To file for divorce in Utah, you or your spouse must have lived in your filing county for at least 90 days, you prepare the court’s standard petition and related forms, pay a $325 filing fee at the district court clerk’s office, arrange for your spouse to be formally served, and then wait out a mandatory 30-day period before a judge can sign the final decree. If you have minor children, two short education courses have to be completed before the court will finalize anything. Here is how to work through each step.
Confirm You Meet the 90-Day Residency Rule
Residency is the first gatekeeper. You can file in Utah if you or your spouse has been a genuine resident of the county where you plan to file for at least 90 days before the filing date.1Utah Legislature. Utah Code 81-4-402 – Petition for Divorce This is a county requirement, not just a state one, so the case belongs in the district court for that county.2Utah State Judiciary. Divorce
Two other paths exist. Active-duty military personnel who are not Utah residents can file if they have been stationed in the state under military orders for at least 90 days.1Utah Legislature. Utah Code 81-4-402 – Petition for Divorce And if both spouses consent to Utah’s personal jurisdiction, the case can proceed here even without the 90-day threshold.
Choose Your Grounds
Utah requires you to state a reason for the divorce in the petition. Most filers choose irreconcilable differences, the no-fault option, because you do not have to prove anyone did anything wrong.2Utah State Judiciary. Divorce
Utah also recognizes several fault-based grounds: adultery committed after the marriage, willful desertion for more than a year, willful neglect of basic necessities, habitual drunkenness, felony conviction, cruel treatment causing bodily injury or serious mental distress, impotency existing at the time of marriage, incurable insanity (which requires adjudication and testimony from competent witnesses), and living separately under a separate maintenance decree for three consecutive years.3Utah Legislature. Utah Code 81-4-405 – Grounds for Divorce Fault matters most when you want the court to weigh misconduct in property or alimony decisions. Otherwise, irreconcilable differences avoids the time, cost, and conflict of proof.
Prepare Your Forms
Utah uses standardized forms. The state’s online tool, MyPaperwork (which replaced OCAP), walks you through an interview and generates completed forms from your answers.4Utah State Courts. Online Court Assistance Program (OCAP) You can also download blank forms directly from the Utah Courts website.
At a minimum you will prepare:
- A Verified Petition for Divorce, which includes your names, marriage date, grounds, and what you want the court to decide about property, support, and children.
- A Summons, the formal notice telling your spouse a petition has been filed and that they must respond.
- A Financial Declaration, a detailed disclosure of income, expenses, assets, and debts.
If you have minor children, add a Child Support Worksheet (which calculates support from both parents’ incomes) and a Parenting Plan covering custody, parent-time, and decision-making. Take the Financial Declaration seriously. Courts rely on it heavily when dividing property and setting support, and inaccurate disclosures can draw sanctions or unfavorable rulings.
File the Petition and Pay the Fee
File your completed forms with the clerk of the district court in the county where the 90-day residency is met. The clerk assigns a case number and issues the summons.
The filing fee is $325.5Utah Courts. Filing and Record Fees If you cannot pay, file a Motion to Waive Fees. You qualify automatically if you receive SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, or TANF, or if a nonprofit legal services provider represents you. Otherwise, you can qualify under household income thresholds that vary by family size. If the judge denies the waiver for missing information, you have 14 days to refile a corrected motion.6Utah Courts. Fees and Fee Waiver
Serve Your Spouse
After filing, your spouse has to be formally given the petition and summons. You cannot hand-deliver them yourself. Under the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, any person at least 18 years old who is not a party to the case can serve the documents through personal delivery, which includes a sheriff’s deputy, a private process server, or a willing friend.7Utah Courts. URCP Rule 4 Private process servers typically charge between $40 and $200. Service can also be done by mail or commercial courier if the recipient signs a document confirming receipt.
