Free Tennessee divorce papers are available online through the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts at tncourts.gov, where the state Supreme Court publishes two court-approved packets you can download at no cost.1Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Court-Approved Divorce Forms One packet is for couples without minor children; the other is for couples with minor children. The forms only work for fully agreed divorces where neither spouse owns real estate, a business, or retirement benefits that need dividing. You will still owe a county filing fee unless you qualify for a waiver.
Can You Actually Use These Forms
The packets have strict eligibility rules. Every one of the following has to be true:
- You and your spouse both want the divorce and agree on everything, and you are filing on grounds of irreconcilable differences.2Justia. Tennessee Code 36-4-101 – Grounds for Divorce From Bonds of Matrimony
- You do not jointly own a home, land, or a business, and you have no retirement accounts to divide.1Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Court-Approved Divorce Forms
- The wife is not pregnant, regardless of who the father is.
- You have already worked out who keeps which personal property and who takes responsibility for each debt.
If any single item on that list is not true, the simplified forms are not for you. You will need to use the standard litigation process or hire an attorney.
Residency
Either you or your spouse must have lived in Tennessee for at least six consecutive months immediately before the complaint is filed. If one of you moved to Tennessee recently but the other has lived here for years, the long-term resident files. For military families, a service member or their spouse who has lived in Tennessee for at least one year is presumed to be a Tennessee resident, and that presumption can only be overcome by strong evidence of a permanent home elsewhere.3Justia. Tennessee Code 36-4-104 – Residence
What Is In the Packet
Pick the packet that matches your situation. Filing the wrong one causes problems at the clerk’s office.
Without Minor Children
The no-children packet contains eight forms:
- Form 1 – Complaint for Divorce, which opens the case and states the grounds.
- Form 2 – Spouses’ Personal Information, filed in a sealed envelope.
- Form 3 – Request to Postpone Filing Fees, used only if you cannot afford the fee.
- Form 4 – Health Insurance Notice.
- Form 5 – Divorce Agreement, which spells out the division of personal property and debts.
- Form 6 – Final Decree of Divorce, the proposed order the judge signs.
- Form 7 – Statutory Injunction, listing the automatic restrictions that take effect once you file.
- Form 8 – Motion to Set Hearing.
Forms 1 and 5 have to be signed in front of a notary. Do not sign them beforehand; a pre-signed form may be rejected. Form 6 needs both spouses’ signatures but no notarization.4Tennessee State Courts. How to Get an Agreed Divorce With Children in Tennessee
With Minor Children
The with-children packet includes everything above plus:
- Form 9 – Wage Assignment Order, which directs the paying parent’s employer to withhold child support.
- Form 10 – Title IV-D Child Support Information, required if either parent gets state benefits or child support enforcement services.
- A Parenting Plan covering where the children live, holiday and vacation schedules, and how major decisions about education and healthcare get made.5Tennessee State Courts. Parenting Plan Forms
- A Child Support Worksheet, which sets the support amount based on both parents’ incomes and parenting time.6Tennessee Department of Human Services. Child Support Calculator and Worksheet
The Parenting Plan and Child Support Worksheet also need to be signed and notarized by both parents. The Department of Human Services publishes a free Excel calculator that auto-populates the worksheet, which handles the math for you.
What to Gather Before You Start
Fill in the forms once, cleanly. Gaps or guesses get paperwork sent back. Before you sit down, have:
- Social Security numbers for both spouses, and for any minor children
- The exact date and location of the marriage
- The date of separation
- A complete list of shared personal property, with agreed ownership of each item
- A complete list of shared debts, with agreed responsibility for each one
- For parents: each parent’s gross income, work schedule, and the children’s current living arrangements
Once the judge signs it, the Divorce Agreement becomes a binding court order. Anything left out or misrepresented can turn into an expensive problem later, so be thorough and honest about finances.
The Filing Fee (and How to Skip It)
The forms themselves are free. The court’s filing fee is not. Amounts vary by county and by whether children are involved. Smaller counties may charge around $235 for a divorce without children. In Shelby County (Memphis), the fee runs $356.50 without children and $431.50 with minor children.7Shelby County, TN – Official Website. Schedule of Filing Fees – Circuit Court Expect somewhere between $235 and $435, depending on where you file and your family situation.
If you cannot afford the fee, use Form 3, the Uniform Civil Affidavit of Indigency. You swear under oath that you lack the means to pay, and you disclose your income, expenses, and assets on the form.8Justia. Tennessee Code 20-12-127 – Pauper’s Oath If the court approves it, your filing fees are waived entirely.9Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Rule 29 – Uniform Civil Affidavit of Indigency
Extra Requirements for Parents
The court will not grant a divorce involving minor children without a Parenting Plan covering residential schedules, decision-making authority, and holiday arrangements. You and your spouse have to agree on every detail before you file. The standardized forms give the court no mechanism to resolve disputes for you. Make sure the parenting time reflected on the Child Support Worksheet matches the schedule in your Parenting Plan, because the worksheet locks in a specific dollar amount based on overnights.
Tennessee also requires both parents to attend a parenting education seminar of at least four hours, covering children’s emotional well-being during divorce, the court process, alternative dispute resolution, and domestic violence awareness. Costs are modest, and fees can be waived for indigent parents. A judge cannot deny your divorce solely because a parent skipped the seminar, but skipping it can delay things. The requirement can be waived on a motion if the judge finds good cause.10FindLaw. Tennessee Code Title 36 Domestic Relations 36-6-408
After You File
File the completed, signed, and notarized paperwork with the Circuit or Chancery Court Clerk in the county where either spouse lives. The clerk collects the fee (or your indigency affidavit), stamps the documents, and assigns a case number. The non-filing spouse then either gets formally served or signs a waiver accepting service, which is the usual route in an agreed divorce.
Once you file, a set of automatic temporary injunctions takes effect against both spouses and stays in place until the case is finalized, dismissed, or modified.11Justia. Tennessee Code 36-4-106 – Complaint for Divorce or Legal Separation Neither of you may hide, sell, or borrow against marital property outside normal living and business expenses; cancel or change insurance policies covering either spouse or the children; harass or disparage the other spouse; destroy electronically stored information; or move the children out of Tennessee or more than 50 miles from the marital home, with an exception for fleeing domestic violence. Form 7 is the written notice. Violations can bring contempt charges, so treat them seriously even if things between you are amicable.
Tennessee then imposes a mandatory waiting period before the court will hear your case: 60 days for couples without minor children, 90 days for couples with minor children.12FindLaw. Tennessee Code Title 36 Domestic Relations 36-4-103 The clock starts on the date you filed the complaint, not on service. After the waiting period, contact the clerk to schedule a hearing on the uncontested docket. The filing spouse has to attend. Bring copies of every date-stamped document plus an extra copy of Form 6. If the judge finds the terms fair and the paperwork in order, the judge signs the Final Decree and your marriage is legally over.