In an Ontario Superior Court civil action, the statement of claim must be served within six months after it is issued. In the Small Claims Court, the same six month limit applies to a claim. Family court is different: its rules ask for an application to be served "immediately". That is the short answer, and the details below come straight from the official rules.
Superior Court of Justice: six months
The Rules of Civil Procedure govern civil actions in the Superior Court of Justice. Rule 14.08(1) says: "Where an action is commenced by a statement of claim, the statement of claim shall be served within six months after it is issued."
Under rule 14.07(1), an originating process is issued by the registrar's act of dating, signing and sealing it with the seal of the court and assigning to it a court file number. Rule 14.08 counts the six months from the date the claim is issued.
Some actions begin with a notice of action instead, with the statement of claim to follow. Rule 14.08(2) says the notice of action and the statement of claim are served together within six months after the notice of action is issued.
Small Claims Court: six months, with an extension built in
The Small Claims Court has its own rules. Rule 8.01(2) says a claim must be served within six months after the date it is issued, and that the court may extend the time for service "before or after the six months has elapsed."
So in the Small Claims Court the extension power is written right into the service rule.
Family court: "immediately"
The Family Law Rules apply to family cases. Under rule 8(5), an application "shall be served immediately on every other party, and special service shall be used unless the party is listed in subrule (6)." The rule uses the word "immediately" and this article does not give a number of days or months for it. Rule 8(6) lists the parties for whom other methods are allowed.
Rule 6(1.1) of the Family Law Rules says: "No person shall serve a document under these rules unless he or she is at least 18 years of age." Under rule 6(4.1), special service of an application is to be carried out by a person other than the party required to serve it, subject to the exceptions in rule 6(4.2).
What if the time runs out?
In the Superior Court, rule 3.02 gives the court power to extend a time set by the rules. It says the court "may by order extend or abridge any time prescribed by these rules or an order, on such terms as are just." A motion to extend time may be made before or after the time expires.
Rule 3.02(4) adds that a time for serving a document may also be extended by filing a consent. Whether a court would grant an extension in a particular case is a question for the court and for a lawyer or licensed paralegal. This article cannot answer it.
A quick comparison
- Superior Court (Rules of Civil Procedure, rule 14.08): six months after the statement of claim is issued.
- Small Claims Court (rule 8.01): six months after the claim is issued, extension possible before or after.
- Family Law Rules (rule 8(5)): application served "immediately".
If you are not sure which court or which set of rules applies to your document, check the court's own instructions or ask a lawyer or licensed paralegal.
Rose City Process Servers in Windsor serves court documents across Windsor and Essex County on flat rates, with a sworn Affidavit of Service included and an email after each attempt (time, GPS location and a photo). We do not draft documents or give legal advice. If you have papers ready to go, see /process-server-windsor/ or the order page at rosecityprocessservers.ca/order/, or call (226) 773-4813. For who can serve and what an Affidavit of Service is, see /blog/who-can-serve-court-documents-and-what-is-an-affidavit-of-service/.
Related reading: What a Process Server Costs in Ontario.
This article is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
- Rules of Civil Procedure, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194, rules 3.02, 14.07 and 14.08: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/900194
- Rules of the Small Claims Court, O. Reg. 258/98, rule 8.01: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/980258
- Family Law Rules, O. Reg. 114/99, rules 6 and 8 (checked 2026-10-17): https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/990114
Related service: Small Claims documents served in Windsor-Essex.
Have documents to serve?
Call or text (226) 773-4813, or email info@rosecityprocessservers.ca and we will tell you what is possible.