You can file for divorce online in New York if your divorce is uncontested, meaning you and your spouse agree on every issue, including property, debts, and anything involving children. The state’s e-filing system, NYSCEF, accepts the paperwork, and the court offers a free DIY program that builds your forms through a guided interview if you have no children under 21. Filing starts with a $210 index number fee, and at least one spouse must meet New York’s residency rules before the case can begin.1New York State Unified Court System. E-Filing of Uncontested Divorce Cases With Children or Without Children
Who Can File Online
Online filing is built for uncontested divorces. That means both of you agree the marriage is over and you’ve already settled the terms: who keeps what, how debts are split, and, if there are children, custody and support. If you disagree on any of this, the divorce is contested. You can still e-file a contested case through NYSCEF in participating counties, but the self-help tools won’t work for you and most contested cases involve a lawyer.2New York Courts. Uncontested Divorce Program
For uncontested cases there are two paths:
- No children under 21: use the court’s DIY Uncontested Divorce Program, which generates your forms through a guided interview on LawHelp Interactive.2New York Courts. Uncontested Divorce Program
- Children under 21: download the Uncontested Divorce (UD) packet from nycourts.gov, complete the forms yourself, and upload them through NYSCEF.3New York Courts. Divorce Forms
The age-21 cutoff trips people up. New York treats children as children through age 20 for support purposes, so a 19-year-old living on their own still puts you in the children’s packet with the full set of support worksheets.
Residency Rules
At least one spouse has to meet one of New York’s residency scenarios before you file. The three most common:
- One year, if either spouse has lived in New York continuously for a year and the couple married here, lived here together, or the grounds arose here.4New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Law 230 – Required Residence of Parties
- No minimum, if the grounds arose in New York and both spouses are state residents when the case is filed.4New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Law 230 – Required Residence of Parties
- Two years, if either spouse has lived in the state continuously for that long, regardless of where the marriage or the grounds come in.4New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Law 230 – Required Residence of Parties
The two-year rule is the fallback when nothing about the marriage connects to New York except that one of you lives here now. Count from your actual move-in date; the time must run uninterrupted.
The Grounds You’ll Use
Almost every online filing cites the no-fault ground: the relationship has broken down irretrievably for at least six months, sworn to by one spouse. Nothing to prove, nobody to blame. Fault grounds exist, including cruel treatment, abandonment, imprisonment, and adultery, but they require evidence and tend to produce disputes, which pulls the case out of the uncontested lane where online filing works.5New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Law 170 – Action for Divorce
Important boundary: even on no-fault grounds, no judge will sign your divorce until every financial issue is resolved, including property division, spousal support, child support, and custody.5New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Law 170 – Action for Divorce Online filing doesn’t skip the negotiations. It skips the proving.
Preparing Your Forms
With no children under 21, the DIY program builds the documents from your answers. You’ll want your Social Security number, current address, the date and place of the marriage, and the terms you and your spouse have agreed to on property and debt. Print, sign, and upload what the program produces.
With children under 21, you work from the UD packet. Every case starts with:
- A Summons With Notice (UD-1), or a Summons plus Verified Complaint (UD-1a and UD-2) if your situation needs more detail.3New York Courts. Divorce Forms
- Sworn Statement of Removal of Barriers to Remarriage (UD-4).
- Plaintiff’s Affirmation (UD-6), your sworn statement of facts and grounds.
You’ll also serve several required notices alongside the summons: the Notice of Automatic Orders, the Notice of Guideline Maintenance, a notice about continuing health care coverage, and the Child Support Standards Chart.3New York Courts. Divorce Forms Missing one of these delays the case.
Child cases also require income and support worksheets: the Annual Income Worksheet (UD-8(1)), the Maintenance Guidelines Worksheet (UD-8(2)), and the Child Support Worksheet (UD-8(3)).3New York Courts. Divorce Forms Both parents’ income has to be disclosed, and the numbers should come from actual tax returns and pay stubs. Guessing is the fastest way to have your packet bounced back.
