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Filing for divorce in Texas

What you file, where you file, what it costs, and the rules that catch people out. Compiled from Texas 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
Original Petition for Divorce, which opens the case but does not grant the divorce
Civil Case Information Sheet, required at filing
Waiver of Service or Respondent's Answer, depending on cooperation
SAPCR provisions, the Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship, if you have children
Final Decree of Divorce, the document that actually ends the marriage
Affidavit for Prove-Up, where your county allows finishing without a hearing
VS-165 Bureau of Vital Statistics report
Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs, the fee waiver
Where you fileDistrict court in a county where you or your spouse has lived 90 days, with one of you a Texas resident 6 months.
What it costsRoughly $250 to $400 by county, plus service fees and a parenting course of about $25 to $50 if you have children.
The sequence
1. File the Original Petition with the district clerk. Use the version matching your situation, since filing the no-children set when you have children is a common rejection trigger.
2. Serve your spouse, or have them sign a Waiver of Service if they are cooperative.
3. Your spouse's answer is due by 10:00 a.m. on the Monday after 20 days from service. Missing it risks default.
4. During the 60-day wait, exchange financial disclosures, take the parenting course if you have children, and negotiate the decree.
5. Wait the full 60 days from filing. Day 61 is the earliest you can finish, waived only for documented family violence.
6. Attend a short prove-up hearing, usually 10 to 15 minutes, and the judge signs the Final Decree.
Afterward, transfer property titles, send any QDRO to the retirement plan administrator, and update your will and beneficiaries. Confirm fees and local rules with your county.
Court forms

Texas has only one Supreme Court-approved form set (agreed divorce, no children and no property). For other situations, use the free TexasLawHelp toolkits. Divorce is filed in the district court, and many counties add automatic "standing orders" the moment you file.

TexasLawHelp divorce toolkitFree instructions and forms for agreed and default divorces, with and without children (separate toolkits).
Texas State Law Library divorce guideAuthoritative overview linking every official form path plus eFileTexas and the fee-waiver option.
Check your county's standing ordersMany Texas counties impose automatic orders on both spouses at filing. Ask the district clerk which apply to you.
State rules and gotchas

There is a mandatory 60-day wait that runs from filing Verified Jul 2026

A Texas court generally cannot grant a divorce until 60 days after the Original Petition is filed (day 1 is the day after filing). It cannot be waived except where there is a documented family-violence conviction or an active protective order. This clock runs from filing, not from when your spouse is served.

Source: Texas Family Code Section 6.702.

You need 6 months in Texas and 90 days in the county Verified Jul 2026

Before filing, at least one spouse must have lived in Texas for 6 months and in the filing county for 90 days. Either spouse meeting both lets you file, so you can file even if you personally moved recently, as long as your spouse qualifies.

Source: Texas Family Code Section 6.301.

Community property is split "just and right," not automatically 50/50 Verified Jul 2026

Texas is a community-property state, but the court divides the marital estate in a way it considers just and right, which can be uneven. Fault, earning power, and who has the children can all shift the split. Separate property (owned before marriage, or by gift or inheritance) stays with its owner if you can prove it.

Source: Texas Family Code Section 7.001.

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