An uncontested divorce in California is one where you and your spouse agree on every issue, file a Petition with the superior court, exchange financial disclosures, sign a written settlement, and wait at least six months for a judge to sign the Judgment. The base court filing fee is $435, and because there is no trial, most cases finish on paperwork alone.
Who Can File This Way
Two things have to be true before you start. At least one spouse must have lived in California for the past six months and in the filing county for the past three.1California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2320 – Residence Requirements And you and your spouse must actually agree on everything: how property and debts are split, whether either of you receives spousal support and how much, and, if you have children, custody, visitation, and child support. One unresolved issue turns the case contested and puts it on a different track.
A narrow exception to the residency rule exists for same-sex couples who married in California but now live in a state that will not dissolve the marriage.
Summary Dissolution for Short, Simple Marriages
Before filing a standard petition, check whether you qualify for summary dissolution. It uses less paperwork, costs less, and lets you file a joint petition instead of the petition-and-response setup. The trade-off is strict eligibility. You both have to meet all of these:
- Married less than five years, measured from marriage to separation
- No minor children together, no pregnancy, no adopted children
- No real estate, with a narrow exception for leases ending within a year of filing
- Community property worth less than $57,000, excluding cars
- Each spouse’s separate property worth less than $57,000, excluding cars
- Total community debts under $7,000, excluding car loans
- Neither spouse wants spousal support
- Full agreement on how to divide all property and debts
One thing to know if you go this route: during the six-month wait, either spouse can file a revocation and kill the case.2California Courts. Find Out if You Qualify for Summary Dissolution If you do not qualify, the standard uncontested process below is the path.
The Steps From Filing to Judgment
File the Petition and Summons
One spouse (the petitioner) files two forms with the superior court clerk in the correct county: the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage (Form FL-100) and the Summons (Form FL-110).3Judicial Council of California. Judicial Council of California Form FL-100 – Petition Filing also triggers automatic temporary restraining orders printed on the back of the Summons; both spouses are barred from moving children out of state, making unusual transfers of property, changing insurance beneficiaries, or altering nonprobate transfers while the case is open.4California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2040 – Temporary Restraining Order on Summons Normal spending on bills and daily living continues as usual.
Serve Your Spouse
The petitioner has to formally deliver copies of the Petition and Summons to the other spouse. Service starts the six-month clock. In a cooperative case, the easiest method is mailing the papers with a Notice and Acknowledgment of Receipt (Form FL-117); the respondent signs it, sends it back, and the signed form goes into the court file as proof.5California Courts. Serve by Notice and Acknowledgment of Receipt If your spouse will not sign, someone other than you (a friend, relative, or process server) has to hand-deliver the papers.
Skip the Formal Response
In most uncontested cases, the responding spouse does not file a Response (Form FL-120). That saves the respondent a separate $435 filing fee and routes the case through what the courts call a “default with agreement.” The name is misleading; this is the standard path for cooperative couples. The respondent still signs the settlement agreement and exchanges disclosures, but does not file a court response.6California Courts. Finish Your Divorce in a Default With Agreement
Exchange Financial Disclosures
California requires both spouses to fully disclose their income, expenses, assets, and debts, even in an uncontested case where you think you already know each other’s finances. Skipping this step or doing it carelessly can give a judge grounds to set aside your settlement later.7California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2100 – Disclosure Policy
Each spouse prepares and serves on the other a preliminary Declaration of Disclosure (Form FL-140) with a Schedule of Assets and Debts (Form FL-142) and an Income and Expense Declaration (Form FL-150).8California Courts. Schedule of Assets and Debts FL-142 Have pay stubs, tax returns, bank and investment statements, and property records on hand.
The petitioner must serve the preliminary disclosure within 60 days of filing the petition. The respondent must serve their disclosure within 60 days of filing a response; in a default-with-agreement case where no response is filed, the respondent still completes and exchanges disclosures before the final judgment is submitted. Written agreement between the spouses or a court order can extend these deadlines.9California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2104 – Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure
California normally requires a second, final round of disclosure. In an uncontested divorce you can skip it by both signing a Stipulation and Waiver of Final Declaration of Disclosure (Form FL-144) and filing that with the judgment paperwork. Most cooperative couples do.
Write the Marital Settlement Agreement
The Marital Settlement Agreement is the backbone of the case. It spells out who keeps what property, how debts are split, whether spousal support is paid and for how long, and the full custody and visitation schedule if you have children. Both spouses sign it, and it becomes part of the final judgment, enforceable as a court order.
