Covenant Marriage in Arizona: Requirements, Grounds, and Divorce

A covenant marriage in Arizona is an alternative marriage license that commits both spouses to a lifelong union, requires premarital counseling before the wedding, and sharply restricts the reasons a court can later grant a divorce. Couples who choose it give up the standard “irretrievably broken” no-fault path and instead must prove one of the specific grounds listed in A.R.S. 25-903, or wait out a long separation, before a judge will end the marriage. Arizona is one of only three states that offers this option, along with Louisiana and Arkansas.

How It Differs From a Standard Arizona Marriage

In an ordinary Arizona divorce, either spouse can file by telling the court the marriage is irretrievably broken. No wrongdoing has to be shown. A covenant marriage removes that option. The court cannot dissolve the marriage unless it finds one of the specific grounds spelled out by statute, most of which require proof that one spouse did something wrong.¹

Everything else about the marriage works the same way. Property division, spousal maintenance, child custody, and parenting time still follow Arizona’s standard rules once a divorce is on the table. The covenant marriage framework controls the door into the divorce process, not what happens once a couple is through it.

Requirements for Entering a Covenant Marriage

Three things are required beyond a normal marriage license: premarital counseling, a signed written declaration, and filing both with the court clerk.

Premarital Counseling

Both parties must receive counseling from a member of the clergy or a marriage counselor before applying for the license. The counselor is required to cover four topics: that entering a covenant marriage is a serious decision, that it is a lifelong commitment, that the couple will seek marital counseling if difficulties arise later, and that only limited grounds exist for legally ending the marriage.²

The counselor also provides an informational pamphlet published by the Arizona Supreme Court describing the requirements and grounds for dissolution or legal separation.³ After the session, the counselor signs a notarized attestation confirming the counseling took place, and that attestation is submitted with the license application.²

The Declaration of Intent

The couple signs a Declaration of Intent to Contract a Covenant Marriage. The statute requires specific language. In part: “We solemnly declare that marriage is a covenant… We understand that a covenant marriage is for life. If we experience marital difficulties, we commit ourselves to take all reasonable efforts to preserve our marriage, including marital counseling.” The full text pledges the couple to love, honor, and care for one another for life, with full knowledge that Arizona’s covenant marriage laws will govern the union.²

Both spouses must sign the declaration in front of a court clerk, who witnesses the signatures. The declaration and the counselor’s attestation are filed with the clerk, and the marriage license is recorded with a notation that the marriage is a covenant marriage.²

Grounds for Ending a Covenant Marriage

A judge cannot grant a divorce in a covenant marriage unless at least one of the following has been established:¹

The other spouse committed adultery.
The other spouse committed a felony and was sentenced to death or imprisonment.
The other spouse left the marital home at least one year before the petition was filed and refuses to return.
The other spouse physically or sexually abused the filing spouse, a child, or a relative of either spouse who lives permanently in the home, or committed domestic violence or emotional abuse.
The other spouse habitually abused drugs or alcohol.
The couple has been living apart continuously without reconciliation for at least two years before the petition was filed.
The couple has been living apart continuously without reconciliation for at least one year after a court entered a decree of legal separation.
Both spouses agree to the dissolution.

That last ground matters. People often assume covenant marriage eliminates any route to an uncontested divorce, but it doesn’t. If both spouses agree the marriage should end, the court can grant a dissolution without either party proving fault.¹

The declaration’s pledge to seek counseling if difficulties arise is part of the covenant itself, but the dissolution statute does not list completed counseling as something the judge must verify. The grounds in A.R.S. 25-903 are the exclusive requirements the court checks.¹

Converting an Existing Marriage

Couples already married under standard rules can convert their marriage to a covenant marriage, and the conversion process is simpler than entering one from the start. No premarital counseling is required, and no new wedding ceremony is needed.⁴

To convert, both spouses submit three items to the clerk of the superior court: the written covenant marriage statement with the same declaration language used by new covenant couples, both signatures witnessed by a court clerk, and a sworn statement listing their names and the date and place of their original marriage. A filing fee applies. The clerk then issues a certificate documenting the conversion.⁴

One limit: a conversion cannot validate a marriage that was prohibited or never properly contracted under Arizona law in the first place.⁴

If You Move Out of State

Only Arizona, Louisiana, and Arkansas offer covenant marriage. Another state will generally recognize an Arizona covenant marriage as a valid marriage, but how that state handles the restricted divorce grounds is a separate question. A state with no covenant marriage law of its own may apply its own divorce rules rather than enforce Arizona’s fault-based requirements, which could allow a dissolution that would not have been available in Arizona. Couples who chose a covenant marriage specifically for its stricter dissolution rules should know that moving away can weaken those protections.

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 25-903 – Dissolution of a Covenant Marriage; Grounds
2
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 25-901 – Covenant Marriage; Declaration of Intent; Filing Requirements
3
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 25-906 – Information Pamphlet; Requirements; Distribution
4
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 25-902 – Existing Marriages; Conversion to Covenant Marriage; Recording Requirements