How to File For Divorce in England & Wales

Can I get a quick divorce in UK?

Yes, the filing of your divorce petition in England or Wales is possible without you needing to instruct any divorce solicitors, provided you can answer YES to the following questions:

• Have you been married for a year or longer
• Do you permanently live in England or Wales or are you domiciled in England or Wales if you live abroad
• Is your marriage legally recognised in the UK – including same-sex marriage
• Has your relationship permanently broken down

You can file for divorce in only minutes if you do it yourself or use one of the Divorce-Online services.

Before you file for divorce

Firstly please note – If you are ending a civil relationship, though very similar the process is slightly different, read this guide: How to End a Civil Partnership – the process is also different if you want to get divorced in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

A new divorce law came into legal force in England and Wales on 6 April 2022. One significant change is that filing for divorce no longer has to be initiated by one partner alone. A couple can now make a joint application to file for divorce.

Consequently, the first decision you need to make is whether you want to make a joint application with your spouse or apply on your own. You should also know it will now take a minimum of 6 months to get a divorce, and it’s the same length of time for joint and sole applications.

Making a joint application with your Spouse

You can make a joint application to file for divorce if both of the following apply:

• you both agree that you should get a divorce
• you’re not at risk of domestic abuse

You can apply online or by post and your spouse must do the same. Whichever method you choose you will both have to separately confirm that you want to continue with the divorce application at each stage of the process.

If your husband or wife stops responding, you can still continue the application as a sole applicant.

Making a sole application

You can still make a sole application if either of the following apply:

• your husband or wife does not agree you should get a divorce
• you do not think your husband or wife will cooperate or respond to notifications from the court

You will need to confirm you want to continue with the divorce application at each stage of the process.

What are the five stages of divorce?

Since the new divorce law came into force for England and Wales in April 2022 there are 5 stages of divorce which need to be followed in strict order to obtain a divorce. Our clients often ask us what they need to do to get a divorce from their spouse, so our specialist divorce advisors have defined what are the 5 stages of divorce and exactly what is required at each key stage.

The 5 key stages of the new no-fault divorce process are as follows:

1. The petition – the divorce application
2. The Response – after you file for divorce
3. Apply for a conditional order
4. Conditional order – after you apply
5. Pronouncement of final order – finalise your divorce

1. The petition – the divorce application

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

• File a D8 Divorce Petition Form
• Provide the original marriage certificate or a certified translated version if it’s not written in English
• Provide proof of your name change if it’s changed since you got married – for example your marriage certificate or a legal deed poll document
• Pay court fees – A payment of £593 is required to apply for a divorce

The filing of the divorce petition form D8 means you are formally asking the court for permission to divorce.

Your fee will not be refunded after you are sent the notice that your divorce application has been issued.

Please note, You also need to provide the court with both yours and your husband or wife’s full name and address. 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 application.

If you provide your husband or wife’s email address, the court will send the divorce papers to them via email. If you do not provide an email address the papers will be sent by post.

See: Getting divorced without an address for your husband or wife

2. The Response – after you file for divorce

What happens after you file for divorce depends on whether you applied jointly or on your own.

If you applied jointly with your husband or wife

Your application will be checked. If it’s correct, you’ll both be sent:

• A notice that your application has been issued (sent out)
• A copy of your application stamped by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS)
• An ‘acknowledge receipt’
• A case number

If you applied as a sole applicant

Your application will be checked. If it’s correct, you’ll be sent:

• A notice that your application has been issued (sent out)
• A copy of your application stamped by HMCTS
• A case number

The court will send your husband or wife (known as the Respondent) the divorce application and an ‘Acknowledgement of Service’ notification.

They must respond to the notification within 14 days saying whether they agree with the divorce or intend to dispute the divorce.

If they agree with the divorce

You can continue with the divorce by applying for a Conditional Order (previously called decree nisi) after a 20 weeks ‘cooling off period’.

If they dispute the divorce

Your husband or wife will have to complete an ‘answer form’ to say why they disagree with the divorce.

They must have a genuine legal reason to dispute the divorce. They cannot simply dispute the petition because they do not want to get divorced or to delay the process.

If your husband or wife does not respond by submitting the answer form, the court will tell you. This article describes what happens if spouse doesn’t sign divorce papers and what steps you need to take to get divorced.

3. Apply for a conditional order

A conditional order (previously called decree nisi – the first decree in divorce proceedings) is a document that confirms that the court does not see any reason why you cannot divorce.

There is now a minimum waiting period of 20 weeks (referred to as a reflection period) from when your divorce application has been issued at the start of divorce proceedings to when an application can be made to the court for a conditional order.

This so called ‘reflection period’ is designed to provide an opportunity for couples to reconcile or agree practical arrangements for the future where reconciliation is not possible, and divorce is inevitable. Such matters could include child arrangements and the division of assets like property or pensions.

You can apply for a conditional order and continue with the divorce as a sole applicant, even if you started the divorce process jointly with your spouse.

At this stage, you (the Applicant) are formally asking the court to proceed with the divorce. You apply for a conditional order by submitting an application form D84 together with a supporting statement which verifies that the contents of the divorce application are true.

4. Conditional order – after you apply

The court reviews your application and if the judge agrees, the court will issue you and your spouse with a ‘Certificate of Entitlement’ to confirm the date that your conditional order was granted (pronouncement of the conditional order).

Both parties also receive a Court Order stating that the conditional order has been pronounced and this will typically take a few weeks.

You will still be married, even after the conditional order has been pronounced. To officially end the marriage, you will have to apply to finalise the divorce by submitting form D36 ‘Notice of Application’ for the conditional order to be made Final.

5. Pronouncement of final order – finalise your divorce

The last of the 5 stages of divorce is the pronouncement of the final order which is made once the court has received form D36 – the Notice of Application for conditional order to be made Final. You can apply for a final order as a sole applicant, even if you started the divorce process jointly with your spouse.

You can only apply for a final order (previously called decree absolute) after waiting at least 6 weeks + 1 day from the date of the conditional order. However, you should apply within 12 months from the date of the conditional order to avoid having to explain the delay to the court.

Before pronouncing of the final order the court will check that the above time limits have been met and that there are no other reasons not to grant the divorce.

Once you receive the pronouncement final order, you are officially divorced, no longer married and free to marry again if you wish.

Points to note:

• The court will send both parties copies of the final order. If you have a solicitor acting for you the final order will be sent directly to them, and you will need to ask them for a copy
• Keep the final order safe – you will need to show it if you remarry or have to prove your marital status and if you lose it you can apply to the court for a duplicate
• If you applied for divorce as a sole applicant and do not apply to finalise the divorce your spouse can apply, but they have to wait an additional 3 months after the standard 6 weeks + 1 day
• If you want a legally binding arrangement for dividing assets, money, pensions and property you must apply to the court for a consent order before you apply for the final order