Family Court Motions in Toronto in 2026: In Person or Online?

Quick answer

Why your short family motion may now mean a trip downtown

If you are going through a separation in Ontario and have a family court date coming up, you may have heard that something changed about how those hearings happen. You are not imagining it. For several years, many short family court appearances in Toronto could be attended by video from home or the office. That default recently shifted back toward attending in person.

This matters most for people handling their own cases without a lawyer, who are often juggling work, childcare, and a good deal of stress already. The reassuring part is that the new rule is clear, it comes with a defined process, and there is still a way to ask the court to let you attend by video. This guide walks through what changed, who it affects across the Greater Toronto Area, and the steps to request a virtual hearing if attending in person would be a hardship.

Quick start: pick your path

Family court can feel like a maze, so start by finding the path that matches your situation.

One quick clarification: attending a hearing is a different thing from filing your paperwork. For how documents are submitted online, see our guide to filing your family court documents online.

What changed on April 2, 2026, and what a “short motion” means

This change came from the Office of the Chief Justice, the leadership of Ontario’s Superior Court, through what is called a practice direction. A practice direction is an instruction about court procedure. It is not a new law, and it is not a change to the Family Law Rules, the rulebook that governs how family cases run in Ontario.

The key idea is the “presumptive mode of appearance.” In plain terms, this is the court’s default way of attending a hearing, whether in person, by video, or a blend of the two, unless a judge decides otherwise. Since April 2, the default for short family motions in Toronto is in person.

Longer or more complex motions, sometimes called long or special-appointment motions, can follow different rules, and conferences may be treated differently again. If you are unsure which category your hearing falls into, the safest step is to confirm with the court or a lawyer. You can learn more about how we help on our family law services page.

In person vs virtual: what each mode means for you

Knowing the difference between the two modes helps you plan around work, travel, and childcare.

Attending in person means going to the courthouse named on your court documents, checking in, and waiting for your matter to be called. In the Toronto region, family motions are heard at the downtown courthouse, and wait times in motions court can be unpredictable. You may need to budget most of a day, plus travel and parking.

Attending virtually means joining your hearing by video, usually from home or another private, quiet location. It removes travel and can make it easier to keep a job and caregiving responsibilities on track. Since the April change, virtual attendance for a short motion in Toronto is the exception rather than the default, and it has to be requested and granted.

The table below sets the two modes side by side, so you can see at a glance what each one asks of you and how to obtain it.

Who is affected: Toronto, Scarborough and the wider GTA

The first thing to understand is that these rules are regional, not province-wide. What applies downtown may not apply in another city.

The April 2, 2026 in-person default applies to the Toronto region of the Superior Court of Justice. Scarborough cases are administered within that Toronto region, so the same default typically applies.

The shift is not limited to Toronto. In the Central West region, regular family motions in Brampton and Milton move to in-person hearings starting June 1, 2026. Some areas of southwestern Ontario made similar changes earlier. Each region sets its own approach, so two people with similar cases in different cities can face different defaults.

If your separation is still in its early stages, it is worth confirming where your case will be heard before you plan around a hearing date. Our overview of separation in Ontario explains how the process typically unfolds. The timeline below shows how the in-person shift has rolled out across the province.

How to request a virtual hearing, step by step

Here is how the process works, based on the court’s own directions.

1. 1
   Raise it as early as possibleAsk the conference judge about your mode of appearance, or raise it in court with the judge scheduling your next date.
2. 2
   Complete the Request for Virtual Hearing formFor a matter already scheduled, file the form through the Ontario Courts Public Portal, the online system for Toronto-region family cases.
3. 3
   Email the form to the trial officeSend it to the Toronto family trial office with the subject line the court specifies, your court file number and portal reference number, and copy every other party.
4. 4
   Mind the timingMake the request before the event is scheduled or at the earliest opportunity. A request within two weeks of the hearing date will not be considered.
5. 5
   Be ready for a possible new dateIf a switch to virtual is granted, your hearing may move to a date when a hybrid courtroom is available.

Filing this request is not the same as filing your other court documents. For the mechanics of the portal itself, see our family court documents portal guide.

What “clear and compelling reasons” really means

The court will only change the default to virtual when a request is timely and supported by clear and compelling reasons. That phrase sets a meaningful bar. It means more than simple convenience or a mild preference to stay home.

The court has not published a fixed list, and a judge decides each request on its own facts. In practice, the kinds of circumstances a party may raise can include a significant distance from the courthouse, a disability or health condition that makes travel difficult, caregiving duties that cannot be moved, or safety concerns about being in the same building as the other party.

Raising one of these does not guarantee that the request is granted, and the judge may still require in-person attendance. If your case involves parenting issues, our page on decision-making and parenting in Ontario offers helpful background.

Common mistakes to avoid

A few avoidable errors trip up self-represented litigants most often.

• ▪Leaving the request too late. A request for a virtual hearing made within two weeks of the date will not be considered. Mark the deadline the moment a date is set.
• ▪Assuming online filing means online attendance. Filing your documents through the portal does not make your hearing virtual. They are separate things.
• ▪Offering weak reasons. “It is more convenient” rarely meets the clear and compelling standard. Be specific about your circumstances.
• ▪Forgetting to copy the other parties. The court asks that all parties be copied on your request email. Skipping this can stall it.
• ▪Missing the confirmation form. Many motions require a Form 14C confirmation, typically by 2 p.m. three business days before the hearing. Without it, your matter may not proceed.
• ▪Confusing Case Center with the filing portal. Case Center is for viewing hearing documents, not for filing or for requesting a virtual appearance.

How a lawyer can help, and why you need not be downtown

You do not have to navigate any of this alone. A lawyer can help frame a virtual-hearing request that speaks directly to the clear and compelling standard, handle the filing and confirmation steps on time, and attend in person on your behalf when the court requires it.

Because so much family work can still be handled efficiently across the Greater Toronto Area, you are not limited to a firm in the downtown core. Nihang Law, led by Qasim Ali, Principal Lawyer at Nihang Law, serves clients across Toronto, Scarborough, and the wider GTA, including newcomers navigating the courts for the first time. If you are weighing your next steps, our guide to divorce in Ontario is a useful starting point.

Frequently asked questions

About the author

Qasim Ali

Principal Lawyer · Nihang Law Professional Corporation · Toronto & Scarborough, Ontario · Law Society of Ontario

Qasim Ali is the Principal Lawyer at Nihang Law Professional Corporation, serving clients across Toronto, Scarborough, and the broader Greater Toronto Area. He provides full-service legal representation across immigration, real estate, family law, criminal law, civil litigation, employment law, wills and estates, and business law.

Nihang Law is particularly recognized for its depth in immigration and real estate law — a combination that serves newcomers and growing families navigating both legal systems simultaneously.

Learn more about Qasim Ali →

Sources & references

• Ontario Superior Court of Justice — Short Family Motions to Be Heard in Person in Toronto Starting April 2, 2026: ontariocourts.ca
• Ontario Superior Court of Justice — News (Central West: Brampton & Milton regular motions in person, June 1, 2026): ontariocourts.ca/scj/news
• Ontario Bar Association — Toronto Short Family Motions: Mode of Appearance: oba.org
• Ontario Superior Court of Justice — Consolidated Provincial Practice Direction for Family Proceedings (Form 14C; factums on Toronto short motions): ontariocourts.ca
• Government of Ontario — Steps in bringing a motion in family court: ontario.ca
• Government of Ontario — Ontario Courts Public Portal: ontario.ca