Prepare the Response

Last Reviewed: October 2026 Reviewed by: Legal information specialists at Justice Education Society

Prepare the Response

If you are served with application materials and want to respond

If you want to respond to an application, you are the "application respondent". You must serve on the person who sent you the application materials ("the applicant") and every other party within a specific time period the following materials: 

  • a copy of the unfiled application response
  • a copy of any affidavit or other evidence that is to be referred to by the application respondent at the hearing, and has not already been served on that person
  • in the case of an application that is brought under Rule 11-3 (Summary Trials), any notice that the application respondent is required to give under Rule 11-3 (9)

Find the Form

Form 32 Application response

Timeline to respond

If you wish to respond to a notice of application, you must do so within the time limit. The time limits vary depending on the nature of the application.

  1. If it is a regular application, you must serve your application response within 5 business days days materials(days on which the court registries are open for business) after service of application materials.
  2. If the application is for a summary trial, you must serve your application response within 21 days after service.
  3. If it is an application to change, suspend or terminate a final order, to set aside or replace the whole or any part of any agreement filed under Rule 2-1(2), an application to change or set aside a determination of a parenting coordinator filed under Rule 2-1.1 (1), or to change, suspend or terminate an arbitration award filed under Rule 2-1.2(1), you must serve your application response within 14 days after service.

Read the Rules

Rule 10-6(8.1) Time for filing and service

Contents of the application response

The application response tells the court and the other parties how you intend to respond to the application. Your application response must be in Form 32 and cannot exceed 10 pages.

In the the response you need to indicate whether you consent, oppose or take no position (neither consent, nor oppose) for each order sought in the application.

If you oppose any order sought int he application you need to:

  • briefly summarize the factual and legal bases on which the orders sought should not be granted,
  • list the affidavits and other evidence to which the you intend to refer at the hearing of the application, 
  • set out your estimate of the time the application will take for hearing, and
  • indicate whether you agree with the applicant’s proposed date and time for the hearing of the application, if any.

Read the Rules

Rule 10-6(8) Application response

Replying to the Response

An applicant may respond to any document that the application respondent has served by filing and serving responding affidavits:

  • within 3 business days after service for interim applications, or
  • within 5 business days for applications regarding Summary Trials, final orders, agreements, determinations of parenting coordinator, or arbitration awards.

Read the Rules

Rule 10-6(12) Applicant may respond

Resetting an Adjourned Application

If the application gets adjourned and a new hearing date is not scheduled, Rule 10-6(19.1) tells how the applicant can reschedule the hearing. The applicant files a notice of hearing of application and serve a copy of the filed notice of hearing of application on the application respondents at least 2 business days before the date set for the hearing. A business day means a day on which the court registries are open for business.

If the applicant does not reset the application for hearing within a reasonable time after an application respondent has asked the applicant to do so, the applicant respondent may apply to the court for directions on how to proceed, using a requisition in Form 17, and with 2 business days notice to the applicant (see Rule 10-6(20)). A business day means a day on which the court registries are open for business.