Filing on NYSCEF and Paying the Fee
You upload the signed forms through the New York State Courts Electronic Filing system (NYSCEF).6New York State Unified Court System. New York State Courts Electronic Filing Create an account as an unrepresented litigant, choose the option to start a new case, and you’ll get your username and password right away.7New York State Unified Court System. NYSCEF Unrepresented Litigants Fact Sheet
The first charge is $210 for the index number, the unique identifier the court assigns your case. Pay by credit or debit card at the time of filing; the system confirms once the clerk assigns the number.1New York State Unified Court System. E-Filing of Uncontested Divorce Cases With Children or Without Children
If you can’t afford the fee, you can ask the court for a waiver by filing a motion that lays out your finances. The court calls this poor person’s relief, and when granted, it waives the $210 entirely.1New York State Unified Court System. E-Filing of Uncontested Divorce Cases With Children or Without Children
Serving Your Spouse
Filing isn’t delivery. You have 120 days from the filing date to formally deliver the divorce papers to your spouse. You can’t do this yourself. Someone 18 or older who isn’t a party to the case has to serve them.
The standard methods under New York law:
- Personal delivery, handing the papers directly to your spouse anywhere in New York.8New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 308 – Personal Service Upon a Natural Person
- Leave-and-mail, leaving the papers with a person of suitable age at your spouse’s home or workplace and mailing a copy within 20 days.8New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 308 – Personal Service Upon a Natural Person
- Affix-and-mail, attaching the papers to the door and mailing a copy, but only after personal delivery and leave-and-mail have been attempted with due diligence.8New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 308 – Personal Service Upon a Natural Person
After service, the server fills out an Affidavit of Service (UD-3), gets it notarized, and gives it to you to file.3New York Courts. Divorce Forms Without that affidavit on file, the case can’t move.
In a true uncontested case, your spouse usually cooperates by signing the Defendant’s Affirmation (UD-7), confirming the agreement and waiving the waiting period. If your spouse signs it, you move straight ahead. If your spouse does nothing for 40 days after being served, the court treats that as a default and lets you proceed anyway.
Finishing the Case
To get the case onto the court’s calendar, you file a second round of documents:
- Affirmation of Regularity (UD-5), confirming service, the signed UD-7, or a default.
- Note of Issue (UD-9), telling the court the case is ready.
- Request for Judicial Intervention (UD-13), asking for a judge to be assigned.
- Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (UD-10), a proposed document for the judge.
- Judgment of Divorce (UD-11), the proposed final order for the judge to sign.
- Certificate of Dissolution of Marriage, for vital records.3New York Courts. Divorce Forms
You draft the proposed judgment yourself. That feels strange, but it’s standard in uncontested cases. The judge reviews everything and, if the paperwork is in order, signs without a hearing. When custody, support, or property distribution is involved, the court may still set a hearing both spouses have to attend. Once the Judgment of Divorce is signed, you serve a copy on your spouse and file another Affidavit of Service. That’s when the divorce is final.
What It Costs
The $210 index number fee gets you started, but it isn’t the only charge. Filing the Note of Issue and Request for Judicial Intervention triggers an additional court fee, and you’ll likely pay for your process server, notarization, and certified copies of the signed judgment from the County Clerk. Court fees alone tend to land somewhere between $335 and $435 before those extras. Poor person’s relief, if granted, waives the court fees entirely.1New York State Unified Court System. E-Filing of Uncontested Divorce Cases With Children or Without Children
How Long It Takes
New York doesn’t set a mandatory waiting period between filing and judgment in an uncontested case, but the clock still runs. If your spouse doesn’t sign the UD-7, you have to wait at least 40 days after service before moving on. After that, the court needs time to review your submission, and backlogs vary by county. Clean filings in simple cases can produce a signed judgment within a few months. Errors, incomplete disclosures, and missing forms stretch things out. The best thing you can do for your own timeline is file complete, accurate paperwork the first time.