The divorce process has three main stages with mandatory waiting periods:
- Application → Court issues your divorce application
- Conditional order → 20 weeks after issue, you can apply
- Final order → 6 weeks and 1 day after conditional order
The absolute minimum is 26 weeks, but court processing times and your own circumstances typically extend this.
Stage-by-stage breakdown
Stage 1: Meeting the requirements for a divorce:
The first stage of divorce is to ensure that you and your spouse have the legal right to apply for a divorce. Currently, in England and Wales, you must meet these criteria:
- You must have been married for over a year
- Your relationship must have permanently broken down
- Your marriage must be legally recognised in the UK
Prior to April 2022, you had to have valid grounds to make legal steps towards divorce, with one party applying for divorce against the other.
However, the rules have since changed. Under the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, the no-fault divorce laws now allow couples to apply jointly for divorce, encouraging couples approach divorce in more amicable terms.
Stage 2: Submitting the application
What happens: You submit Form D8 (typically online but can be by post) with your marriage certificate and court fee which is currently £612.
The application requires information about both parties, including names, addresses, marriage details, alongside confirmation that the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction to deal with the divorce.
An application for divorce can be made by one person as a sole application, or by the both of you jointly as joint applicants.
For joint applications, both spouses are named as applicants and must work together at each stage, from the initial submission to the final order.
*It’s important to consider that while you can switch from a joint to a sole application if needed, the reverse is not possible.
Timescale: 1-2 weeks for the court to check and issue your application.
Stage 2: Service and acknowledgement (sole applications)
What happens: The court sends your spouse the divorce application. They have 14 days to acknowledge receipt.
As of April 2022, you can only disagree with the divorce on legal grounds (e.g. if you live abroad and believe that the Court of England and Wales does not have jurisdiction to deal with the proceedings). You can no longer contest that the marriage has broken down.
If your spouse does not respond, you can arrange for a process server to serve the papers to your spouse – they will provide a statement of service which can be used in place of the Acknowledgement of Service.
*If a joint application has been made, the second applicant must acknowledge receipt and confirm agreement with the application details.
Timescale: 2-4 weeks including postal time and response.
Stage 3: The 20-week reflection period
What happens: A mandatory waiting period begins from when the court issued your application.
Timescale: 20 weeks
Stage 4: Conditional order (formerly Decree Nisi)
What happens: After 20 weeks, you can apply for the Conditional Order.
The Conditional Order is a document which the courts will then send to the parties to state that they do not see any reason why the couple may not divorce.
If your application for a Conditional Order is rejected, the form will tell you why and give you instructions on what to do to rectify the situation [*Note this is rare].
Timescale: 1-3 weeks for court processing.
Stage 5: Waiting for the final order
What happens: Once the Conditional Order has been granted, you must wait 6 weeks and 1 day before you can move to the next legal step for divorce. Remember that you are still legally married at this stage.
Stage 6: Final order (formerly Decree Absolute):
What happens: You apply for the final order. Once granted, you are legally divorced.
You must apply for a Final Order within twelve months of being granted a Conditional Order. If you wish to apply for a Final Order more than twelve months after the Conditional Order has been granted, then the reasons for the delay must be explained to the Court before the Order is granted.
Timescale: Usually, 24-48 hours once you apply.
The divorce process in the UK is now handled mainly online through the government portal. To apply, you must have been married for at least one year and have a sufficient connection to England or Wales. You can apply on your own (sole application) or together (joint application). Once the application is issued, the other spouse cannot contest the divorce to prevent it going ahead.
You and your partner must have been legally married for one year and must meet certain jurisdictional requirements to ensure England and Wales is the appropriate jurisdiction.
If you handle the divorce yourself, the main cost is the court fee which is currently £612. If you instruct a solicitor, you will also need to pay legal fees, which vary depending on the level of support required (although legal costs are likely to be nominal given the simplified process). Additional court fees and legal fees will apply if you require orders relating to finances and/or child arrangements.
The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (DDSA), introduced in April 2022, brought in “no-fault divorce” for England and Wales. It has removed the requirement to establish one of the ‘five facts’ contained in the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 to establish irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and allows married couples to divorce without assigning blame. The aim of the changes is to reduce the impact that conflict and allegations can have on families, in particular on any children.
If your spouse provided your email address to the court, you’ll receive an email with a link to view the divorce papers online. You will also receive a notification letter by post.
If your spouse did not provide your email address, the court will post a paper copy of the divorce application to your home address.
