven.

Using Form 6B ensures that the other party:

• Knows legal action has been taken
• Can respond to any claims made
• Has an opportunity to raise their own claims if needed

All information in the Affidavit must be accurate. Any false statements may be considered perjury, which is a criminal offence in Canada.

In Ontario family law matters, you’re not permitted to serve certain documents yourself, especially when special service is required. Rule 6 in Ontario’s Family Law Rules states that there are two ways to serve documents:

• Special service
• Regular service

Whether you served special or regular service documents, you‘d typically need to complete Form 6B, as proof of service is required.

Special Service

Under the Family Law Rules, certain documents require special service. If you need to serve special service documents, another adult must serve them on your behalf.

Special service documents must be delivered in person, unless that is impractical or impossible. In such cases, the court makes an order for substituted service (e.g., email, fax, or mail).

Special service typically applies to the following documents:

• An Application (the document that initiates a family law case)
• A Motion to Change
• Documents that could lead to imprisonment (e.g., contempt motions)

Regular Service

Through regular service, you can typically handle routine and ongoing case documents yourself or have another adult handle them. These documents include financial disclosure documents, case conference materials, routine correspondence, responses to motions, and more. You can serve them by mail, fax, courier, email (where permitted under the Family Law Rules), or in person.

Only the individual who served the documents may complete and swear Form 6B. This person is known as the server. They can serve the documents in person or by mail, courier, or email.

Whoever served the documents (you, a trusted friend, or a professional process server) completes this Affidavit. The server must have Form 6B commissioned by signing it in the presence of an authorized official, like a notary or commissioner.

The person who received the documents (the recipient) cannot fill out or swear the Affidavit. This includes anyone acting on their behalf.

Also, in cases where the documents involve potential jail time or special service requirements, you cannot serve them yourself. You’ll need to have another adult or a licensed process server do it for you.

The person serving the documents should keep careful notes that include:

• The name of the person served
• The exact date and time
• The method of service (e.g., in-person, email, etc.)
• The address where the service took place

This information will be needed to complete the Affidavit properly. Keep in mind that some documents must be served in specific ways. For example, an Application in a family matter cannot be served by regular mail or fax. Typically, a document can be served on any day of the week.

Common service options include:

• Asking a friend or co-worker (18+) to serve documents
• Hiring a professional process server
• Requesting your lawyer or legal representative to arrange the service

An Affidavit of Service must be commissioned by an authorized official, like a notary public or commissioner of oaths, to be valid.

During commissioning, you swear or affirm that the contents of your Affidavit are true before the official. You’ll sign your Affidavit while the official witnesses your signature, and they’ll sign it too. Check out our blog to learn more about the process of commissioning.

Once commissioned, the Affidavit becomes a legally recognized in a court of law. You can meet with a notary public online to have your Affidavit of Service commissioned in 7 minutes, from anywhere.

Providing false or inaccurate information in an Affidavit may constitute perjury, a criminal offence in Canada.

Your Affidavit of Service should contain the following information:

• The type of documents that were served
• Full legal name of the person who served the documents (the Affiant)
• Full legal name of the person who was served
• The date the documents were served (day, month, year)
• The full address where the service took place
• The method used to serve the documents (e.g., personal service, letter mail, email)
• Photo identification used to confirm the recipient’s identity (if applicable)
• Signature of the Affiant
• Name and signature of the notary public or Commissioner, plus the date and location of the commissioning

After the documents are served, the completed Affidavit of Service (Form 6B) must be filed with a court. You’ll usually submit it with the original documents that were served.

There are strict timelines for filing, so ensure you submit all required documents before the applicable deadline. You can file the Affidavit:

• In person at a courthouse
• Online through Justice Services Online

If service was completed by email, mail, or courier, you may need to attach proof of delivery to your Affidavit.