A cheap divorce in New York is possible for as little as $335 in court fees, provided you and your spouse agree on every issue and file the paperwork yourselves using the state’s free forms. That total is a $210 index number fee to open the case and a $125 calendaring fee to put it before a judge for final review. If you can’t afford either, a sworn affidavit of financial hardship can bring the cost to zero. What makes this price possible is not a special program; it is an uncontested filing with no attorneys and no trial. What makes it fall apart is one unresolved issue, one missing form, or one piece of marital property that quietly requires its own court order.
Who Qualifies for an Uncontested Divorce
At least one spouse has to meet New York’s residency rules under Domestic Relations Law § 230 before you can file. Two years of continuous residence by either spouse is the catch-all. Shorter paths exist and will cover most couples with real ties to the state:
- One year of continuous residence by either spouse if you were married in New York.
- One year if you lived together as spouses in New York and either of you still lives here.
- One year if the grounds for divorce arose in New York, or no minimum at all if both spouses are New York residents when you file and the grounds arose here.
For grounds, almost every uncontested case uses the no-fault provision in Domestic Relations Law § 170(7): one spouse swears the marriage has been irretrievably broken for at least six months. No one proves wrongdoing. The court will not sign a no-fault judgment, however, until every financial and custody issue is settled.2New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Law Section 170 – Action for Divorce
What You Have to Agree On
Uncontested means fully agreed. Not mostly, not on the big things. If any item is open, the court will reject the papers and the cheap path closes. Before you file, you and your spouse need written agreement on:
- Division of property and debt, including the house, bank accounts, retirement savings, and responsibility for each debt.
- Spousal maintenance: amount and duration, or a mutual waiver.
- A parenting plan covering legal custody (decision-making) and physical custody (where the children live).
- Child support, including the amount, payment schedule, and how health insurance and childcare costs are split.
- Health insurance for each spouse after the judgment. New York requires the agreement to address this and the parties cannot waive the requirement.3New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Law Section 255 – Prerequisites for Judgments, Health Care Coverage
The health insurance item surprises people. Under DRL § 255, your settlement must either provide for future coverage for each spouse or state in writing that both of you understand you may lose coverage under the other’s plan and may need COBRA or your own policy. A judge cannot sign the judgment without it.4New York State Unified Court System. Notice to Litigants – DRL Section 255
Where to Get the Forms for Free
The Unified Court System provides every form you need at no cost. You have two ways to get them.
- The Uncontested Divorce Packet is a downloadable set of blank forms with an instruction booklet. You print, complete, and file them yourself.5New York Courts. Divorce Forms
- The Uncontested Divorce DIY Program is an online interview tool that fills in your forms based on your answers. It is limited to people who are not represented by a lawyer and cannot be used commercially.6New York Courts. DIY Forms
The core documents are a Summons with Notice (or a Summons with a Verified Complaint), a sworn statement of the no-fault grounds, a settlement agreement, financial disclosure forms, and the proposed Judgment of Divorce. Cases with children add forms for custody, visitation, and support. Every field matters. An incomplete or inconsistent form will come back from the clerk and set you back weeks.
Many counties let you e-file the whole uncontested case through NYSCEF instead of carrying paper to the clerk’s office.7New York State Unified Court System. E-Filing of Uncontested Divorce Cases With Children or Without Children
The $335 in Detail
You open the case by filing your Summons (and either a Notice or a Verified Complaint) with the County Clerk in the county where either spouse lives. You pay $210 at that point and receive an index number, the case’s unique identifier. Every document you file after that gets linked to it.8New York Courts. New York County Supreme Court, Civil Term Fees
Later, when you submit the remaining papers to put the case on the calendar for a judge’s final review, you pay $125. That is the full $335 if you handle the case without an attorney. The one additional cost most couples face is service of process. You can keep that at zero by having an adult friend or relative deliver the papers, or you can pay a professional process server.
Getting the Fees Waived
Under CPLR § 1101, you can ask the court to waive all filing and service fees by submitting a sworn affidavit showing you cannot afford them. You file the affidavit with your initial papers. A judge reviews your income and assets, and if approved, waives the full cost of filing and service.9New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 1101 – Motion to Waive Costs, Fees, and Expenses
If a legal aid organization or nonprofit legal services provider is representing you, the waiver is automatic. No motion is needed when the organization’s primary purpose is serving people who cannot afford counsel.
Serving Your Spouse Without Paying Someone
After filing, you have to formally deliver the papers to your spouse. New York requires personal service for the initial papers: someone physically hands them over. You cannot do it yourself. The person serving must be at least 18 and cannot be a party to the case.10New York Courts. How Legal Papers Are Delivered (Service)
A friend or relative will do, which keeps this step free. Whoever serves then fills out an Affidavit of Service stating the date, time, and location of delivery, and you file that with the court as proof.11LawHelpNY. How to Serve Divorce Papers to Your Spouse
In an uncontested case the spouse is not fighting the papers; they are receiving them. Many couples coordinate the handoff, and the receiving spouse signs an Affidavit of Defendant acknowledging receipt and consent.
