1. Purpose: what this process aims to do
Rule 3 is the calendar rule. It does not start a case or schedule a hearing. It tells you how to count a period once another rule or an order gives you a trigger, such as service of an Application, or a hearing date. First find when service is legally effective under Rule 6; then use Rule 3 to count.Check: Family Law Rules — 3, 6
What it can and cannot do
Rule 3 can move the last day when court offices are closed, and a court can lengthen or shorten time under Rule 3(5). It does not turn a late email into same-day service or make a private agreement sufficient for every deadline. Rule 3(6) excludes motion and conference confirmations and certain case management and child protection times from the parties’ power to change deadlines by written consent.Check: Family Law Rules — 3, 3(5), 3(6)
2. Forms and documents you need
| Document | When you need it | What to include |
|---|---|---|
| Deadline worksheet | For each document or event. | Record the trigger, effective service date, exact number of days, closed-court days, final date and hour, and source rule or order. There is no standalone Rule 3 form. |
Choose the documents that apply to your claims and this route. Use the current official forms and check the instructions printed on each form.Check: Official family forms — form instructionsCheck: Family Law Rules — Rule 3
3. Put the package together
How to prepare
- Locate the exact deadline.Is it “within 30 days after service,” “at least six days before,” or “by 2 p.m. three days before”? The wording and any order matter.Check: Family Law Rules — Rule 3
- Find the effective service date.Rule 6 gives different dates for email, mail, courier, and special service. Save the proof of the time and method.Check: Family Law Rules — 6
- Count under Rule 3.Exclude the first day and include the last. For a period shorter than seven days, exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and days court offices are closed. For seven or more days, count calendar days, then move a closed-court last day to the next open day.Check: Family Law Rules — 3
- Check time of day and local directions.A 2 p.m. confirmation or 5 p.m. regional cutoff remains a separate clock deadline. Aim ahead of the limit so there is time to fix a rejected filing.Check: Family Law Rules — Rule 3
Where are the page and evidence limits?
Rule 3 has no page or evidence limit. It governs time. The document whose deadline you are counting may have a separate limit under a rule or the Superior Court practice direction.Check: Family Law Rules — 3
4. Get it before the court
Counting a deadline has no separate hearing. Use the hearing date or service trigger in the main proceeding. If you need the court to change time, use the appropriate request and check Rule 3(5)–(6).Check: Family Law Rules — Rule 3
File the documents through the right channel
Use Family Submissions Online or the permitted self-represented counter/email route. Follow any urgent-filing instruction or order. Retain the court’s acceptance confirmation and Case Document List; a submission receipt alone is not acceptance.Check: Provincial family direction — paras. 1–7, 13–18
Filing and Case Center are separate. In regions outside Toronto, court staff upload accepted pretrial filings for self-represented people. A Case Center upload does not file a document.Check: Provincial family direction — paras. 29–33
5. Service, filing and the timeline
The trigger below may be service, a refusal notice, a court decision or the claim document itself. You do not wait for a new hearing date when the rule requires action earlier.Check: Family Law Rules — Rule 3
- Day 0: identify the trigger.If a document was served, first apply Rule 6 to find its effective date.Check: Family Law Rules — 6
- Day 1: begin counting.The day after the first event is day one for a period measured after that event.Check: Family Law Rules — Rule 3
- Before the last day: check closed days.For a period shorter than seven days, skip days on which court offices are closed. If the final day is closed, use the next open day under Rule 3(3).Check: Family Law Rules — 3(3)
- Before submission: check the hour.A rule or practice direction may require 2 p.m. or 5 p.m. Even an otherwise correct date can miss that cutoff.Check: Family Law Rules — Rule 3
Example: an Application effectively served October 1 ordinarily gives 30 days for an Answer, through October 31, unless that last day is one on which court offices are closed or an order changes the time. Do the calculation again for the actual year and case.Check: Family Law Rules — Rule 3
6. Hot points to remember
- Short means fewer than seven days: weekends and court-closed days are excluded under Rule 3(2); seven days is a different calculation.Check: Family Law Rules — 3(2)
- Confirmation is special: parties cannot privately change Rule 14 motion or Rule 17 conference confirmation time by written consent under Rule 3(6).Check: Family Law Rules — 14, 17, 3(6)
- Service date comes first: an email after 4 p.m. usually has a later effective date under Rule 6.Check: Family Law Rules — 6
- Orders control: check a judge’s timetable and any local filing cutoff in addition to the Family Law Rules.Check: Family Law Rules — Rule 3