Divisional Court Appeals and Judicial Review

General information drawn from the sources listed at the bottom of this page. Which court hears your appeal, and the deadline to file, depend on the order you received.

The Divisional Court is a branch of the Superior Court, so it follows the same eight judicial regions. Each region has a designated regional centre where Divisional Court matters are heard, and where you file depends on where the decision you are appealing came from — not on where you live.

Divisional Court proceedings have their own consolidated practice direction, on top of the provincial and regional ones. It is where the document rules live — naming, page caps, upload deadlines, what goes in which bundle. Most self-represented appeals get sent back over these, not over the merits.

• Consolidated Practice Direction for Divisional Court ProceedingsThe main one. Read it first.
• Consolidated provincial practice directionsProvince-wide practice directions and forms.
• Regional practice directionsRegion-specific forms — one set for each of the eight regions.
• Rules of Civil ProcedureRules 61 and 62 govern appeals and motions for leave.

What the Divisional Court direction actually requires

The main time limits under the Rules of Civil Procedure, as the official court guides describe them. Appeals must generally be brought within 30 days after the date the order was made, unless a statute or rule provides otherwise. A timetable or deadline set by a judge through case management supersedes the deadlines in the Rules.

Divisional Court appeals, motions and judicial review applications use the Rules of Civil Procedure forms on the Ontario Court Forms website. The current Forms 61A, 61A.1, 61A.2, 61A.3 and 61M to 61P took effect on February 1, 2026, and some court materials still use earlier numbers — the practice direction’s Landlord and Tenant Board section, for example, refers to Form 61A.1, which is now the Notice of Motion for Leave to Appeal to the Court of Appeal. Check the title as well as the number. We prepare these documents from your materials and instructions.

• Form 61A.3 — Notice of Appeal to the Divisional CourtForm 61A.3 (Word). Starts an appeal. It sets out the relief sought, the grounds of appeal and the basis for the Divisional Court’s jurisdiction.
• Form 61A — Notice of Motion for Leave to Appeal to the Divisional CourtForm 61A (Word). Used where leave is needed before an appeal can go ahead — for example, from an interlocutory order of a Superior Court judge.
• Forms 61C and 61D — Appellant’s and Respondent’s Certificate Respecting EvidenceForm 61C · Form 61D. Set out the portions of the evidence from the original hearing that are needed for the appeal. The appellant’s certificate is served with the notice of appeal.
• Forms 61E, 61F and 61L — Cross-Appeals and AmendmentsForm 61E — Notice of Cross-Appeal · Form 61F — Supplementary Notice of Appeal or Cross-Appeal · Form 61L — Notice of Election to Proceed with Cross-Appeal. A supplementary notice amends the appeal before it is perfected; after that, leave of the court is needed.
• Form 61H — Certificate of Completeness of Appeal Book and CompendiumForm 61H (Word). Signed and placed as the last item in the appeal book and compendium. The certificate of perfection has no numbered form.
• Form 61G — Notice of Listing for Hearing (Appeal)Form 61G (Word). Sent by the Registrar once the appeal is perfected, to everyone named in the certificate of perfection.
• Forms 61N and 61P — Notices of Motion in the Divisional CourtForm 61N — Notice of Motion Before a Single Judge – Divisional Court · Form 61P — Notice of Motion Before a Panel – Divisional Court. Which one applies depends on whether a single judge or a panel hears the motion — see “Motions in the Divisional Court” below.
• Form 61K — Notice of Abandonment of Appeal or Cross-AppealForm 61K (Word). An appeal is also treated as abandoned if the notice of appeal is served but not filed within 10 days of service.
• Forms 61I.1, 61J and 61J.1 — Dismissal for DelayForm 61I.1 — Order Dismissing Appeal to Divisional Court for Delay · Form 61J — Order Dismissing Motion for Leave to Appeal for Delay · Form 61J.1 — Order Dismissing Motion for Delay.
• Forms 68A to 68D — Judicial ReviewForm 68A — Notice of Application to Divisional Court for Judicial Review · Form 68B — Notice of Listing for Hearing (Judicial Review) · Form 68C — Order Dismissing Application for Judicial Review · Form 68D — Order Dismissing Application for Judicial Review for Delay.
• Forms 63A and 63B — Certificate of StayForm 63A · Form 63B. In a Landlord and Tenant Board appeal, the certificate is requested with the Requisition for a Certificate of Stay in Schedule C of the Divisional Court practice direction.
• Divisional Court Intake Information FormIntake form (Word). Called the Divisional Court Intake Form in the practice direction. It is filed with the notice of appeal, notice of application or notice of motion that starts a new Divisional Court proceeding, and with a respondent’s request to lift a Landlord and Tenant Board stay.
• Participant Information FormParticipant Information Form (Word). Part of the Case Center hearing bundle.
• Other forms you may meetForm 16B — Affidavit of Service · Form 4F — Notice of Constitutional Question · Form 57B — Costs Outline.

