(LSEO)Prepare an Application Record

Prepare an Application Record

You'll need

  • Two one-inch or one-and-a-half-inch binders
  • Two sets of tabbed divider pages with numbers
  • Two elastic bands big enough to go around the binders
  • Copies of all your documents, including:
    • your filed Notice of Application (Form F31),
    • the other person's Application Response (Form F32), and Affidavits, if you receive them,
    • your reply Affidavits, if you had any, and
  • A blank Application Record index

An Application Record is a loose-leaf ring binder, divided by tabs, that contains the documents filed for the application and the legal arguments you'll rely on to make your case. The judge or associate judge will use this information, along with what you say in court, to decide whether to give you the order you're asking for.

You need two copies of the Application Record: one for you and one for the court. The court will return their copy to you at the end of the court hearing.

You need an extra copy of the Notice of Application to keep outside of the Application Record (not whole punched) to give to the registry. You should clear mark the orders sought. 

The Application Record can include:

  • draft orders
  • written arguments
  • lists of authorities (citations for any case, textbook, article, or statute you might use to support your argument)
  • a draft bill of costs

You can't include Affidavits of Service, copies of authorities, or other documents unless the other person has agreed to let you.

Steps for preparing an Application Record

Follow these steps to assemble each of two Application Records:

Prepare a cover page for the outside of the binder. You can download and fill in the blank Supreme Court cover page.

Your cover page must contain:

  • the style of proceedings (names of the parties), court file number, and registry;
  • the title APPLICATION RECORD and a brief description of what the material is about (for example, Application to enforce a parenting order);
  • contact information for each person involved in the case (the law calls them a party) or their lawyers, including addresses for service, phone and fax numbers or email addresses that the registry can use to contact you;
  • the time, date, and place of the hearing;
  • the name of the person or lawyer who's filing the Application Record (you or your lawyer); and
  • the length of time estimated for the hearing.

Prepare a title page for the inside of the binder. The title page should have:

  • the style of cause,
  • the names of you and the other person (the parties), and
  • the names of your lawyers, if either of you have them.

Your style of cause is all the information above the title on your Notice of Family Claim (Form F3). Copy this information exactly as it appears on that document.

If your tabbed dividers don't have consecutive numbers, number them beginning with 1. Put the tabbed dividers into the binder.

Punch holes in one copy of each of the documents in the remaining set of photocopies you've collected and add them to the binder in the following order:

  • Tab 1 — Two copies of your filed Notice of Application (Form F31). Secure one copy in the binder, but leave the other copy loose. On the loose copy, highlight or mark in some way which orders you'll be referring to at the hearing.
  • Tab 2 — The Application Response (Form F32), if you receive one from the other person.
  • Tab 3 — Your Affidavit (Form F30) to support the application.
  • Tab 4 — Any of your previous affidavits or financial statements that you want the court to consider.
  • Tab 5 — An affidavit in response to the application from the other person, if you receive one.
  • Tab 6 — Your responding affidavit, if any.

Your Application Record needs a table of contents (called an index).

Use the blank Application Record index to make your table of contents for the binder. List all the documents that are in the Application Record. Your finished index should look like our sample completed Application Record index.

Insert the index in the Application Record before tab 1 and behind the title page.

Wrap an elastic band around the whole binder. Then repeat the process to create a second Application Record.

Serve the Application Record index on the other person and file the Application Record at the court registry

You must complete the following steps before 4 pm on the day that's two business days before the date set for the hearing in your Notice of Application. If your hearing is on a Friday, you must file these documents by 4pm on the Wednesday. 

File a copy of your Application Record at the registry

Give one copy of the full Application Record to the court registry. You must file your Application Record  no earlier than 9am on the day that is 5 business days before the hearing and no later than 4pm on the day that is 2 business days before the hearing. If the hearing is on a Friday, you can file between 9am the Friday prior to the hearing and 4pm on the Wednesday prior to the hearing. Do not forget to bring an extra loose copy of the Notice of Application that is not whole-punched for the registry. Clearly mark the orders you are seeking.

Serve a copy of your index

If the other person responded to your Notice of Application, serve a copy of the Application Record index on them by ordinary service. Go back to Step 4: File and serve for instructions on serving documents by ordinary service.

You must serve your Application Record Index on the other person 2 business days before the hearing. If the hearing is Friday, you must serve them by 4pm on the Wednesday. 
Legally reviewed in October 2026
Updated on 6 October 2026