How do I get a divorce in the UK?

In England and Wales you apply online, on your own or together, you say the marriage has broken down, and after a minimum of about six months the court ends it. Nobody has to be blamed and nobody can block it. Scotland has its own grounds and routes. Everywhere in the UK, the divorce ends the marriage and nothing else: money, property and children are separate processes.

England and Wales

Divorce has been no-fault since 6 April 2022, under the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020. You must have been married at least a year.

1. Apply. Online through gov.uk, as a sole applicant or jointly. You state that the marriage has irretrievably broken down. No reasons, no evidence. Pay the court fee (check gov.uk for the current figure) or apply for help with fees.
2. Service. If you applied alone, the court sends the application to your partner, who acknowledges it. They cannot contest the divorce itself.
3. Wait 20 weeks. This runs from the application being issued. It is meant as a period of reflection and for sorting out practical matters.
4. Conditional order. After the 20 weeks you apply, and the court confirms you are entitled to divorce.
5. Wait six weeks and a day, then apply for the final order. The marriage ends when it is made.

Many solicitors advise waiting for the final order until the finances are settled, because some rights (for instance to a spouse's pension on death) end with the marriage. Dissolving a civil partnership works the same way.

Scotland

Scotland has not adopted no-fault divorce. You need to show irretrievable breakdown through one of: your partner's adultery, their unreasonable behaviour, one year's separation with their consent, or two years' separation without it. There is no one-year minimum marriage.

The simplified procedure is for couples with no children under 16, no financial claims to settle, and a separation ground. You fill in a form, pay a modest fee and need no solicitor. The ordinary procedure is for everyone else, goes through the sheriff court, and usually involves a solicitor. Financial matters are normally resolved at the same time as the divorce in Scotland, rather than separately.

Northern Ireland

Still fault-based, with the five facts (adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion, two years' separation with consent, five years without), and a court hearing. A solicitor is advisable.

What the divorce does not do

It does not divide your money, your home or your pensions. In England and Wales that needs a financial order, ideally a consent order if you agree, without which claims stay open for years. It does not decide where children live. Those are agreed between you, mediated, or decided by a court separately. People are often surprised that the divorce was the easy part.

Where there is abuse

Mediation and "sorting it out between you" assume two people who can negotiate as equals. Where one partner controls the other, say so to your solicitor at the start. It changes what you are entitled to, including legal aid and an exemption from the mediation requirement.

What this might mean for you

Knowing the steps takes some of the fear out of the word. The member module Money, housing and the legal process walks through what tends to happen in the year after separation. If you have already decided, The first ninety days apart is about the part no form covers. The page on whether divorce is expensive breaks down the costs.

This is general information, not legal advice. A family solicitor or Citizens Advice can tell you about your own position.