How Long Does a Divorce Take In the UK?
A divorce in the UK takes a minimum of 26 weeks from the date your application is issued to the date your Final Order is granted. Most divorces take between 8 and 12 months, depending on whether you and your spouse agree on arrangements for children, the financial settlement, and how quickly you both respond to the court.
Last Updated:June 18th 2025 Table Of Contents
If your marriage has irretrievably broken down and you’re looking at how to end your marriage, it’s natural you want to know how long it takes to get a divorce.
Knowing the process of divorce and the associated timeline helps you prepare emotionally, financially, and logistically for what lies ahead.
As a family law solicitor, I’ve answered this question thousands of times.
For many, the answer isn’t straightforward, because the length of a divorce depends on several variables: the complexity of your financial settlement, whether children are involved, and how cooperative both parties are.
While the average divorce timescale for an uncontested divorce is 7–8 months, some cases move faster, and others drag on due to disputes or court delays.
Key Takeaways
- A UK divorce takes a minimum of 26 weeks.
Under the no-fault divorce system, the process includes a 20-week reflection period after the application and a further 6-week wait before the Final Order can be granted. No matter how straightforward your separation is, the process can’t legally be completed faster than this. - Most divorces take 8 to 12 months depending on circumstances.
While the 26-week timeline is the fastest possible, most divorces take longer. Factors like contested financial settlements, child arrangements, and court backlogs commonly extend the process. - Contested finances or child arrangements can significantly delay proceedings.
Disagreements about property, pensions, or who children live with can lead to lengthy court involvement. In my experience, these are the most common causes of multi-month delays in divorce finalisation. - The divorce process moves faster when parties agree on key issues.
If both parties agree early on financial matters and child arrangements, and communicate clearly, the timeline is often shorter. Simpler circumstances where no property or children are involved help speed things up. - Online divorce services offer a quicker and more straightforward option.
Over 150,000 couples have chosen Divorce-Online to make their divorce simple, fast, and affordable. With expert support and online case tracking, over 95% of our clients finalise their divorce within 28 weeks — well below the national average.
What Do Government Figures Show for Divorce Timescales?
On average, the time it takes to finalise a divorce in the UK, from start to finish, is around 7.5 months or 28 weeks.
Although the Ministry of Justice reports an average time of 62 weeks for the full divorce process, this can vary based on several factors.
At Divorce-Online, our experience with over 150,000 cases shows that most clients complete the process in 7 months, significantly faster than the government-reported average.
It’s essential to remember that while a divorce can take longer due to delays (e.g., unresponsive spouses or incorrect paperwork), it’s unlikely to take the full 62 weeks when you choose a reliable online service.
The Divorce Timeline: Step-by-Step Process
Here is a simplified breakdown of the no-fault divorce process in England and Wales:
- Divorce Petition – Start divorce proceedings by submitting a divorce application online or by post. You’ll need to include a copy of your marriage certificate. You can apply individually (sole application) or with your ex-partner (joint application).
- Acknowledgement from the Court – Once received, the family court will review the paperwork and issue the divorce. The court will then send a notice of the divorce to the other party. If you applied jointly, both of you are notified.
- 20-Week Reflection Period – Every divorce includes a mandatory 20-week reflection period. This waiting time allows both parties to consider their options before continuing with the legal process. During this period, you can discuss the divorce financial settlement and arrangements for children.
- Conditional Order – Once the reflection period ends, you apply for a Conditional Order. This confirms the court sees no reason why the divorce cannot proceed. You must still wait before finalising the divorce.
- Final Order – Six weeks and one day after the Conditional Order is granted, you may apply for the Final Order, which legally ends the marriage. Your divorce cannot be completed sooner than 26 weeks from the start.
What Factors Affect How Long a Divorce Takes?
Several factors can prolong the divorce process beyond the 26-week minimum. Common factors that can cause delays and affect timelines:
- Financial Settlement and Child Arrangements: Reaching a divorce financial settlement or agreeing on arrangements for children can add several months to the process. Disputes over property, pensions, or child custody often require solicitor negotiation or court hearings, which can extend the timeline for divorce to 12 months or more.
- Lack of Cooperation: The process moves faster when both parties are cooperative. An unresponsive spouse or a spouse who did not make the application may delay the divorce by failing to return paperwork or respond to the notice of the divorce. The court may need to re-serve documents or grant alternative service, which slows down progress.
- Complexity of the Case: Simple divorces with no assets or children are processed more quickly. Complex cases involving multiple properties, business assets, or international elements may take over a year. Any disagreement will cause divorce proceedings to take much longer.
