The Texas 60-day divorce waiting period can be waived in only one situation: family violence. If your spouse has been convicted of or received deferred adjudication for a family violence offense against you or a member of your household, or if you hold an active protective order against your spouse based on violence that occurred during the marriage, the court can finalize your divorce before day 60. No other circumstance qualifies. Not an amicable split, not years of living apart, not mutual agreement, not financial hardship.
What the 60-Day Rule Actually Says
Texas Family Code Section 6.702 bars a court from granting a divorce until at least 60 days after the petition is filed.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 6.702 – Waiting Period The clock starts the day you file, not the day your spouse is served or responds. File on January 5, and the earliest possible finalization date is March 6.
The purpose is to give both spouses time to reconsider or negotiate. There is no shortcut by agreement, by proof of prior separation, or by showing the case is uncontested. The statute carves out one exception, and that exception is tied to family violence.
The Two Grounds That Qualify
Section 6.702 lists the only two situations in which a court can waive the waiting period.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 6.702 – Waiting Period
- Your spouse has been convicted of, or received deferred adjudication for, a family violence offense committed against you or a member of your household.
- You have an active protective order, or a magistrate’s emergency protection order, against your spouse that was issued because of family violence committed during the marriage.
The protective order ground has two conditions that trip people up. The violence must have occurred during the marriage, not before it. And the order has to still be active when you ask the court for the waiver. One that expired last month, even by a day, will not support the motion.
What Texas Treats as Family Violence
Family violence under Texas law means an act by one family or household member against another that is intended to cause physical harm, bodily injury, or sexual assault. A credible threat that places someone in reasonable fear of imminent harm also qualifies. Defensive measures taken to protect yourself do not count against you.2State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 71.004 – Family Violence
Watch Your Protective Order’s Expiration
A standard Texas protective order lasts up to two years. If the order does not state a duration, it expires on the second anniversary of issuance. Courts can extend an order beyond two years when the abuser committed a felony-level act of family violence, caused serious bodily injury, or has been the subject of two or more prior protective orders based on family violence findings.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 6.702 – Waiting Period Because the waiver depends on an active order, know your expiration date. If it is close, file the waiver motion before it lapses.
How to Ask the Court to Waive the Waiting Period
The petitioner files a written motion in the court handling the divorce, identifying which of the two grounds applies. The court sets a hearing.
Your evidence depends on the ground:
- If you are relying on a conviction or deferred adjudication, bring a certified copy of the judgment or the order of deferred adjudication. The criminal court clerk’s office issues certified copies.
- If you are relying on a protective order, bring a copy of the active order or magistrate’s emergency protection order. It should name both spouses and reflect the court’s finding of family violence.
The judge reviews your documentation at the hearing. If the statutory conditions are met, the waiting period simply does not apply, and the divorce can proceed to finalization immediately.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 6.702 – Waiting Period This is not the kind of motion where a judge weighs factors and decides what feels right. If your evidence fits the statute, the waiver follows.
What Does Not Qualify
Nothing else shortens the 60 days. An uncontested divorce where you and your spouse have signed every agreement still waits. A long separation before filing does not count toward the 60 days, because the clock runs from the filing date. Financial pressure, a pending move, a tax-year deadline, a new relationship, mutual consent to speed things up: none of these open the door to a waiver. If family violence is not the ground, plan on the full waiting period.
One technicality works in the opposite direction. If a judge finalizes a divorce before 60 days without a valid exception, the decree still stands. The statute says a divorce granted in violation of the waiting period cannot be attacked on that basis later.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 6.702 – Waiting Period That protects both spouses from having a completed divorce reopened over a scheduling error.
Timing After the Waiver
Waiving the 60-day period removes one obstacle, not every obstacle. Your spouse still has to be properly served or sign a waiver of service, and the court still needs the paperwork required to issue a final decree. If you qualify for the family violence exception, you can potentially move to a final hearing as soon as your evidence is ready and the case is otherwise in order, rather than counting down two months on the calendar.
If You Are in Danger
The National Domestic Violence Hotline offers free, confidential support 24 hours a day. Call 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE), text START to 88788, or chat at thehotline.org. Specialized lines include the StrongHearts Native Helpline for Native Americans at 844-762-8483, the National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline at 866-311-9474, and a video phone line for deaf and hard-of-hearing callers at 855-812-1001.