--- title: "Article 444 CCP Statement Quebec: Financial Disclosure for Support Applications ✦ Goldwater Droit" meta: "og:description": "Step-by-step guide to the mandatory financial disclosure form required in every Quebec support application — what to include, common mistakes, and what happens after you file." "og:title": "How to Complete the Article 444 Financial Statement for Quebec Support Cases" description: "Quebec form to file a sworn statement in court. Official and current version provided by Goldwater Droit." --- # Statement Required Under Article 444 C.C.P. ## Overview In Quebec family law proceedings involving support obligations, every party to an application must file a sworn financial declaration alongside the underlying court filing. The **Statement Required Under Article 444 of the Code of Civil Procedure** (chapter C-25.01) is that declaration. Known as **Schedule I**, it is a mandatory procedural attachment — a support application submitted without it is procedurally incomplete and cannot be heard. The statement serves two functions simultaneously: it gives the court the personal and financial information needed to assess the support claim, and it enables **Revenu Québec** to open a collection file once a judgment is rendered. For separated families working through a support application in Quebec, this is among the first documents completed once the matter enters the court system. In French, this is called the _déclaration requise en vertu de l'article 444_ or _divulgation financière_. ## What Does the Statement Required Under Article 444 Do? The Article 444 statement functions as the mandatory financial disclosure instrument in Quebec's support adjudication process. Under the _Code of Civil Procedure_ (chapter C-25.01), every support application must be accompanied by a statement from each party identifying their employment status and all income sources. The court uses this information to situate each party's financial capacity within the support determination. Once filed, the statement enters the court registry. If support is awarded, the information is transmitted to the register of support payments maintained by the clerk — a confidential register — and from there to Revenu Québec to open the administrative collection file. If no support is granted or no judgment is rendered within one year of filing, the statements are destroyed. This is mandatory under the _Code of Civil Procedure_, not a discretionary step. > ⚠️ Revenu Québec is expressly prohibited from using information disclosed in a Statement Required Under Article 444 for tax collection purposes. The data exists solely to administer support obligations. ## When Do You Need the Statement Required Under Article 444? The Schedule I statement is required whenever a support application is filed with the Quebec Superior Court. This covers initial applications for child or spousal support (_pension alimentaire_), applications for transitory measures involving support, and applications to revise a support obligation already fixed by judgment. Consent is not an exception — even where the parties have agreed on support in principle, both must still file their own statements. Where the filing accompanies a revision application, the deponent must enter in field 14 the date and file number of the original support judgment, even if the revision is filed under a new file number. > ⚠️ A support application submitted without both parties' Article 444 statements is procedurally incomplete. The matter cannot be scheduled for case management or a hearing until both are on file. ## Who Must File the Statement Required Under Article 444? Both the applicant and the defendant must each complete and sign their own Article 444 statement. The form is not a joint document — each party discloses their own situation independently. The obligation to attest to its accuracy rests personally on the deponent; neither counsel nor any third party may sign on the deponent's behalf. Both statements must be filed concurrent with the support application. > ⚠️ If either party fails to file their statement promptly, the proceeding stalls for both. Neither party controls only their own filing timeline. ## How Do You Complete and File the Statement Required Under Article 444? The Schedule I form is available from Quebec court registries, including in Montreal at the Superior Court of Québec registry, 1 rue Notre-Dame Est, Montréal, QC. Complete the form in block letters. Begin by identifying yourself as applicant or defendant. Complete every identity field in full, including your surname at birth — even if identical to your current surname — and your mother's maiden name; both populate the support payment register if support is awarded. Your social insurance number is mandatory. In field 13, specify the nature and date of the underlying application precisely (for example: "application for transitory measures, date"). For the employment section, check the applicable status — employee, self-employed, or unemployed — and provide full employer information with remuneration and payment frequency stated explicitly. If you receive last resort financial assistance from the **Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale**, check field 9 and enter your CP12 file number. In field 10, disclose every other income source: annuities, rental income, dividends, secondary employment. Attach a separate sheet if needed. Sign and file with the court registry. > ⚠️ Completing the form in lowercase or specifying a salary without payment frequency are among the most common reasons court registries return statements for correction before acceptance. ## What Do You Need to File the Statement Required Under Article 444? Gather the following before completing the statement: - ✅ Social insurance number and date of birth - ✅ Full residential address (and postal address if different) - ✅ Employer name, address, gross remuneration, and payment frequency - ✅ CP12 file number from the Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale (if receiving last resort assistance) - ✅ All other income sources with amounts (annuities, rental income, dividends, secondary employment) - ✅ Mother's surname at birth and any other names used - ✅ For revision applications: date and file number of the original support judgment - ✅ Other party's residential address, telephone numbers, date of birth, and SIN (where known) > ⚠️ Field 10 requires every income source — not only employment income. Omitting any source creates a record that can be challenged at the hearing and referenced in any future revision proceeding. ## What Happens After the Statement Required Under Article 444 Is Filed? The Article 444 