What if my spouse and I agree to divorce?

This is called an uncontested divorce.

You can get a divorce more quickly if it is uncontested.

A divorce is uncontested if:

• You and your spouse have been separated the required period of time, and
• If you and your spouse both SIGN the required COURT PAPERS stating that you AGREE that you are eligible for a divorce and that you agree about what you want the court to do and that you are therefore not asking the court to make any decisions.

 A divorce is not uncontested if:

• There is an issue that you and your spouse do not agree on (such as custody of your children, child support, or division of your property) that one of you is going to ask the court to decide as part of the divorce case.

How do I get an uncontested divorce?

Here's what you do.

• FILE these documents at the Family Court Central Intake Center:
  • YOUR COMPLAINT FOR DIVORCE

(Click  here for a Complaint for Divorce you can fill out online.  You will still need to print it and file it with the court.)

Be sure to sign it (notarization is not required).

• • YOUR SPOUSE'S ANSWER

(Click  here for an Uncontested Answer that can be filled out online.  You will still need to print it and file it with the court.)

Your spouse must sign the Answer (notarization is not required, although you may want your spouse's signature notarized if you are agreeing to matters such as division of property or custody of children).

• • UNCONTESTED PRAECIPE

Both you and your spouse sign.  You do not have to sign it at the same time.  Notarization is not required.

• • VITAL RECORDS FORM
  • $80 FILING FEE (cash or money order), or you can file for a fee waiver.  For more information, see the section on Filing for a Fee Waiver.
• You can file all the documents yourself, as long as your spouse has signed the Answer and the Uncontested Praecipe properly.
• If everything is in order, your divorce hearing will usually be scheduled 30 to 90 days from the date you file the papers. 
• The court will mail you a notice of the date, time and courtroom for your divorce hearing.

• The plaintiff must come to the court hearing.  If you are the person who filed for the divorce, you are the plaintiff.  Your spouse is entitled to come to the hearing but is not required to.
• You must bring a certified copy or the original of your marriage certificate.
• Go to the courtroom.  Try to arrive early and check in with the courtroom clerk.
• Have a seat in the courtroom.  The judge will come in. When your case is called, walk up to the table and state your name.
• The judge will put you under oath and ask you questions to see whether you are eligible for a divorce.  You will be giving the judge the same kind of information that you put in your divorce complaint:  your name and address, whether you or your spouse is a D.C. resident, when and where you were married, and how long you have been separated.
• If you changed your name when you got married, the judge will ask whether you want your birth-given name back.
• The hearing should take about 20 minutes.  At the end of it, the judge will state that s/he is granting your divorce and he or she will sign the divorce decree.
• The divorce decree is also called the divorce order, or the "Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Judgment of Absolute Divorce."
• Some judges will give you a copy of the divorce decree before you leave.  The court will also mail you a copy of the signed divorce decree.