Did you both agree on the terms? Learn the cheapest, fastest route your court allows.
Uncontested Divorce: What It Costs, the Steps, and How Long It Takes
Choose your state in the free tool below for its filing fee and waiting period, then follow the steps on this page in order: the agreement, the petition, service or a waiver of it, the parenting class where there are children, and the wait.
Quick answer
In an uncontested case the court fee is your main cost, and it can run as high as $450 in California (the lowest confirmed fee is $80, District of Columbia), plus a parenting class fee where children are involved. Your time is the state's waiting period, which can run from none in 17 jurisdictions to 6 months in California, plus the time to file, serve and submit the final papers. No state source in the dataset states a lawyer fee for an agreed case, so this guide quotes none. Court rules were checked on October 14, 2026.
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Choose your state and answer four questions, and the filing date if you have it, to learn your filing fee, fee waiver path, residency rule, waiting period and the earliest date it allows, each with its source.
By the Legal Cost by State Editorial Team·Last updated and source-checked October 14, 2026
What to do next
Three things you can do before you file.
1
List every issue the two of you must agree on, in writing
Property, debts and any alimony, and with children a parenting plan and the support worksheet; one open issue makes your case contested.
2
Download your state's court self-help forms
The last section of this page names the court pages that publish them, written for you to file without a lawyer.
3
Ask the clerk whether your state accepts a joint petition
You both sign it, nothing is served, and in Colorado, Wisconsin and Massachusetts the wait starts at filing.
What counts as uncontested, and the forms states publish for it
Your divorce is uncontested when you and your spouse agree in writing on the ground, the division of property and debts, and, with children, custody, parenting time and support, for the court to approve. Nothing is left for a judge to decide, so there is no discovery, no motion practice and no trial.
Several states build a lighter route for agreed cases: Massachusetts has the joint petition under M.G.L. c. 208 s. 1A, where judgment nisi enters 30 days after the court approves the agreement; Colorado and Wisconsin let the spouses file a joint petition, which starts the 91-day and 120-day clocks at filing rather than at service; Pennsylvania’s mutual-consent divorce needs 90 days from commencement and consent affidavits from both spouses (23 Pa.C.S. 3301).
In Mississippi and South Dakota the no-fault ground of irreconcilable differences itself requires both spouses’ consent, and Tennessee requires it unless the spouses have lived apart two years with no minor children, so in those states an agreed filing is the only no-fault route and a spouse who will not consent forces a fault ground.
Learn more. Tap a topic to open it.
Learn the court fee range, and which add-ons a joint filing avoids and which it keeps.
Court fees on this page are confirmed ones, and they can run from $80 to $450. The state tables mark 11 other fees "court check pending", Virginia's $68 among them.
The petition fee is the floor, the same whether or not the case is contested. A joint filing usually carries one fee for both spouses and avoids the response fee some states charge (Arizona $172, New Jersey $175, Oregon $301). With children, the parenting class has its own cost: Hawaii adds $50 to its fee with children and New Jersey $25. A signed acceptance or waiver of service avoids a sheriff’s fee, $50 in Fulton County, Georgia.
You can hire a lawyer for the whole case or one task, by flat fee or by the hour; no state source states a figure for either, so none is printed here.
Learn the seven steps you take, in order, from the residency rule to the final papers.
1
The residency rule
A residency period comes first: 60 days in Arkansas, 90 days in Arizona, 91 days in Colorado, six months in California (plus three in the county), Delaware and others.
2
Agree in writing
A marital settlement agreement covers property, debts and any alimony. With children, add a parenting plan and a child-support worksheet under the state’s guideline model (income shares in 41 jurisdictions).
3
The petition and the fee
You pay the fee at filing, or file a fee-waiver form with the petition: Alaska TF-920, Connecticut JD-FM-75, Colorado JDF 205, Delaware Form 257P, or a poverty affidavit in Georgia and Kansas.
4
Serve the other spouse, or waive service
A joint petition needs no service; otherwise the other spouse is served or signs an acceptance of service, which in Iowa, Arizona and Nebraska also starts the waiting-period clock.
5
The parenting class, where there are minor children
Arizona orders it whenever the parties share a minor child (A.R.S. 25-352); Florida requires it before final judgment (Fla. Stat. 61.21); Colorado wants the certificate within 63 days of service and New Hampshire within 45 days (RSA 458-D).