The simplest option, when it is available, is acceptance of service. Your spouse voluntarily signs an Acceptance of Service form acknowledging receipt, which skips the cost and logistics of formal delivery.7Utah Courts. URCP Rule 4
If You Cannot Locate Your Spouse
If you genuinely cannot find your spouse after reasonable effort, you can file a Motion for Alternative Service. Saying you don’t know where they are is not enough. You must describe every step you took to locate them and explain why those efforts failed.8Utah State Judiciary. Motion for Alternative Service
If the judge grants it, the order specifies which method to use. Options include newspaper publication, the Utah Press Association’s legal notices website, email, text message, or social media. You can only use the method ordered, and afterward you must file proof of service with supporting evidence like a printed email or a certificate from the newspaper.8Utah State Judiciary. Motion for Alternative Service
Once served, the respondent has 21 days to file a written answer if served within Utah, and 30 days if served outside the state. Missing that deadline can produce a default judgment giving the petitioner what they asked for.9State of Utah Judiciary. Utah Courts – Summons
What Changes the Moment You File
The moment the case is filed, an automatic domestic relations injunction takes effect that restricts both spouses from making sudden changes to finances, insurance, and living arrangements. It applies to the person filing as well as the person being served, and violations can be treated as contempt. The Utah Courts website has a dedicated page listing the specific restrictions, and reading it before you file is worth your time.10Utah State Judiciary. Motion for Temporary Order
Mandatory Education Courses If You Have Minor Children
With minor children, both parents must complete two courses before the court will sign any final order: a Divorce Orientation Course and a Mandatory Parenting Course.11Utah State Judiciary. Mandatory Education in Divorce and Temporary Separation The court cannot even hold a hearing on most motions until the filing party has completed them.
Deadlines are tight. The petitioner has 60 days from filing to finish both. The respondent has 30 days from receiving notice. Divorce Orientation costs $30 per person and the Parenting Course costs $35, with a $15 discount on the in-person Orientation if you attend within 30 days of filing or being served. USU Extension is the only court-approved online provider. Fees can be waived if you cannot afford them.11Utah State Judiciary. Mandatory Education in Divorce and Temporary Separation
For online courses, download your Certificate of Completion, write your case number on it, and file it. For in-person courses, the instructor files it for you. Both parents’ certificates need to be on file before the judge will sign the decree.
Temporary Orders While the Case Is Pending
Divorce cases take months. If you need immediate decisions about custody, parent-time, child support, alimony, who stays in the marital home, or who keeps the family car, file a Motion for Temporary Order. These orders stay in effect until the final decree replaces them.10Utah State Judiciary. Motion for Temporary Order
You can file this motion with the petition or at any point after. Requests for money require an attached Financial Declaration. Custody requests require an attached Parenting Plan. In a case with children, the court will not hear the motion until the mandatory education courses are done. If both spouses agree on temporary arrangements, filing a stipulation instead of a contested motion saves time and legal fees.
Mediation
If any issues are still contested after the respondent files an answer, Utah law requires both parties to attend at least one session of mediation.12Utah Legislature. Utah Code 81-4-403 – Mediation Requirement The mediator is a neutral third party trained in domestic disputes. Sessions are confidential, and anything you agree to is submitted to the court for approval.
Unless the court orders otherwise, cost is split evenly. Private divorce mediators typically charge $100 to $300 per hour. You can ask to be excused for good cause by applying to the court’s Alternative Dispute Resolution office, the assigned mediator, or the judge. If the ADR office denies the request, you can still ask the judge.13Utah State Judiciary. Motion to Excuse Mediation
The 30-Day Waiting Period and Final Decree
Even if you and your spouse agree on everything from day one, the court cannot sign the decree until at least 30 days after the petition is filed.1Utah Legislature. Utah Code 81-4-402 – Petition for Divorce Temporary orders can issue during this window, but the final decree waits.
Either party can ask the court to waive the waiting period, but the bar is high: you must show extraordinary circumstances, and it is not granted automatically.14Utah State Courts. Motion to Waive Divorce Waiting Period In practice, 30 days is the fastest possible timeline, and contested cases take significantly longer.
In an uncontested divorce with full agreement, you may be able to finalize without a full hearing by submitting signed agreements and a proposed decree for the judge to review and sign. Contested cases usually require multiple appearances, with early hearings on temporary orders and later hearings or trial for the remaining disputes. Keep copies of everything you file and receive. Utah’s MyCase system gives online access to case files so you can track filings and deadlines. Once the judge signs the Decree of Divorce, the marriage is officially dissolved.
If You or Your Spouse Is on Active Duty
If either spouse is an active-duty servicemember, the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act allows the servicemember to request a stay of at least 90 days when active-duty obligations prevent appearing in court. The court must grant the stay when there may be a defense that cannot be presented without the servicemember’s presence.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Stay of Proceedings When Servicemember Has Notice The Act also blocks default judgments against deployed personnel who have not received actual notice. To invoke these protections, the servicemember typically submits a request backed by deployment orders or duty assignments showing that military service directly interferes with participation.