When does moving with your child count as a relocation?
In Ontario, a move is a "relocation" if it is likely to have a significant impact on your child's relationship with the other parent. A relocation needs at least 60 days' written notice on the required form, and the other parent can object within 30 days. If they do, a court decides based on the child's best interests. Other moves need only written notice of the new address.
Key points
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Distance alone does not decide it. The question is whether the current parenting schedule can still work after the move.
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A relocation needs at least 60 days' notice on the required form. An ordinary move needs written notice of the date and the new address.
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The other parent has 30 days to object. If they do not, and no order prohibits it, the move can go ahead.
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Who has to prove the move is, or is not, in the child's best interests depends on how parenting time is shared now.
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Courts look at the reasons for the move, its impact on the child, each parent's involvement and the proposed new schedule. There is no presumption for or against moving.
Planning a move, or received a notice? Book a free 15-minute call about relocation.
What counts as a relocation?
The Divorce Act defines a relocation as a move by the child, or by a parent, that is likely to have a significant impact on the child's relationship with another important person. That means someone with parenting time, decision-making responsibility or contact. Ontario's Children's Law Reform Act uses the same test for parents outside a divorce case, married or not.
The test is about the child's relationship, not kilometres. Justice Canada explains that a relocation generally means the current parenting schedule will no longer work because of the move. Even a short move can be a relocation if it significantly affects the schedule (Justice Canada).
Some examples from the Toronto area:
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Moving within Toronto, with the same schedule and school. Usually not a relocation, because the child's time with the other parent is unaffected. You still have to give written notice of the new address.
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Moving from Etobicoke to Scarborough, so the other parent's midweek overnights and school pick-ups no longer work. Possibly a relocation. The distance is short, but the schedule has to change.
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Moving from Toronto to Barrie, Hamilton or Oshawa, with a shared or midweek schedule. Usually a relocation, because weekday time and the child's school would have to change.
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Moving to another province or country. A relocation. Regular time with the other parent cannot continue in the same way.
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The parent with less time moving far away, without the child. Can be a relocation, because it changes the child's relationship with that parent. Notice is still required.
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A temporary stay, such as a summer with grandparents or a short work posting, with the home unchanged. Usually not a change of residence. But a long or open-ended stay can become one, and travel abroad has its own rules. See Travelling abroad with your child.
When it is unclear, treat the move as a relocation and give the formal notice. Notice that turns out to be unnecessary costs little. Moving without it can count against you.
What notice do I have to give?
An ordinary move. A parent with parenting time or decision-making responsibility who plans to move must tell the other parent in writing, and anyone with contact under an order. The notice gives the expected date of the move and the new address and contact information.
A relocation. The notice must be given at least 60 days before the move, on the required form. It must include:
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the expected date of the move;
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the new address and contact information; and
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a proposal for how parenting time, decision-making and contact will work afterwards.
For Divorce Act cases, Justice Canada publishes the Notice of Relocation form. Ontario courts may expect a different form in Children's Law Reform Act cases. Keep proof that the notice was delivered.
Where there is family violence. A court can waive or change the notice requirements, including where there is a risk of family violence. You can ask for this without notifying the other parent. If giving notice would put you or your children at risk, speak to a lawyer before you do anything. If you are in danger, call 911.
The 30-day objection. A parent with parenting time or decision-making responsibility can object within 30 days of receiving the notice. They do this by serving the Objection to Relocation form, or by starting a court application. A person who has only contact under a contact order cannot block the move this way.
If no one objects. The move can go ahead on or after the date in the notice, as long as no court order prohibits it. It is still wise to update the parenting order or agreement, so schools, doctors and courts have the new arrangement in writing.
If someone objects, the child should not be moved until the parents agree or a judge decides.
How do courts decide whether to allow a relocation?
The only question is whether the move is in the child's best interests. There is no presumption for or against moving.
Who has to prove what. Where parents have been following an order, arbitration award or agreement, the Divorce Act sets the burden of proof by how time is shared:
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If the child spends substantially equal time with each parent, the parent who wants to move must prove the move is in the child's best interests.
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If the child spends the vast majority of time with the parent who wants to move, the objecting parent must prove the move is not in the child's best interests.
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In any other case, or with no order or agreement, both parents must prove their position.
A court can decide not to apply the first two rules when the arrangement is only an interim order.
The factors. The court applies the general best-interests factors, such as the child's needs, stability, relationships, views, cultural ties and any family violence. It also considers:
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the reasons for the move;
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its impact on the child;
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how much time each parent spends with the child, and how involved each is in the child's life;
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whether the moving parent gave proper notice;
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any order, award or agreement that limits where the child can live;
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whether the proposed new schedule is reasonable, including its cost and travel; and
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whether each parent has met their family law obligations, including support.
The court must not ask whether the parent would move without the child if the move were refused. That question puts the parent in an impossible position.
The Supreme Court's approach. In Barendregt v. Grebliunas, 2022 SCC 22, the Supreme Court allowed a mother to move her two children from Kelowna to Telkwa, B.C., about a ten-hour drive away. The trial judge had relied on the serious conflict between the parents, and on the help the mother's parents could give her in Telkwa. The Court held that relocation decisions are highly fact-specific and that appeal courts should rarely interfere. It also said the moving parent's reasons matter as far as they bear on the child's best interests. Time with the other parent is an important factor, but not a presumption that overrides the others.
What helps or hurts a relocation request?
Usually helps the moving parent:
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a concrete reason tied to the family's well-being, such as a secured job, affordable housing, family help with childcare, or a new partner's established home;
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a detailed new schedule that keeps meaningful time with the other parent, such as longer blocks in summer and holidays, regular video calls and a fair split of travel costs;
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evidence about the new school, activities and supports; and
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proper notice, and a history of supporting the child's relationship with the other parent.
Usually hurts the moving parent:
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moving first and asking later;
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a plan that would reduce the other parent to occasional visits without a convincing reason;
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vague reasons, or a move that seems aimed at limiting the other parent's role; and
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not paying support, or not following the current parenting arrangement.
For the parent who objects, the most persuasive points are usually an active, regular role in the child's life, the child's school, friends and community, and a realistic alternative that meets the moving parent's needs.
What if a parent moves the child without notice or after an objection?
The other parent can ask the court urgently for the child's return. Moving without proper notice is itself a factor the court considers. It can affect both the relocation decision and parenting time generally. Taking a child out of Canada without consent or a court order can also engage the Hague Convention on child abduction and the Criminal Code. See Travelling abroad with your child.
Talk to a family lawyer about a relocation
Start with a free 15-minute call to talk through your situation and the next step. The 30-day objection period is short, so do not wait. From there, we can prepare or answer a notice, negotiate a new schedule, or bring or defend a relocation case.
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A free 15-minute phone call to talk through your situation and the next step
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Relocation work at $275 an hour plus HST or under a limited-scope retainer, with a written estimate first
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Later meetings by phone, by video or in person at 5200 Yonge Street, Suite 200, North York ON
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Urgent or out-of-hours: leave a voicemail or send a text to 416-858-1320. If you are in danger, call 911
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Legal Aid Ontario certificates accepted
Book a free 15-minute call about a relocation · Call 416-858-1320
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Last reviewed: November 1, 2026
This page is general information about Ontario and federal law, not legal advice. Reading it or contacting us does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Laws and court fees change; check the date above.