How to Change Child Support in Ontario After Your Income or Family Situation Changes

When can you ask to change child support in Ontario?

An existing child support amount is not automatically rewritten every time a parent's income or a child's circumstances change. If your current court order or court-filed agreement is no longer appropriate, you can ask an Ontario family court to change, suspend or end the support obligation using a motion to change.

Common examples include a significant change in the paying parent's income, a change affecting the child's entitlement or needs, or another circumstance that would result in a different support order under the applicable Child Support Guidelines.

Ontario's Child Support Guidelines provide that, where support includes a table amount, a change in circumstances that would result in a different child support order can support a variation. Where the existing amount was not determined using a table, a change in the condition, means, needs or other circumstances of a parent, spouse or child can qualify.

Do not simply stop or reduce payments yourself

If a court order remains in force, the amount in that order remains enforceable until it is formally changed. The Family Responsibility Office cannot change the terms of your support order or domestic contract.

If your income falls, you lose your job or you believe support should end, contact FRO where appropriate but also take the legal steps needed to change the order. FRO can enforce an existing order; it does not decide what the new child support amount should be.

If both parents agree to the child support change

The simplest court route depends on whether child support is the only issue being changed.

Child support only: Form 15D

If both parties agree and the only requested change concerns child support, use Form 15D – Consent Motion to Change Child Support. The parties and any assignee must sign the form as required.

You must also provide a copy of the existing court order or written agreement already filed with the court that you want changed, together with the support deduction documents and other attachments required by the Family Law Rules.

Changing child support plus another issue

If you both agree but also want to change another term, such as parenting arrangements or spousal support, the child-support-only Form 15D is not the correct route. Use Form 15C – Consent Motion to Change.

The consent-motion procedure can also require Form 14B – Motion Form, a typed draft Form 25 – Order, support deduction documents and other forms relevant to the issues being changed.

If the child support change forms part of a broader separation or divorce matter, Helpydo's guide to applying for divorce after separation explains the separate divorce process.

If the other parent does not agree to the change

A disputed request is started with Form 15 – Motion to Change. Ontario's current child-support guidance also identifies Form 15A – Change Information Form for a non-consent change.

For a child or spousal support change, financial disclosure is normally central to the case. The moving party may need:

• Form 13 – Financial Statement (Support Claims), if the case involves support only;
• Form 13.1 – Financial Statement (Property and Support Claims), if property issues are also involved;
• Form 13A – Certificate of Financial Disclosure;
• proof of current income; and
• the required income records for the previous three taxation years.

What income documents should you gather?

Ontario's motion-to-change guide requires proof of current income, such as a recent pay stub, pension statement or applicable income-support statement. It also requires proof of income for the previous three taxation years, normally through CRA Notices of Assessment and Notices of Reassessment. If those notices are unavailable for a particular year, the guide allows an Income and Deductions printout from the Canada Revenue Agency.

The 2025 federal child support tables took effect for Ontario child support matters on October 1, 2025. The applicable table amount is based on the relevant income and circumstances under the Child Support Guidelines.

Is there a waiting period before bringing another variation?

For an order governed by Ontario's Family Law Act, section 37 states that a variation application generally cannot be brought within six months after the support order was made or another variation application concerning that order was decided, unless the court grants leave.

This restriction is important if you recently obtained or varied an order and another change occurs soon afterward. The precise legal basis of the existing order matters, particularly where the original support order was made under federal divorce legislation rather than the provincial Family Law Act.

How do you serve the motion-to-change documents?

In a contested case, filing the forms is only part of the process. The issued motion and required documents must be served on the other party using the Family Law Rules.

Ontario's guidance states that someone other than you who is at least 18 years old must serve the motion-to-change documents using special service. You then complete Form 6B – Affidavit of Service and file proof that service was completed.

The responding party generally has 30 calendar days after receiving the motion to respond if served in Canada or the United States, or 60 calendar days if served outside Canada or the United States.

What if support has been assigned to a social service agency?

If the support recipient receives social assistance and support has been assigned to an agency such as Ontario Works or the Ontario Disability Support Program, the agency may have a financial interest in the case. The required motion documents must be served on the assignee, and its consent may be necessary even where the two parents agree on the proposed change.

Can you change child support online without going to court?