Child Support: The Number the Court Will Check
Even when you both agree, the court compares your proposed child support to the Child Support Standards Act formula. If your agreement departs from the guideline you need to explain why and acknowledge the guideline number. Getting the formula right the first time avoids a trip back from the clerk.
The calculation starts with combined parental income (gross income less deductions like taxes, Social Security, and Medicare) and applies a percentage based on the number of children:12New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Law Section 240 – Custody and Child Support
- One child: 17% of combined parental income
- Two children: 25%
- Three children: 29%
- Four children: 31%
- Five or more: at least 35%
These percentages run against combined income up to $193,000 as of March 2026. Above that cap the court has discretion to apply the same percentages, a different formula, or none, based on the parents’ resources and the children’s needs. The non-custodial parent owes their pro-rata share of the guideline amount.
Spousal Maintenance in Brief
New York runs spousal maintenance through a statutory formula with a payor income cap of $241,000 in 2026. Income above the cap is left to the court’s discretion using factors like the length of the marriage, the parties’ ages and health, and earning capacity.13New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Law Section 236 – Special Controlling Provisions
For an uncontested filing you only need to agree on an amount or waive maintenance altogether. Because the court will compare your number to the guideline, including the guideline calculation in your papers (even when you’ve agreed to a different figure) tends to speed the review.
Two Issues That Quietly Add Cost
Retirement accounts earned during the marriage are marital property. Splitting a 401(k) or pension requires a separate court order called a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) that the plan administrator reviews and approves. A divorce judgment alone will not move the money. Preparing a QDRO typically runs $300 to $1,400, depending on complexity and whether a specialist or an attorney drafts it. Delay carries real risk: if the participant starts distributions, dies, or remarries before the QDRO is approved, the other spouse’s share can shrink or disappear. Start by writing to the plan administrator for benefit statements, their model QDRO (if they have one), and their review procedures.
Health insurance is the other sleeper cost. Coverage under a spouse’s employer plan typically ends when the judgment is signed. Federal COBRA lets a divorced spouse continue the same group plan for up to 36 months, but you pay the full premium plus a 2% administrative fee. The plan administrator must be notified within 60 days of the divorce. Miss that window and the option is gone.14U.S. Department of Labor. FAQs on COBRA Continuation Health Coverage for Workers The court can grant a 30-day continuance so you have time to arrange coverage before the judgment is entered.3New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Law Section 255 – Prerequisites for Judgments, Health Care Coverage A New York State of Health marketplace plan is often cheaper than COBRA, and divorce is a qualifying life event that opens a special enrollment period.
Changing Your Name in the Judgment
If you took your spouse’s surname and want your former name back, ask for it in your divorce papers. New York Civil Rights Law § 65 lets you resume a former surname as part of the divorce, and the judgment itself becomes your proof.15New York State Senate. New York Civil Rights Law Section 65 – Optional Change of Name Upon Marriage, Divorce, or Annulment A certified copy of the judgment is enough to update Social Security, the DMV, banks, and other records. Skip this step and a later change requires a separate Civil Court petition, with its own filing fee and wait.
Finalizing the Case
Once the remaining documents are ready (settlement agreement, financial disclosures, and child-related forms if they apply), you submit them with a Note of Issue or Request for Judicial Intervention and pay the $125 calendaring fee.8New York Courts. New York County Supreme Court, Civil Term Fees
A judge or court referee then reviews the whole file to confirm the agreement complies with New York law, the financial disclosures are adequate, child support fits the guidelines (or departs from them with a proper acknowledgment), and the DRL § 255 health insurance provision is in place. If anything is missing, the court sends a deficiency letter listing what to fix.
When the file is clean, the judge signs the Judgment of Divorce and the marriage legally ends. Timing varies by county. Some process clean uncontested cases in six to eight weeks; others take several months. You can track status through NYSCEF if you e-filed, or ask the clerk’s office. After entry, order a certified copy from the County Clerk. You’ll need it for everything from updating identification to refinancing property.
Free and Low-Cost Help if You Get Stuck
Doing the paperwork yourself is where the savings come from, and the paperwork gets genuinely confusing in places, particularly child support math and property division. A few resources can help without eating the savings.
Every courthouse with a Supreme Court has a self-help center. Staff cannot give legal advice but can tell you whether a form is complete and point you to the right filing window.
If your income is low enough, legal aid organizations may take the whole case for free. The New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) offers free divorce mediation to couples with limited means who want to work together but need help landing on terms. The City Bar Justice Center runs legal hotlines and referrals for civil matters, including family law.
Mediation is worth a look when you agree on most things but are stuck on one or two. A mediator represents neither side and helps you reach an agreement without each hiring your own lawyer. Private mediators charge by the hour; court-connected and nonprofit programs often provide the same service at little or no cost, which keeps the whole divorce close to the $335 floor.