statement does not initiate any independent process — it enables the underlying support application to move forward. Once both statements are on file, the clerk enters them into the court file without reviewing their accuracy; that scrutiny happens at the hearing, where the judge examines both statements together. If material inconsistencies emerge between the two statements, the court may order additional financial disclosure or draw adverse inferences. Once support is awarded, the clerk transmits the information to the confidential register of support payments, from which Revenu Québec draws the data it needs to administer collection — through deductions at source, orders of payment, forced seizures, and seizure of tax refunds and government benefits. ⚠️VERIFY: current case management timelines for support matters in Quebec courts > ⚠️ The Revenu Québec collection file opened on the basis of an Article 444 statement is what gives support enforcement its teeth. Incomplete or inaccurate disclosure affects not only the support quantum but the collection framework that follows. ## How Does the Article 444 Statement Affect Your Support Case? The income and employment information disclosed in the Schedule I statement forms the factual foundation for applying Quebec's child support guidelines and any spousal support framework the court applies. Understatement of income — deliberate or inadvertent — directly affects the support quantum the court sets. Accuracy carries long-term financial consequences. A support order built on incomplete disclosure can be challenged in future revision proceedings, where the original Article 444 statement becomes part of the comparative record. Where both parties have counsel, lawyers typically review draft statements before filing. Where parties are self-represented, material errors rarely surface until they have already affected the court's analysis. > ⚠️ An Article 444 statement that underrepresents income is not a minor procedural slip — it becomes part of the judicial record and can be raised in any subsequent support revision or enforcement proceeding. ## Illustrative Scenario > 📌 **Parent A** and **Parent B** separated after several years of cohabitation and share one child. **Parent A** files an initial application for child support in the Montreal Superior Court. Both **Parent A** and **Parent B** must each file a Statement Required Under Article 444 disclosing their respective employment and income before the matter can be heard.**Parent B** is self-employed with a professional practice in Westmount and lists only declared business income on the statement, omitting rental income from a residential property in LaSalle. At the hearing, **Parent A**'s counsel presents bank records reflecting the undisclosed income stream. The court recalculates child support using **Parent B**'s actual income, resulting in a materially higher monthly obligation. The incomplete Article 444 statement not only increased the support quantum — it undermined **Parent B**'s credibility on related financial issues reviewed at the same hearing. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Does the Article 444 statement replace a full financial disclosure affidavit? No. The Article 444 statement is a procedural attachment required under the _Code of Civil Procedure_ to accompany every support application. It does not replace a sworn financial affidavit or income disclosure that a court may separately order during the proceeding. Both documents may be required in the same matter. ### Is the form required even if the parties have reached a private agreement on support? Yes, as long as a formal application has been filed with the court. The statement is a condition of the application, not of the outcome — a consensually resolved matter still requires both parties to file their own statements if court proceedings have been initiated. ### What happens to the statement if the case ends without a support order? If no support is granted or no judgment is rendered within one year of filing, the statements are destroyed under a mandatory provision of the _Code of Civil Procedure_. No information from a destroyed statement is retained or communicated to Revenu Québec. Parties who resolve support privately without initiating court proceedings are not required to complete the form. ## Common Mistakes to Avoid Incomplete income disclosure in field 10 is the most consequential error. Every income source must be listed without exception — rental income, dividends, annuities, secondary employment, pension payments. Listing only T4 employment income produces a record that can be challenged at the hearing and referenced against the disclosing party in future revision proceedings. Leaving field 2 (surname at birth) blank is a persistent oversight. Complete it even if identical to your current surname — the support register requires it, as does your mother's maiden name in field 11. Vague entries in field 7 — a salary without a payment frequency — are regularly returned by court registries. State "weekly," "bi-weekly," or "monthly" alongside the gross amount. For revision applications, field 14 must include both the date and file number of the original support judgment, even when rendered under a different file number. ## When to Get Legal Help If your income situation involves multiple streams — self-employment revenue, corporate distributions, investment income, or rental properties — completing the Article 444 statement accurately requires careful judgment about what must be disclosed and how income is properly characterized. Errors in this form affect the support your family will live with for years. If you are responding to a support application and believe the other party's statement does not reflect their full income, a lawyer can advise on how to challenge that disclosure and what financial evidence to obtain before the hearing. For revision applications, legal guidance ensures the new statement supports rather than undermines your position on the change in circumstances. If you need guidance on completing your Article 444 statement or challenging the accuracy of the other party's disclosure, [contact Goldwater Droit](https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/services/child-spousal-support) to speak with a family law lawyer experienced in support matters. Written and reviewed by [**Émylia Morin**](https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/our-team/emylia-morin) Published on **April 1, 2026** Last reviewed **April 1, 2026** #### *Need help with this process?* ### Goldwater Droit can help. [**Contact**](https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/contact)