Some Ontario parents and caregivers can use the Child Support Service to set up or update child support online. It is a separate route from filing a motion to change in court.

The service can be used only if its eligibility conditions are met. Among other requirements, one parent or caregiver must live with the child or children at least 60% of the time, the parents must live separate and apart, and the case cannot fall within one of the service's exclusions.

The service cannot be used, for example, where a parent, caregiver or child lives outside Ontario, where there is split or shared parenting time, where a child is over 17.5 or married, or where the support order being updated was based on undue hardship or imputed income.

It is also unavailable in several income situations, including where the payor is self-employed, earns more than $150,000 or less than $12,000 annually, earns income in cash, is a partner or majority shareholder of a business, or earns most income as a landlord or seasonal worker. Other exclusions also apply.

Online service fee and response deadline

The Child Support Service costs $80 each time you use it, whether you are setting up or updating support. The fee is non-refundable, although an eligible low-income household can request a fee waiver in the online application.

If the application is eligible to proceed, the other parent or caregiver is notified by mail and generally must respond online within 25 calendar days from the date stated in the invitation letter.

Once the required income information is provided, the service can issue a Notice of Calculation or Notice of Recalculation. A copy is automatically sent to FRO for enforcement.

What do you need for the online service?

Before starting, Ontario says you should have your Social Insurance Number or Temporary Tax Number, the other parent's current mailing address, applicable payroll contact information and an electronic copy of your existing court order or separation agreement, or details from your current Notice of Calculation or Recalculation.

If last year's tax information does not reflect current income, or you did not file a tax return, the service may require your three most recent pay statements or an applicable recent statement of income from employment insurance, social assistance, a pension, workers' compensation or disability payments.

Can motion-to-change documents be filed online?

Yes. Ontario allows family court documents to be filed electronically where the document and proceeding are eligible. The filing portal depends on the court and region: since October 14, 2025, Toronto-region family filings use the Ontario Courts Public Portal, while applicable filings outside Toronto use Justice Services Online.

Documents can also be filed at the appropriate courthouse using the filing methods accepted for that proceeding. A motion to change generally belongs in the court that made the final order, subject to the Family Law Rules governing the proper court and municipality.

How much does a court motion to change child support cost?

There are no filing fees in the Ontario Court of Justice. In the Superior Court of Justice, including the Family Court branch, fees can depend on the proceeding and the documents filed, although provincial regulations provide exemptions for many proceedings under the Family Law Act and related family legislation.

If a fee applies and you cannot afford it, Ontario provides a court fee-waiver process. This is separate from the fee waiver available for the $80 online Child Support Service.

How long does it take to change child support?

Ontario does not publish a single guaranteed processing time for a court motion to change. The timeline depends on whether the request is on consent, whether service and financial disclosure are complete, whether a conference or hearing is needed, and the schedule of the particular court.

A consent motion may be reviewed by a judge on the filed documents. The judge can approve the requested change or require further information or an appearance. A contested motion can involve additional procedural steps, including a first appearance, case conference, further disclosure or hearing.

What should you do with FRO after child support changes?

When child support is enforced through the Family Responsibility Office, make sure FRO receives the formal change. Ontario says a changed support order can be provided to FRO through FRO Online, by fax or by mail.

Do not assume that telling FRO your income changed automatically changes the amount it enforces. FRO cannot change the terms of the support order itself.

What if the other parent lives outside Ontario?

The ordinary Ontario online Child Support Service cannot be used if either parent, caregiver or any child lives outside Ontario. Cases involving another province, territory or country can require an interjurisdictional support procedure instead.

For that situation, see Helpydo's separate guide on changing child or spousal support when the other person lives in another province or country.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Reducing or stopping payments before the existing enforceable order has been formally changed.
• Using Form 15D when the parties do not agree or when issues other than child support are also being changed.
• Starting a contested motion without the required financial disclosure.
• Failing to provide current income evidence and the required three-year income history.
• Serving motion-to-change documents yourself instead of having another adult complete required special service.
• Missing the 30-day or 60-day response period after being served with a motion to change.
• Ignoring an assignee such as a social service agency that has a financial interest in support.
• Using the online Child Support Service even though the case falls within one of its exclusions.
• Assuming that FRO can decide a new child support amount without a new order, agreement or valid recalculation.