How to File For Divorce in England & Wales

To file divorce papers you’ll need to do the following:

• File a D8 Divorce Petition Form
• Pay court fees – A payment of £593 is required
• Decree Nisi – File a decree nisi application to the court
• Decree Absolute – Apply to the court to end your marriage

You need to provide the court with your husband or wife’s full name and address. Please note, you must try to find your husband or wife’s current address if you do not know it because the court will need to send them a copy of the divorce petition.

You also need to provide the original marriage certificate or a certified translated version if it’s not written in English.

Please note: If you have changed your name since you got married you will need to provide proof, for example, a legal deed poll document.

How to file for divorce step by step

To apply for divorce in order to end your marriage and obtain a decree absolute, you must complete each of the following five steps – starting with filing a divorce petition.

Let’s take a look at each step in more detail.

1. Finding Grounds for Divorce

Grounds for divorce are sometimes referred to as ‘reasons for divorce’ or ‘facts’. There is only 1 ground for divorce, which is the irretrievable breakdown of your marriage, but this must be proven by using one of the five available grounds.

A basic overview of the grounds for divorce in England & Wales;

• Desertion
• Adultery
• Unreasonable Behaviour
• 2 years separation with consent
• 5 years separation, no consent required

Each ground has different requirements and processes to follow so it’s important you choose the most suitable one for your situation.

We’ve written about all five grounds for divorce in more detail to help you make a more informed decision, which could help you save time, stress and money!

2. File a Divorce Petition Form D8

When looking to file for divorce yourself, be aware that you have completed the correct form for your chosen ground for divorce as there a 5 different petition forms available.

Once you are happy that all the details on your divorce petition are accurate, you need to submit it to the court, which is typically done via post.

Visit the government website and enter your postcode to find your local divorce centre where you can post your divorce petition.

As we’ve mentioned above, you need to attach the court fee (usually via a cheque to HMCTS) and supply your marriage certificate.

3. Acknowledgement of Service

This is the second stage of divorce proceedings, which is where the respondent (the person being divorced) signs a form from the court to say that they are happy for it to continue.

The court will send your spouse a copy of the divorce petition along with an acknowledgment of service form.

This form needs to be signed and sent back to the court within 7 days of being in receipt of it.

We recommend speaking to your spouse if at all possible and explaining when you have filed the divorce so that they can keep an eye out for the acknowledgment of service form.

Any delays in returning this form, or refusals to return it can lead to significant delays and sometimes even additional money.

If your divorce is amicable, then your spouse should return this form within 7 days and you’ll move onto the next stage of proceedings.

4. Decree Nisi Pronouncement

At this stage in the divorce proceedings, you reach the interim divorce certificate, which is called the decree nisi. This certificate says that you are entitled to a divorce and that it will be made final after a mandatory cooling-off period of 6 weeks following the making of the decree nisi.

As long as neither you nor your spouse contests the divorce petition, you need to fill out an application for a Decree Nisi and a statement of truth. This is a legal document that states the court finds no objections to your divorce.

If either spouse objects to the divorce petition, it will be necessary to attend a hearing. At that point in time, the court will decide whether or not your divorce petition should be granted. This part of the process goes much more smoothly when both parties are in agreement.

The decree nisi application is dealt with by a District Judge of the Family Court who will;

• A) Make sure the forms have been completed correctly
• B) Make sure the law has been complied with
• C) Make sure the Family Proceeding Rules have been complied with

If the judge is satisfied that all these elements have been complied with, they will grant the decree nisi.

If not, the divorce will be refused and directions are given as to what needs to be done in order to satisfy the judge.

5. Decree Absolute (Final decree)

Once a Decree Nisi has been granted and you have waited 6 weeks, you are now ready to progress to the final step in the proceedings. At this point, unless there has been a change of heart and you have got back together, you should apply for your decree absolute.

This is the legal document that officially dissolves your marriage.

Make sure you file for your decree absolute within a year after the Decree Nisi is granted, as otherwise, you’ll have to go through more court proceedings.

How to deal with your finances in divorce

Contrary to popular belief, obtaining a divorce does not sever your financial ties or ongoing commitments to or from your ex-spouse, it merely dissolves your marriage.

The mistake many couples make when filing for divorce is that they fail to obtain a financial order to legally separate assets and finances. This needs to be made legal by obtaining either a clean break order or a financial consent order depending on the complexity of your financial affairs.

Unfortunately, they wrongly believe that because they have an amicable relationship with their former spouse it’s unnecessary, or they believe that getting a divorce means the finances are automatically sorted.

Obtaining a financial order is done separately from the divorce proceedings and is the only way to legally divide your assets and finances. Without one, you are financially tied, even many years after divorcing.

How to get a financial settlement after a divorce

We understand that legal phrases like financial order or financial settlement can sound daunting, but we can help you obtain a legally binding financial order without needing to spend thousands on solicitors.

If you are looking to separate assets, property, pensions, or child arrangements such as visitation or maintenance, then you will require a judge to grant a financial consent order that documents these details.

Dealing with your finances at the same time as your divorce is the only legal way to guarantee that neither party can claim against the other in the future.

Divorce-Online has helped over 40,000 couples obtain a consent order from just £199 fixed fee.

We can put your agreed financial settlement into a consent order and explain how to file it yourself, or actually deal with the entire process for you.