You can handle a DIY divorce in California by filing a Petition and Summons with your county’s superior court, serving your spouse, exchanging financial disclosures, resolving property, support, and custody, and submitting a judgment after the state’s mandatory six-month waiting period. Filing fees run $435 to $450, every form is free on the California Courts website, and each courthouse has a Self-Help Center that will walk you through the paperwork at no cost.1California Courts. File Your Divorce Forms The process is realistic for most couples who can cooperate on the major terms, and workable even when they can’t.
Do You Qualify to File in California
At least one spouse must have lived in California for six continuous months and in the county where you file for at least three months.2California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2320 – Residence Requirements Those clocks run backward from the day you file the petition, not from the date you separated. If you’ve recently moved and your spouse still lives in the old county, your spouse can file there instead.
California is no-fault. You don’t prove anyone did anything wrong. The ground you’ll check on the petition is “irreconcilable differences,” meaning the marriage can’t be repaired.3California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 2310 – Grounds for Dissolution or Legal Separation
If neither spouse meets the six-month residency rule yet, you can file for legal separation using the same forms, then convert the case to a divorce once residency ripens.4California Courts. Legal Separation
Summary Dissolution or Standard Divorce
Before you start the standard process, see whether you qualify for summary dissolution. It uses fewer forms, requires no court hearing, and is designed for short, simple marriages. You must meet every requirement at the time of filing:
- No more than five years from the date of marriage to the date of separation.
- No children born or adopted during the marriage, and no current pregnancy.
- Neither spouse owns or has an interest in any real property.
- Community property worth less than $57,000 (excluding cars), and neither spouse has more than $57,000 in separate property (also excluding cars).
- Total marital debts under $7,000, excluding car loans.
- Both spouses waive the right to spousal support.
- Both spouses agree on how to divide everything they own and owe.
The dollar thresholds are adjusted every two years based on the California Consumer Price Index, so check the current figures before relying on them.5California Courts. Find Out if You Qualify for Summary Dissolution Miss even one, and you’re on the standard track described below.
Forms You File First, and the Fee
A standard divorce starts with two forms. The Petition (Form FL-100) names you and your spouse, states the marriage and separation dates, and lists what you’re asking the court to decide about property, support, and custody.6California Courts. Petition – Marriage/Domestic Partnership (Family Law) (FL-100) The Summons (Form FL-110) is the formal notice to your spouse and triggers automatic temporary restraining orders that bind both of you.7Judicial Council of California. FL-110 Summons (Family Law) If you have minor children, add Form FL-105, which lists where your children have lived for the past five years.
Those automatic orders are not optional. Once filing is complete and your spouse is served, neither of you can move the children out of state, cancel or change beneficiaries on insurance policies, or transfer or hide property outside the normal course of business or living expenses. Extraordinary spending requires five business days’ written notice to the other spouse.8California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 2040 – Automatic Temporary Restraining Orders Violations can bring sanctions or contempt.
Take the originals plus at least two copies to the clerk at your county superior court. The filing fee is $435 to $450. If you can’t pay, submit a Request to Waive Court Fees (Form FW-001) with your petition. You qualify if you receive public benefits, your income falls below the state’s threshold, or paying the fee would leave you unable to cover basic needs.9Judicial Council of California. Information Sheet on Waiver of Superior Court Fees and Costs Every form you need is free on the California Courts website.
Serving Your Spouse
You cannot hand the papers to your spouse yourself. Someone at least 18 who is not a party to the case has to do it. That can be a friend, a relative, a professional process server, or the county sheriff. The server personally delivers the stamped Petition and Summons, then completes a Proof of Service of Summons (Form FL-115) with the date, time, and location of delivery.10Judicial Council of California. Proof of Service of Summons File that proof with the court. It starts the six-month clock.
If your spouse is cooperative, mail the papers along with a Notice and Acknowledgment of Receipt (Form FL-117). They sign and return it, and that counts as service.11California Courts. Notice and Acknowledgment of Receipt (FL-117) If they don’t return it within 20 days, arrange personal service and you can recover the cost. If your spouse truly can’t be found after a real search, you’ll need to ask the court for permission to serve by publication, which requires a separate motion.
What Happens After Service
Your spouse has 30 calendar days from being served to file a Response (Form FL-120).12California Courts. Learn Your Options From there, your case follows one of three paths.
If they file a Response, both of you participate, exchange disclosures, and either negotiate a written agreement or ask the court to decide the contested issues.
If they file nothing, you can request entry of default using Form FL-165.13California Courts. Request to Enter Default (FL-165) The court can then end the marriage and decide property, debts, custody, and support based solely on your petition, and the judge generally grants what you asked for if it follows the law.
If you both agree but your spouse doesn’t want to file a formal Response, you can use “default with agreement.” They skip the Response, but both of you sign a written settlement that the court enters as the judgment.14California Courts. Finish Your Case With a Default With Agreement This is the common route for amicable DIY divorces because it avoids duplicate paperwork when you already see eye to eye.