Be specific. If you own a home together, say whether one spouse is buying the other out or the house is being sold. If one spouse is keeping a retirement account, address whether a separate court order will be needed to divide it. A vague agreement gets rejected by the judge or causes fights later when you try to enforce it.
Submit the Final Judgment Package
Once you have exchanged disclosures, signed the settlement, and the six-month wait is up (or nearly so), you submit the closing paperwork:
- Declaration for Default or Uncontested Dissolution (Form FL-170)
- Judgment (Form FL-180), with your signed Marital Settlement Agreement attached
- Declaration Regarding Service of Declaration of Disclosure (Form FL-141)
- Stipulation and Waiver of Final Declaration of Disclosure (Form FL-144), if you agreed to skip the final round
- Notice of Entry of Judgment (Form FL-190), which the court uses to notify both spouses once the judge signs
Cases with children need additional custody, visitation, and support attachments. In most uncontested cases, a judge reviews the whole package without a hearing. If everything is in order, they sign. If something is incomplete or inconsistent, the court sends it back with instructions.6California Courts. Finish Your Divorce in a Default With Agreement
How Long It Takes
No California divorce can be finalized until six months have passed from the date the respondent was served with the petition or first appeared in the case, whichever came first.10California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2339 – Waiting Period for Dissolution The earliest possible final date is six months and one day after service. You can prepare and submit everything during the wait, but the judge will not sign the judgment before it expires. Court processing usually adds several more weeks, so a realistic total is closer to seven or eight months.
If you need to be legally single sooner, perhaps for tax reasons or to remarry, you can ask the court to bifurcate the case, ending the marriage while the remaining issues are still being worked out.11California Courts. How to Ask for a Separate Trial (Bifurcation)
What It Costs
The filing fee for a divorce petition is $435. Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Francisco add a local courthouse construction surcharge that pushes the fee slightly higher.12Superior Court of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule Effective July 1, 2025 If the respondent files a formal Response, they pay another $435. In the default-with-agreement approach, the respondent does not file a Response and avoids that fee entirely.
If you cannot afford the fee, submit a Request to Waive Court Fees (Form FW-001). You qualify if you receive certain public benefits, your household income falls below set thresholds, or you can show that paying would leave you unable to cover basic necessities. A granted waiver also covers copies, service by sheriff, and court reporters.13California Courts. Ask for a Fee Waiver
Budget for one more expense many couples overlook: dividing retirement plans usually requires a separate order (see below), and professional preparation runs about $500 to $800 per plan.
Loose Ends Worth Settling Before You Sign
Retirement Accounts
Retirement benefits earned during the marriage are community property, and the court has authority to divide them so each spouse receives their share.14California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2610 – Division of Retirement Benefits Your settlement should address every account, but for most employer-sponsored plans, the agreement alone will not move the money.
Plans governed by federal ERISA rules, including 401(k)s, 403(b)s, traditional pensions, and profit-sharing plans, require a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). Without it, the plan has no obligation to send funds to the non-employee spouse, no matter what the settlement says. IRAs and Roth IRAs do not need a QDRO; they can be divided by trustee-to-trustee transfer as long as the judgment specifies the split. CalPERS, CalSTRS, and other government systems use their own procedures and forms. Decide who prepares the orders and who pays for them before you finalize.
Name Restoration
If you changed your name when you married and want it back, do it inside the divorce for no extra cost. Check the box on Form FL-170 (item 12) and write your former name on Form FL-180 (item 4f). Once the judge signs, that signed judgment is your legal proof of the name change. If you forget or decide later, file an Ex Parte Application for Restoration of Former Name (Form FL-395). Either way, take a certified copy of the judgment or order to the Social Security Administration, DMV, and other agencies to update your records. The divorce process only lets you restore a former legal name; an entirely new name needs a separate name change case.15California Courts. Change Your Name in Your Divorce Case
Tax Timing and Property Basis
Your filing status for the whole year depends on whether you are married on December 31. If your divorce is final by that date, you file as single (or head of household if you qualify). If not, you are still considered married for tax purposes and file jointly or married filing separately.16Internal Revenue Service. Filing Taxes After Divorce or Separation Given the six-month minimum, when you file the petition can push the divorce into a different tax year.
Property transfers between spouses as part of a divorce are generally tax-free under federal law: no gain or loss is recognized, and the receiving spouse takes over the original cost basis.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1041 – Transfers of Property Between Spouses or Incident to Divorce The carryover basis matters more than people realize. A spouse who keeps a house with a low original purchase price is also inheriting a larger potential capital gains bill when they eventually sell. Factor that into how you value each side of the split.