An appeal as of right moves through these steps in order. Every proceeding may be triaged by a judge when it starts, and directions given by a triage or case management judge are orders of the court.

• 1. The order is issued and enteredAn issued and entered order is required for an appeal to the Divisional Court, and the order appears in the appeal book as signed and entered. Orders are effective from the date the court makes them unless they say otherwise. (Practice Direction, paras. 149 and 151)
• 2. Notice of appeal and certificateThe notice of appeal (Form 61A.3) and the appellant’s certificate respecting evidence (Form 61C) are served on the respondents — and, in an appeal from a tribunal or board, on that body too. The notice is then filed with proof of service and a completed Divisional Court Intake Form. (r. 61.04; Practice Direction, para. 1)
• 3. Ordering the transcriptThe appellant orders and pays for the transcript, and files the Certificate of Ordering a Transcript for Appeal within 30 days. In appeals started on or after January 1, 2021, transcripts are served and filed in electronic format unless the court orders otherwise. (r. 61.05; Ontario guide, Part three)
• 4. The respondent’s certificate or cross-appealWithin 15 days, the respondent can serve its own certificate respecting evidence (Form 61D) or a notice of cross-appeal (Form 61E). (rr. 61.05, 61.07)
• 5. Perfecting the appealThe appellant serves and files the appeal book and compendium, an exhibit book if exhibits from the hearing below are relied on, any transcript and the appellant’s factum, then completes, serves and files a certificate of perfection. (r. 61.09)
• 6. Listing for hearingOnce the appeal is perfected, the Registrar places it on the list of cases to be heard and sends a Notice of Listing for Hearing (Form 61G) to everyone named in the certificate of perfection. (Ontario guide, Part six)
• 7. The respondent’s materialsThe respondent’s factum and compendium follow within 60 days. The compendium contains only documents the respondent’s factum refers to that are not already in the appellant’s appeal book and compendium. (r. 61.12)
• 8. The hearingThe judges will usually have read the materials. The appellant speaks first, then the respondent, then a reply that does not repeat anything already covered. Speaking time is strictly limited, and the court may allow less time than a party asks for. (Ontario guide, Part six; Superior Court guide)
• 9. The decisionThe court may make any order that ought to or could have been made below, order a new trial or hearing, or make any other order it considers just. On a civil appeal, questions of law are reviewed for correctness and findings of fact for palpable and overriding error. The decision is given orally on the day or reserved and released later in writing. (Courts of Justice Act, s. 134(1); Superior Court guide)

Delivering a notice of appeal stops some orders from being enforced automatically; for others, a stay has to be asked for. Part I of the Divisional Court practice direction adds steps for appeals from the Landlord and Tenant Board under section 210 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006.

Judicial review asks whether a decision of a tribunal or other decision-maker whose powers come from a statute was fair, reasonable and lawful — it is not a rehearing of the case. Decisions of private actors are not subject to judicial review, and where there is a right to reconsideration or an appeal, the court may decline to hear the application until that process is complete. The 30-day time limit is under “Divisional Court Deadlines” above.