- Method of Application: Using a joint divorce application often speeds up the process, as both parties confirm the breakdown of the marriage from the outset. Submitting a paper application instead of applying for divorce online can add several weeks to the process due to court handling times.
- Court Delays and Administrative Backlogs: The family court’s schedule can affect how long it takes to process each stage. Delays at the Conditional Order or Final Order stage are common, especially where paperwork is incomplete or the court is under pressure. These delays are outside your control but can add weeks or months.
Can I Speed Up the Divorce Process?
While some factors in the divorce process are beyond your control, there are several steps you can take to ensure things move as quickly and smoothly as possible.
By being proactive and prepared, you can reduce the time it takes to finalise your divorce.
Some ways to speed up the divorce process include:
- Being prompt with paperwork – This can often be the case when couples handle the divorce themselves. It’s easy to let life get in the way and let your divorce go by the wayside.
- Cooperate with your spouse – Maintain open communication with your spouse and seek their cooperation. If both parties are willing to work together, you can avoid common issues that cause delays, such as ignored paperwork or disputes over the terms of the divorce.
- Check for accuracy in divorce papers – Even minor mistakes, such as incorrect spelling or missing information, can result in your divorce application being rejected, forcing you to resubmit and wait for the court to process it again.
- Apply online rather than postal forms – Applying for a divorce online is one of the fastest methods available in the UK. Online divorces are easier to complete, involve fewer steps, and reduce the risk of paperwork errors that could delay the process.
- Have a financial agreement in place early on – Proceeding with a divorce without a financial settlement in place can create potential problems down the line. To prevent delays and avoid issues after the divorce is finalised, try to reach an agreement on how to divide assets (such as property, savings, or pensions) early in the process.
How Long Does a Divorce Take if One Party Doesn’t Agree?
Divorce in the UK can proceed without the other person agreeing, but it may take longer.
If your ex-spouse doesn’t respond to a divorce or refuses to acknowledge it, the court may need to re-serve documents or grant permission to continue without their input. This process can take 4 to 12 weeks, depending on court availability.
Under UK divorce law, the other party cannot stop the divorce from going ahead. However, their lack of cooperation can prolong the divorce process.
The process of ending a marriage under this scenario will add additional months to get a divorce. You should get legal advice from divorce solicitors to understand your next steps.
How long does it take to get a financial settlement?
Reaching a financial settlement in divorce is often a complex and stressful matter.
The time it takes to get a financial settlement usually depends on how complex your financial situation is.
Do you have overseas property, investments, inheritance, and so on? Or do you simply have joint savings to divide?
If you can agree on the terms of your financial agreement before applying for the Final Order, it can ensure that your agreement becomes legally binding upon divorce.
Now, you can get divorced without a financial settlement in place, but that does come with some potential repercussions down the line.
What else can affect the timescale of a divorce?
The timescale for divorce will depend on many factors – some within your control and some outside of your control.
There are common things that delay divorce proceedings, so it’s always advisable to try and avoid those.
Other factors will be based on whether you submit a joint application for divorce with your partner or file as a sole applicant.
You would assume that filing together would be the quickest, but it can work the other way and actually cause more delays; if either party drags their heels or is inefficient at returning documents to the court.
It’s also quicker to apply for a divorce online over using the postal method or hiring solicitors.
| Action | Marriage |
|---|---|
| Missing spouse | If you don’t know the whereabouts of your spouse or can’t provide a current address, this can significantly delay your divorce by between 3-6 months. |
| Spouse lives abroad | If your spouse resides in a different country, serving them with divorce papers can be more complex and time-consuming. International divorce cases can between 12-18 months to finalise. |
| Court backlogs | Court backlogs are a common cause of delays, particularly in areas with high divorce rates or during times when courts are dealing with a large number of cases. |
| Mistakes in divorce papers | Errors in the paperwork can cause significant delays, as incorrect forms may need to be corrected and resubmitted to the court, essentially restarting proceedings. |
| Collaborative law & mediation | While collaborative law can be helpful in complex divorces, it can be more time-consuming and costly than mediation |
How Divorce-Online can help you
The decision to get divorced is never easy, however, dealing with the legal process should be.
This, unfortunately, isn’t the case in most instances when you decide to handle your own divorce. Legal paperwork, court numbers, various applications, etc.
Why not take the stress out of your divorce proceedings and allow us to handle the entire process for you from start to finish for £199?
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