Uncontested Divorce In 2026: Pros & Cons, Costs & FAQs

What is an Uncontested Divorce?

An uncontested divorce is a type of divorce in which neither party formally disputes the divorce application itself. It does not mean that all financial or child arrangements have been agreed — only that the legal dissolution of the marriage is not contested.

Since the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 came into force on 6 April 2022, the ability to contest a divorce on the basis that one party disagrees has been removed from the law of England and Wales. The sole legal ground for divorce is now an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, evidenced by a statement from one or both parties. The respondent cannot prevent the divorce from being granted.

This means that virtually all divorces in England and Wales are now uncontested. According to the Ministry of Justice, there were 109,184 divorce applications in England and Wales in 2025, all made under the no-fault divorce (NFD) legislation.

Since the no-fault system removed the right to contest a divorce, every one of these applications was, by definition, an uncontested divorce. Of the 109,184 applications, 73% were sole applications and 27% were joint applications.

The divorce and financial settlement are separate legal processes. You can have an entirely uncontested divorce while still negotiating or even litigating the division of assets, pensions, property or arrangements for children.

Advantages and disadvantages of an uncontested divorce

Advantages

• No requirement to assign blame or prove fault, which reduces conflict and helps preserve the co-parenting relationship
• Significantly lower cost than contested proceedings — typically under £2,100 compared with £5,000 to £30,000 or more for contested cases
• Faster timeline — the minimum is 26 weeks, with an average of 37 weeks to first disposal
• Minimal court involvement — dealt with online via HMCTS digital portal, with no court attendance required
• Both parties retain greater control over the outcome when negotiating through ADR rather than having terms imposed by a judge

Practical considerations

• Both parties must engage with the process. If one party is unresponsive, particularly in a joint application, proceedings can stall at the Acknowledgement of Service stage
• There is a risk that one party may agree to financial terms that are not in their best interest if they do not take independent legal advice
• The absence of court oversight in the financial settlement means that fairness depends on honest and full financial disclosure by both parties
• A financial consent order drafted by a solicitor is recommended in virtually all cases to ensure the agreement is legally binding and fair

The cost savings of an uncontested divorce are substantial. A simple, uncontested divorce can be completed for under £1,000, whereas contested proceedings involving solicitors, barristers, and multiple court hearings routinely exceed £10,000 per party.

How did no-fault divorce change uncontested divorce?

Before April 2022, the person applying for a divorce (the petitioner) had to prove that the marriage had irretrievably broken down by citing one of five facts:

• Adultery — the respondent had committed adultery, and the petitioner found it intolerable to live with them
• Unreasonable behaviour — the respondent had behaved in a way that the petitioner could not reasonably be expected to live with
• Desertion — the respondent had deserted the petitioner for a continuous period of at least two years
• Two years’ separation with consent — the parties had lived apart for at least two years, and the respondent consented to the divorce
• Five years’ separation without consent — the parties had lived apart for at least five years, regardless of whether the respondent consented

The respondent could contest the divorce by disputing the fact relied upon. This sometimes led to protracted and adversarial proceedings. The most notable example was Owens v Owens [2018] UKSC 41, in which the Supreme Court upheld a refusal to grant a divorce despite Mrs Owens stating that her marriage had broken down.

The Court found that the evidence of unreasonable behaviour was insufficient to satisfy the legal test under section 1(2)(b) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, and Mrs Owens remained unable to divorce until the five-year separation period had elapsed.

The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 was introduced in part in response to cases such as Owens v Owens. It replaced the five fault-based grounds with a single requirement: a statement of irretrievable breakdown.

No blame is assigned. No evidence is required beyond the statement itself. The respondent has no right to contest the divorce.

The Act also introduced joint applications for the first time. Either one party can apply as a sole applicant, or both parties can apply together as Applicant 1 and Applicant 2.

A joint divorce application removes the adversarial dynamic of having an applicant and a respondent, and signals cooperation from the outset.

Ministry of Justice data shows that joint applications have steadily increased since the new system was introduced, rising from approximately 25% in 2023 to 29% by Q3 2025. The remaining 71% were sole applications.

Who is eligible for an uncontested divorce?

To apply for an uncontested divorce in England and Wales, the following legal requirements must be met:

• The marriage must have lasted at least one year. You cannot apply for divorce within the first 12 months of marriage, although you can begin a separation.
• At least one party must be habitually resident in England or Wales, or be domiciled here. Habitual residence generally means your main home and centre of daily life is in England or Wales.
• The marriage must be legally recognised in the United Kingdom. This includes same-sex marriages and civil partnerships (which are dissolved rather than divorced).
• One or both parties must provide a statement that the marriage has irretrievably broken down. This is the sole legal ground for divorce under the 2020 Act.

