Ontario Rules of Family Court - Rule 6 SERVICE OF DOCUMENTS

Courts of Justice Act

ONTARIO REGULATION 114/99

Amended to O. Reg. 89/04

RULE 6: SERVICE OF DOCUMENTS

METHODS OF SERVICE

6. (1) Service of a document under these rules may be carried out by regular service or by special service in accordance with this rule, unless an Act, rule or order provides otherwise. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 6 (1).

REGULAR SERVICE

(2) Regular service of a document on a person is carried out by,

(a) mailing a copy to the person’s lawyer or, if none, to the person;

(b) sending a copy by courier to the person’s lawyer or, if none, to the person;

(d) faxing a copy to the person’s lawyer or, if none, to the person; or

(e) carrying out special service. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 6 (2).

SPECIAL SERVICE

(3) Special service of a document on a person is carried out by,

(a) leaving a copy,

(i) with the person to be served,

(ii) if the person is or appears to be mentally incapable in respect of an issue in the case, with the person and with the guardian of the person’s property or, if none, with the Public Guardian and Trustee,

(iii) if the person is a child, with the child and with the child’s lawyer, if any,

(iv) if the person is a corporation, with an officer, director or agent of the corporation, or with a person at any place of business of the corporation who appears to be managing the place, or

(v) if the person is a children’s aid society, with an officer, director or employee of the society;

(b) leaving a copy with the person’s lawyer of record in the case, or with a lawyer who accepts service in writing on a copy of the document;

(c) mailing a copy to the person, together with an acknowledgment of service in the form of a prepaid return postcard (Form 6), all in an envelope that is addressed to the person and has the sender’s return address (but service under this clause is not valid unless the return postcard, signed by the person, is filed in the continuing record); or

(d) leaving a copy at the person’s place of residence, in an envelope addressed to the person, with anyone who appears to be an adult person resident at the same address and, on the same day or on the next, mailing another copy to the person at that address. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 6 (3).

SPECIAL SERVICE — DOCUMENTS THAT COULD LEAD TO IMPRISONMENT

(4) Special service of the following documents shall be carried out only by a method set out in subclause (3) (a), unless the court orders otherwise:

1. A notice of contempt motion.

2. A summons to witness.

3. A notice of motion or notice of default hearing in which the person to be served faces a possibility of imprisonment. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 6 (4).

REGULAR SERVICE AT ADDRESS ON LATEST DOCUMENT

(5) Regular service may be carried out at the address for service shown on the latest document filed by the person to be served. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 6 (5).

NOTICE OF ADDRESS CHANGE

(6) A party whose address for service changes shall immediately serve notice of the change on the other parties and file it. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 6 (6).

SERVICE OUTSIDE BUSINESS HOURS

(7) If a document is served by any method after 4 p.m. on a day when court offices are open or at any time on a day when they are not open, service is effective on the next day when they are open. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 6 (7).

HOURS OF FAX SERVICE

(8) Service of a document by fax may be carried out only before 4 p.m. on a day when court offices are open, unless the parties consent or the court orders otherwise. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 6 (8).

EFFECTIVE DATE, SERVICE BY MAIL

(9) Service of a document by mail is effective on the fifth day after it was mailed. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 6 (9).

EFFECTIVE DATE, SERVICE BY COURIER

(10) Service of a document by courier is effective on the day after the courier picks it up. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 6 (10).

EFFECTIVE DATE, SERVICE BY DOCUMENT EXCHANGE

(11) Service by deposit at a document exchange is effective only if the copy deposited and an additional copy of the document are date-stamped by the document exchange in the presence of the person depositing the copy, and then service is effective on the day after the date on the stamp. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 6 (11).

INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED WITH DOCUMENT SERVED BY FAX

(12) A document that is served by fax shall show, on its first page,

(a) the sender’s name, address, telephone number and fax number;

(b) the name of the person or lawyer to be served;

(d) the total number of pages faxed; and

(e) the name and telephone number of a person to contact in case of transmission difficulties. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 6 (12).

MAXIMUM LENGTH OF DOCUMENT THAT MAY BE FAXED

(13) Service of a document or documents relating to a single step in a case may be carried out by fax only if the total number of pages (including any cover page or back sheet) is not more than 16, unless the parties consent in advance or the court orders otherwise. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 6 (13).

DOCUMENTS THAT MAY NOT BE FAXED

(14) A trial record, appeal record, factum or book of authorities may not be served by fax at any time unless the person to be served consents in advance. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 6 (14).

SUBSTITUTED SERVICE

(15) The court may, on motion without notice, order that a document be served by substituted service, using a method chosen by the court, if the party making the motion,

(a) provides detailed evidence showing,

(i) what steps have been taken to locate the person to be served, and

(ii) if the person has been located, what steps have been taken to serve the document on that person; and

(b) shows that the method of service could reasonably be expected to bring the document to the person’s attention. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 6 (15).

SERVICE NOT REQUIRED

(16) The court may, on motion without notice, order that service is not required if,

(a) reasonable efforts to locate the person to be served have not been or would not be successful; and

(b) there is no method of substituted service that could reasonably be expected to bring the document to the person’s attention. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 6 (16).

SERVICE BY ADVERTISEMENT

(17) If the court orders service by advertisement, Form 6A shall be used. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 6 (17).

APPROVING IRREGULAR SERVICE

(18) When a document has been served by a method not allowed by these rules or by an order, the court may make an order approving the service if the document,

(a) came to the attention of the person to be served; or

(b) would have come to the person’s attention if the person had not been evading service. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 6 (18).

PROOF OF SERVICE

(19) Service of a document may be proved by,

(a) an acceptance or admission of service, written by the person to be served or the person’s lawyer;

(b) an affidavit of service (Form 6B);

(d) the date stamp on a copy of the document served by deposit at a document exchange. O. Reg. 114/99, r. 6 (19).

RULE 7: PARTIES WHO ARE PARTIES — CASE