6
Wait out the statutory period
From none in 17 jurisdictions (in Louisiana, only for an Art. 103 divorce) to 60 days in 11 states and six months in California; the next section gives the earliest finish.
7
Submit the final papers
File the agreement, the final decree form and, in some states, a short affidavit or attend a brief hearing. In nisi states (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont) the decree becomes final after a further period.
Learn the earliest finish the statutes allow for an agreed case, state by state.
The floor is the waiting period, and in an agreed case the paperwork can be ready when the wait ends. Florida can enter final judgment 20 days after the petition (Fla. Stat. 61.19). Colorado’s joint petition finishes no sooner than 91 days after filing, and Massachusetts and Wisconsin joint petitions take 120 days (M.G.L. c. 208 ss. 1A, 21; Wis. Stat. 767.335). California cannot be final sooner than six months from service or response (Family Code 2339).
In the 17 jurisdictions with no statutory wait, an agreed case is limited by the court’s calendar and the response period. The dataset records a typical duration for one state only: Kentucky legal aid describes an agreed case as a few months, plus the 60 days of living apart KRS 403.170 requires.
Learn the three things that can turn your agreed case into a contested one.
The usual trigger is a child issue. When custody or parenting time is disputed, California sets the case for mediation before any hearing (Fam. Code 3170), North Carolina sends it to mediation where a program exists (N.C.G.S. 50-13.1), Colorado requires it at least 21 days before a contested hearing, and Utah usually requires it once an answer is filed.
The second is property that cannot be divided by agreement: a house, a business, a retirement account that needs its own order. The third is a spouse who will not sign; most states allow a default after proper service, but then the court decides the terms.
Learn which court self-help pages publish free forms for agreed cases.
Official self-help pages, free and written for you to file without a lawyer.
California
The Judicial Council’s self-help site covers filing, serving and finishing a divorce, the $435 fee and the six-month minimum.
Hawaii
The Family Court publishes an uncontested divorce packet for couples with children, with the Kids First class requirement and the fee schedule; Kids First is mandatory unless the judge excuses it.
New Jersey
The New Jersey Courts self-help divorce page covers the $300 complaint fee, the $175 answer fee, the $25 parenting workshop and the low-income waiver.
Iowa, Idaho and Kansas
The Iowa Judicial Branch representing-yourself guide ($285), the Idaho Court Assistance Office divorce forms page ($207) and the Kansas Courts fee page ($195) each pair the fee with the forms.
Alaska
The Alaska Court System self-help center covers dissolution and divorce, the $250 fee, the 30-day wait and the TF-920 fee-waiver form.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tap a question to see the answer.
The courts cited above publish forms so you can file an agreed case without one. Whether to hire one to draft or review the agreement depends on what you are dividing; this site does not make that call.
The court fee, up to $450 in California, with the lowest confirmed fee $80 (District of Columbia); Virginia's fee, not yet confirmed, starts at $68. A parenting class fee with children and certified copies of the decree come on top; if you are granted a fee waiver, your court cost can be zero.
In a joint petition both spouses sign and file together, so nothing is served and the wait starts at filing (Colorado, Wisconsin, Massachusetts); in a regular petition the other spouse is served or signs an acceptance, and several states start the clock at service.
Not where a waiting period applies, and 34 jurisdictions have one. Where none applies, the court still needs the filing, any service or waiver, and a judge’s review.
Usually yes: Arizona, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Utah and West Virginia order it in every divorce with minor children; Connecticut allows an opt-out with court approval; Minnesota requires it only when custody and parenting time are not agreed (Minn. Stat. 518.157).
The case is no longer uncontested. After proper service most states allow a default judgment if the other spouse does not respond; a spouse who responds but disagrees makes the case contested on those issues.
In 8 states, from 60 days in Kentucky to one year in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia and 18 months in Arkansas. Agreement does not shorten these.
Often: Michigan’s wait rises from 60 days to six months with minor children (MCL 552.9f), Oklahoma applies its 90-day wait only with children (43 O.S. 107.1), and the class and support worksheet add steps.
Information on this page reflects laws and published figures as of October 14, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice, and not a prediction for any matter. Rules and fees change; check the court or agency page linked for each figure.
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