CENTRAL REGISTRY OF DIVORCE PROCEEDINGS (CRDP)

The Family Law Assistance Services Section maintains The Central Registry of Divorce Proceedings (CRDP), which prevents duplicate proceedings for divorce in different courts across Canada. The Registry is also used to resolve jurisdictional disputes that may arise under the Divorce Act which was established in 1968.

Courts handling divorce proceedings complete Part I of the Registration of Divorce Proceeding Form and submit it to CRDP where it is recorded in a database. All divorce files are then checked to detect any duplication of proceedings. If there is no duplication, a Clearance Certificate is issued, which allows the petition to proceed.

When there is a duplication, CRDP advises both courts. One court then discontinues the action and CRDP issues a Clearance Certificate to the other. Once the divorce is granted, the Court completes Part II of the Registration of Divorce Proceedings Form and submits it to CRDP, where the final disposition is recorded. Until this form is received at CRDP, the divorce petition remains outstanding.

Each year, about 5 per cent of all divorce cases involve duplicate proceedings. The CRDP received approximately 80,000 Part I forms and more than 27,000 Part II forms in a recent year. At any given time, about 140,000 divorce actions are pending in Canada.

Information contained in the Part II form is sent to Statistics Canada each year, where it is used to develop and publish national divorce statistics.

Privacy issues indicates that information in the CRDP about a divorce is personal information and cannot be considered publicly available. As such, the personal information should not be provided to third parties under federal privacy and access to information legislation.

We will continue to provide information to law enforcement agencies and other government departments providing a service to Canadians on a case by case basis according to the provisions under the Privacy Act.

Further information or copies of application forms and instruction may be obtained by writing:

Family Law Assistance Services
Central Registry of Divorce Proceedings
P.O. Box 2730, Station D
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5W7