Financial Disclosures: Where DIY Cases Most Often Fail
Both spouses must exchange a preliminary declaration of disclosure, and there’s no workaround. Skipping it or shading the numbers can get your entire judgment thrown out later.
The package includes a cover sheet (Form FL-140), a Schedule of Assets and Debts (Form FL-142) listing every piece of community and separate property, and an Income and Expense Declaration (Form FL-150) with at least two months of pay stubs attached.15Judicial Council of California. FL-150 Income and Expense Declaration Include copies of your last two years of federal tax returns.
Serve the preliminary disclosure on your spouse within 60 days of filing.16The Family Law Facilitator. The Declaration of Disclosure The disclosure forms themselves do not go to the court. What you file is a Declaration Regarding Service of Declaration of Disclosure (Form FL-141) confirming the exchange happened. A final declaration of disclosure is also required before judgment, though couples who’ve reached a written agreement can waive the final round by both signing Form FL-144.
If you intentionally leave an asset off your disclosure or lie about its value, the court can award the entire hidden asset to the other spouse and tack on attorney’s fees and a penalty. Even honest mistakes can reopen the property division. Rushed financial forms, forgotten retirement accounts, overlooked stock options, and debts in only one spouse’s name are where DIY divorces come apart.
Property, Debts, Custody, and Support
California is a community property state. Anything earned or acquired during the marriage belongs to both spouses equally, and unless you agree otherwise, the court must divide community property 50/50.17California Courts. Property and Debts in a Divorce Debt follows the same rule. A credit card in one spouse’s name is still community debt if the charges happened during the marriage. Separate property, meaning anything owned before the marriage, received as a gift or inheritance at any time, or acquired after the date of separation, stays with its owner.
Commingled property is the hardest piece. If a separate-property inheritance went into the down payment on a house but the mortgage was paid with community earnings, the house is part community and part separate. Retirement accounts with contributions from before and during the marriage work the same way. If significant real estate or retirement funds are in play, use a free Family Law Facilitator or pay for a brief consultation before you sign anything.
For minor children, custody splits into legal (who makes major decisions about health, education, and welfare) and physical (where the children live). When parents agree on a parenting plan, courts usually approve it. When they don’t, a judge decides on the best interest of the child, looking at each parent’s ability to care for the child, the child’s school and community ties, the parent-child bond, and any history of domestic violence or substance abuse.18California Courts. Child Custody and Visitation (Parenting Time) Most courts require mediation through Family Court Services before any contested custody hearing.
Child support follows a statewide formula based on each parent’s net monthly income and the percentage of physical custody time.19California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 4055 – Statewide Uniform Guideline You can estimate yours using the California Department of Child Support Services guideline calculator. The guideline amount is presumed correct, and a judge who deviates has to explain why on the record.
Spousal support comes in two forms. Temporary support, ordered while the case is pending, uses a formula-based software tool. Long-term support, set in the final judgment, has no formula. Instead, the judge weighs factors including each spouse’s earning capacity, the length of the marriage, age and health, contributions to the other spouse’s career or education, the marital standard of living, and any history of domestic violence.20California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 4320 – Spousal Support Factors For marriages under ten years, support generally lasts no more than half the length of the marriage. For marriages of ten years or longer, the court keeps jurisdiction indefinitely. When both spouses agree, you can set your own spousal support terms or waive it entirely, and the court will generally approve what you agreed to.
The Six-Month Wait and Final Judgment
No matter how fast you move, the divorce cannot be finalized for at least six months from the date your spouse was served or first appeared, whichever came first.21California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 2339 – Judgment of Dissolution You can prepare and submit the judgment paperwork during the wait so the court can process it the moment the clock runs out.
To finalize, submit the Judgment (Form FL-180) with any attachments covering property division, custody, and support.22California Courts. Judgment (FL-180) Include a Notice of Entry of Judgment (Form FL-190) and two stamped, pre-addressed envelopes so the clerk can mail each party a certified copy once the judge signs.
Your marriage legally ends on the date the judge enters the judgment, not when you submitted it and not when you separated. Many courts have a backlog for reviewing default and uncontested judgments, so even after the six months are up, a judge’s signature can take several more weeks. Form errors are the most common cause of delay; the court sends packets back for correction rather than guessing. Don’t apply for a new marriage license until you have the entered judgment in hand.
Free Help Built Into the Courts
Every superior court in California has a Self-Help Center. Staff will explain the process, point you to the right forms, and check your paperwork for obvious errors, regardless of your income.23California Courts. Court-Based Self-Help Services Many courts also have a Family Law Facilitator, a licensed attorney who can help you calculate child support, understand disclosure requirements, and fill out forms. The facilitator works for the court, not for you, so what you say isn’t confidential and both spouses can use the same office. For a DIY divorce, these free services are often the difference between getting your judgment approved on the first pass and watching it bounce back for corrections.