If you live abroad, the process is the same, but international postage may mean the documents take longer to arrive.
Under the no-fault divorce system, the minimum time to complete a divorce is 26 weeks (6 months) due to a built-in 20 week mandatory “reflection” period, as well as a further 6-week period from the Conditional Order to the Final Order. However, the process can take longer particularly if financial matters have not yet been resolved as it is often advisable to delay applying for the Final Order until those arrangements are finalised.
A Conditional Order (formerly Decree Nisi) is a provisional court order where the court confirms it sees no reason the divorce cannot proceed.
A Final Order (formerly Decree Absolute) legally ends the marriage, and both parties are free to enter a new marriage or civil partnership.
As the only ground for divorce now is that one or both parties believe the marriage has irretrievably broken down, it does not matter whether you challenge or disagree with the application for divorce. No other facts have a bearing on the divorce process or outcome.
Stopping your spouse from proceeding with a divorce or dissolution is therefore difficult. Contesting a divorce is only possible if you have a legal reason. These include:
- Jurisdiction – if you of your partner live in another country, the courts in England and Wales may not have jurisdiction over the divorce.
- If you can prove that the marriage or civil partnership was never valid - for example, if the marriage/civil partnership was not conducted in accordance with the laws of the country in which you married, meaning you did not enter into a legally legitimate marriage/civil partnership.
- If the marriage/civil partnership has already legally ended - for example, if you’ve already concluded divorce proceedings in another country.
If any of the reasons for contesting a divorce apply, you will need to file a response to the application explaining your reason for disputing the proceedings.
Many solicitors advise waiting until your financial settlement is finalised before applying for the final order. Here’s why:
Pension rights: If you die after the final order but before a financial settlement, your spouse may lose pension rights they would otherwise have had.
Remarriage: Your former spouse’s remarriage could affect what you’re entitled to.
Clean break: It’s often cleaner to have everything – divorce and finances – concluded together.
However, there’s no legal requirement to delay. Some people want to be divorced as quickly as possible and handle finances separately.
The 20-week and 6-week waiting periods are set by law and cannot normally be truncated.
Exceptional circumstances: In very rare cases (such as terminal illness), the court can shorten these periods. You’d need to apply with strong supporting evidence.
Judicial Separation is a formal separation which is sanctioned by the court. It enables the court to make orders about the division of money and property, similar to the orders which can be made on divorce, without actually terminating the marriage.
Unlike a divorce you do not have to prove that the marriage has “broken down irretrievably”. Since 6 April 2022 you simply have to state that you seek a judicial separation.
Judicial Separation doesn’t suit most separating couples, because at the end of the process they remain married to each other. However, sometimes it is relied upon:
- By couples who have a religious or moral objection to divorce
- For financial reasons – such as preserving pension rights or tax benefits.
- In short marriages – for couples who wish to resolve financial issues on separation but have not yet been married for a year.
- To provide time to reflect on the decision to divorce, whilst still wanting to resolve financial arrangements; and
- Where there might be some financial benefit in not divorcing, e.g. where there is significant disparity in the ages of the couple and their respective pension provision.
Judicial Separations differs from divorce proceedings in several ways:
- Unlike a divorce, you can seek a judicial separation at any time after marriage. You do not have to wait until you have been married for a year.
- You do not have to prove that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. Since 6 April 2022 you simply need to state that you seek a judicial separation (prior to this date you could have relied on the same “facts” which would justify a divorce but without having to show that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.)
- There are not two decrees/orders as there are in divorce (the Conditional Order and Final Order) – there is just one order pronouncing the judicial separation once the court is satisfied that the requirements are met.
- A judicial separation does not have the same effect on pensions as divorce, as the parties are technically still married. This means you cannot obtain a pension sharing order. This is often the biggest disadvantage to using judicial separation proceedings as opposed to divorce.
- As the marriage isn’t terminated on a judicial separation, neither party will be free to remarry until a divorce is obtained. However, obtaining a judicial separation does not prevent either party from applying for a divorce later down the line.
A decree/order of judicial separation has three legal and practical implications:
- It gives the court the power to make the same financial orders as it could make on a divorce, with the exception that it cannot make a pension sharing order.
- The decree/order operates just like a divorce in terms of its effect on a Will. A spouse can no longer take any benefit unless a new Will is drafted specifically stating that they can benefit from the Will.
- The spouses are no longer obliged to cohabit with each other, though this is of little practical meaning, given that one spouse cannot legally force the other to live with them.
