To file for divorce in Alameda County, you file a Petition (Form FL-100) and Summons (Form FL-110) at the Hayward Hall of Justice, pay a $435 filing fee, and then arrange to have your spouse formally served with the paperwork. Before any of that, at least one spouse must have lived in California for six months and in Alameda County for three months. The court will not finalize the divorce for at least six months after your spouse is served, and both sides must exchange financial disclosures in the meantime.
Confirm You Meet the Residency Requirements
California requires that at least one spouse has lived in the state for a minimum of six months before filing. The spouse who files must also have lived in Alameda County for at least three months immediately before the filing date.1California Courts. Divorce in California Both clocks must have run out before the Alameda County Superior Court will accept your petition.
If you have not yet hit the three-month county mark, you either wait or file in the California county where you do meet the threshold. Filing early and hoping the clock catches up is not an option.
Prepare Your Initial Forms
Two forms make up the core of your filing.
The Petition (Form FL-100) is the document that formally asks the court to end your marriage. It captures the date you married and the date you separated, and it asks you to identify community property and debts and to state what orders you want on property division, spousal support, and child custody.2Judicial Council of California. Petition – Marriage/Domestic Partnership (Family Law) (FL-100) California is a no-fault state, so the standard ground is “irreconcilable differences.” You do not have to prove wrongdoing.
The Summons (Form FL-110) tells your spouse a divorce case has been filed. It also carries automatic restraining orders that bind both of you from the moment of filing or service. Those are described below.
If you and your spouse have children under 18, add the Declaration Under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (Form FL-105). This form asks for every address each child has lived at over the past five years, along with the names of anyone the child lived with during that time.3California Courts Self-Help Center. Instructions: Form FL-105/GC-120 Declaration Under Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) The court needs this information before it will make custody or visitation orders.
All three forms are free to download from the California Courts website or to pick up at the Alameda County Superior Court’s Self-Help Center.
File at the Hayward Hall of Justice and Pay the Fee
All family law documents in Alameda County are filed at the Hayward Hall of Justice, 24405 Amador Street, Hayward, CA 94544.4Superior Court of California, County of Alameda. Family Law The Oakland courthouse does not accept divorce filings. Bring the originals and at least two copies. The clerk stamps the originals as filed; one copy goes to your spouse and one is for your records.
The filing fee is $435.5Judicial Council of California. Superior Court of California Statewide Civil Fee Schedule If you cannot afford that, submit a Request to Waive Court Fees (Form FW-001) with your petition.6Judicial Branch of California. Request to Waive Court Fees (FW-001) The court reviews your finances and decides whether to waive, reduce, or defer the fee. Qualification generally turns on whether you receive certain public benefits, whether your income falls below a set threshold, or whether paying the fee would keep you from covering basic living expenses.
Know What the Automatic Restraining Orders Prohibit
The back of the Summons contains temporary restraining orders that take effect the moment each spouse is served or files papers, whichever comes first. They apply to both of you. Until the divorce is finalized or the orders are lifted, neither spouse may:
- Take the children out of California or apply for a new or replacement passport for them without the other spouse’s written consent or a court order.
- Transfer, sell, borrow against, or conceal any property, community or separate, except for normal living expenses and ordinary business transactions. Extraordinary spending requires at least five business days’ written notice to the other spouse.
- Cancel, cash out, change the beneficiaries of, or otherwise alter any insurance, including life, health, auto, and disability coverage.
- Create or modify nonprobate transfers that affect how property would pass outside of a will.
Violations can bring sanctions and contempt findings. Even a step that feels reasonable, like removing your spouse from a joint bank account, is a violation without written consent or a court order first.
Serve Your Spouse
Filing is not the same as notifying. After filing, you must formally deliver copies of everything to your spouse through “service of process.” California does not allow you to do this yourself. The papers must be personally handed over by someone at least 18 years old who is not a party to the case.7California Courts. Serving Court Papers A friend, a family member, a professional process server, or the county sheriff can do it. Professional servers typically charge between $40 and $100 for standard delivery.
After delivery, the person who served the papers fills out a Proof of Service of Summons (Form FL-115) documenting when, where, and how service happened.8California Courts. Proof of Service of Summons (Family Law-Uniform) You then file that form with the court. Without it, the case has no official record that your spouse was notified, and it cannot move forward.
If you genuinely cannot find your spouse after a real effort to look, California permits service by publication, but that requires a separate court order and takes longer.
What Happens After Service
Your spouse has 30 days from the date of service to file a Response (Form FL-120).9California Courts. Learn Your Options – Section: Your Deadline to Respond The response fee is also $435, and your spouse can request a waiver on the same FW-001 form.5Judicial Council of California. Superior Court of California Statewide Civil Fee Schedule In the Response, your spouse can agree with what you asked for, disagree, or propose different terms on property, custody, or support.
If no Response is filed within 30 days, you can ask the court to enter a default. The court will then decide the case based only on your paperwork.10California Courts. How to Finish Your Divorce if Your Spouse Didn’t Respond You can request the default and the final judgment together or ask for the default first and submit final paperwork later. A default does not preclude a later agreement, but it does end your spouse’s ability to formally contest anything unless they successfully petition to set the default aside.
The Six-Month Wait and Financial Disclosures
Even the simplest, most cooperative divorce cannot be finalized quickly. California imposes a six-month waiting period that runs from the date your spouse was served or first appeared in the case, whichever came first.11California Legislative Information. California Family Code 2339 The earliest the marriage can legally end is the day after that mark. This is a floor, not a ceiling; contested cases routinely run a year or more.
The waiting period is not idle time. Both spouses must complete and exchange a Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure, and the divorce cannot be finalized without it. The petitioner must serve the disclosure within 60 days of filing the petition; the respondent must serve theirs within 60 days of filing the response.12California Legislative Information. California Code, Family Code – FAM 2104
The disclosure package includes:
- Declaration of Disclosure (Form FL-140), a cover sheet listing what you are providing.13Judicial Council of California. California Form FL-140 – Declaration of Disclosure
- Schedule of Assets and Debts (Form FL-142), or an equivalent written statement, listing everything you own or owe, including what you consider separate property.
- Income and Expense Declaration (Form FL-150), showing current income, expenses, and financial obligations.
- All tax returns you filed in the two years before serving the disclosure.
One point that trips people up: the preliminary disclosure itself is served on your spouse and not filed with the court. You do file a proof of service confirming the exchange happened.12California Legislative Information. California Code, Family Code – FAM 2104 Hiding assets or understating income here can lead a court to set aside a final judgment later.
Where to Get Help
The Alameda County Superior Court runs a Self-Help Center and Family Law Facilitator’s Office that helps with divorce paperwork at no cost.14Superior Court of California, County of Alameda. Self-Help Center and Family Law Facilitator’s Office Staff will help you fill out forms and explain court procedures, but they cannot give legal advice or represent you. The center offers phone assistance and live chat on weekdays. If your case involves contested custody, significant assets, or complicated property questions, a family law attorney is worth the cost; the financial disclosures alone demand a level of precision where mistakes can follow you long after the judgment is signed.