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Filing for divorce in Maryland

What you file, where you file, what it costs, and the rules that catch people out. Compiled from Maryland court and statute sources.

How to read these entries.

This is general legal information compiled from state court websites, state statutes, and official self-help materials. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with anyone.

Why we publish it. Most people meet the family law system once, at the worst moment of their life, knowing nothing about it. That gap is where people get overcharged and poorly served. This page exists so you can walk in already knowing roughly how your state works, ask sharper questions, and recognize when an answer does not sound right. It is here to help you hold your attorney to a standard, not to replace what they do.

Talk to a lawyer licensed in your state. That is the normal path, not a fallback for when something goes wrong. Nothing here can account for the facts of your marriage, your finances, or your children, and those facts are usually what determines the outcome. Many states also have free legal aid and court self-help centers, and we link to them by state.

Verify before you rely on anything. Every entry cites its source. Follow that citation to the official state site and confirm it still says what we say it says, and that it applies to your situation. Filing fees, form numbers, e-filing rules, and local standing orders change frequently, and a form number that was right last year can get your filing rejected today.

The same state can treat you very differently depending on whether your spouse agrees, whether you have minor children, whether you file jointly or alone, and which county or judge hears it. Waiting periods run from filing in some states and from service in others. Deadlines described here as fixed are the statutory default, and a judge may still have narrow discretion in an emergency.

If you are in danger, do not wait on any of these timelines. An order of protection is a separate and much faster process than a divorce, and it does not depend on any waiting period described on this page.

Your roadmap
What you file
CC-DR-020 Complaint for Absolute Divorce, revised August 2024
CC-DCM-001 Civil Domestic Case Information Report, which helps the court set your schedule
CC-DR-116 Marital Settlement Agreement, required for the mutual consent ground
Financial statements, required from both parties
CC-DR-050 Answer, filed by your spouse
CC-DR-034 or CC-DR-035 Child Support Guidelines Worksheet, primary or shared custody
CC-DR-109 Maryland Parenting Plan Tool, if you have minor children
CC-DR-054 Request for Order of Default, if your spouse never responds
Where you fileCircuit court in the county where you or your spouse lives. Self-represented filers may e-file through MDEC, but are not required to.
What it costs$165 for self-represented filers, plus service costs. Waivable if you cannot afford it.
The sequence
1. Pick your ground: mutual consent with a signed agreement and no waiting, a six-month separation, or irreconcilable differences.
2. If you are using mutual consent, finish and sign the settlement agreement first, since it must be attached to the complaint.
3. Read the instruction sheets, forms CC-DRIN and CC-DRIN-020, which walk through the complaint paragraph by paragraph.
4. File the complaint and case information report with the circuit court, keeping date-stamped copies for yourself.
5. Serve your spouse, which is required even in an uncontested case. They have 30 days to respond in Maryland, 60 days out of state, or 90 days abroad.
6. File financial statements, attend the hearing, and the judge enters the Judgment of Absolute Divorce.
Maryland rewrote its divorce law effective October 1, 2023, so older guidance is often wrong. On mutual consent, neither spouse may file a written objection before the hearing without losing that ground. If retirement or pension benefits are being divided, you will likely need a separate domestic relations order.
Court forms

Maryland files a Complaint for Absolute Divorce (Form CC-DR-020) in the Circuit Court, and mutual-consent cases attach a signed Marital Settlement Agreement (CC-DR-116). Filing fees run about $165 to $185 by county, waivable for low-income filers. Maryland has no separate legal separation, so interim support is requested inside the divorce case.

Maryland Courts: divorce help and formsOfficial CC-DR forms, a Guide and File interview, and step-by-step instructions.
Maryland People's Law Library: divorce overviewPlain-language explanation of Maryland's three grounds and the post-2023 rules.
State rules and gotchas

Maryland rewrote its divorce law in 2023, so older advice is wrong Verified Jul 2026

As of October 1, 2023, Maryland is fully no-fault: adultery, desertion, and cruelty were repealed as grounds, and "limited divorce" (the old legal separation) no longer exists. There are now just three grounds: mutual consent, a six-month separation, and irreconcilable differences.

Source: Md. Family Law Section 7-103. Confirm the current rule with the court before relying on it.

Mutual consent has no waiting period, but it requires a full agreement Verified Jul 2026

If you and your spouse sign a written settlement agreement resolving property, alimony, and anything about the children, you can file and finish with no separation and no waiting period, often in weeks. Without that agreement, your path is a six-month separation, which can be under the same roof if you truly live separate lives, and a brief reconciliation restarts the clock.

Source: Md. Family Law Section 7-103. Confirm with the court.

There is no legal separation anymore, and residency depends on where things went wrong Verified Jul 2026

Maryland eliminated limited divorce, so for interim support or custody you file for absolute divorce and request temporary (pendente lite) relief. On residency: if the grounds arose in Maryland, either spouse just needs to live here; if they arose elsewhere, one spouse must have lived in Maryland six months.

Source: Md. Family Law Section 7-101. Confirm with the court.

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