You do not need your spouse’s consent for the divorce to proceed. Under the no-fault system, a sole applicant can obtain a divorce regardless of the respondent’s wishes. The respondent is served with the application and must complete an Acknowledgement of Service, but they cannot prevent the court from granting the divorce.

How much does an uncontested divorce cost?

An uncontested divorce costs between £612 and approximately £2,100 in total, depending on whether you manage the process yourself, use an online divorce service, or instruct a solicitor. The court fee of £612 is mandatory in all cases and may be reduced through the court fee remission scheme if you are on a low income.

At the lower end, a DIY divorce through GOV.UK costs £612 and nothing more, though you are responsible for completing and filing all paperwork correctly. In the middle, an online divorce service such as Divorce-Online costs from £800 (£179 plus the court fee), with all forms completed, filed, and tracked on your behalf.

At the higher end, a local divorce solicitor costs from £1,112 to £2,112, depending on the firm, with fixed-fee packages available for straightforward cases.

Alternative dispute resolution in an uncontested divorce

In an uncontested divorce, the parties are encouraged to resolve financial and child-related matters through alternative dispute resolution (ADR) rather than court proceedings.

The Family Procedure Rules 2010 require the court to consider whether the parties have attempted non-court dispute resolution before listing a contested financial case for a hearing.

The main ADR methods available to applicants are:

Mediation

A neutral, trained mediator helps both parties identify the issues in dispute and work towards a mutually acceptable agreement. The mediator does not take sides, give legal advice, or make decisions. Mediation is generally the least expensive form of ADR and is particularly effective where both parties are willing to negotiate in good faith.

A Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) is a legal requirement before making most applications to the court for financial remedy or child arrangements orders, unless an exemption applies.

Collaborative law

Each party instructs their own collaboratively trained solicitor. All four participants (both parties and both solicitors) meet face-to-face to negotiate a settlement.

If the collaborative process breaks down and the case proceeds to court, both solicitors must withdraw, and the parties must instruct new representation. This provides a strong incentive to reach an agreement.

Arbitration

Both parties agree to appoint an independent family arbitrator, who is usually a senior barrister or solicitor. The arbitrator hears submissions from both sides and makes a binding decision known as an award.

Family arbitration is conducted under the Institute of Family Law Arbitrators (IFLA) scheme and is particularly suitable for complex financial disputes where the parties want a private, quicker resolution than the court process can offer.

Solicitor negotiation

Each party instructs a solicitor who negotiates on their behalf, typically through correspondence. This is the most traditional form of dispute resolution and is effective where direct communication between the parties is difficult or where there is an imbalance of power.

Solicitor negotiation can be combined with other methods — for example, attending mediation with solicitor support.

Do I need a solicitor for an uncontested divorce?

There is no legal requirement to instruct a solicitor for an uncontested divorce. If both parties agree to the divorce and there are no complex financial matters or children’s arrangements to resolve, many couples manage the entire process without one.

A solicitor is recommended where your divorce involves property or assets that need to be divided, pensions that need to be shared, children whose living arrangements need to be formalised, business interests on either side, or any dispute over financial matters.

How long does an uncontested divorce take?

Can a divorce be contested by my spouse?

Under the previous divorce law (prior to April 2022), the person applying for a divorce needed to cite their spouse’s behaviour or use a period of separation as the reason for the divorce. Their spouse could contest these reasons and potentially delay or even prevent a divorce.

However, under the new no-fault divorce law, the ability to contest a divorce has been removed.

This doesn’t mean that you can get an instant divorce; a quick divorce will be completed within 6-8 months.

Being able to contest a divorce is one of the key changes to the new divorce law, which means that a divorce will now be granted by a Judge based only on the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.

You can now get divorced in England or Wales if all the following are true:

• You have been married for over a year
• Your relationship has permanently broken down
• Your marriage is legally recognised in the UK (This also includes same-sex marriage)

Has no-fault divorce made uncontested divorce easier?

Yes, significantly easier. Before April 2022, the divorce process required one party to blame the other for the breakdown of the marriage by citing one of five grounds: adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion, two years’ separation with consent, or five years’ separation without consent.

This requirement created conflict at the outset and made it harder for couples to cooperate on the issues that actually mattered, such as finances and children.

The no-fault divorce system replaced this with a simple statement of irretrievable breakdown. No blame is assigned. The court does not investigate the reasons. The respondent cannot prevent the divorce from proceeding.

This has fundamentally changed the tone of divorce proceedings and made the uncontested divorce process considerably more accessible.

The introduction of joint applications has also been important. For the first time, couples can apply together, which removes the dynamic of one party being the “applicant” and the other the “respondent.” Approximately 27% of divorce applications are now joint applications.

At Divorce-Online, we have seen first-hand how no-fault divorce has reduced the level of conflict in the cases we handle. Where previously a significant number of respondents would delay or obstruct proceedings, the vast majority now cooperate from the outset.

Here’s why you should consider using our Online Divorce Service;