To file for divorce in Los Angeles, you submit three forms and a $435 filing fee to the Los Angeles Superior Court, arrange for someone else to serve your spouse, exchange financial disclosures, and wait a minimum of six months from the date of service before a judge can sign the final judgment.1Superior Court of Los Angeles County. 2026 Fee Schedule2California Legislative Information. California Family Code 2339 The steps are straightforward on paper; the details around residency, service, and financial disclosures are where most cases stumble.
Check Residency First
At least one spouse must have lived in California for the past six months and in Los Angeles County for the past three months before the court can grant a divorce.3California Legislative Information. California Family Code 2320 The clock is measured backward from the day you file the petition.
If you moved here recently but your spouse meets the requirement, let them be the filer. If neither of you qualifies yet, you can file for legal separation now and convert it to a divorce once the six-month residency period runs out.4California Courts. Divorce in California
Pin Down Your Date of Separation Before You File
California defines the date of separation as the day one spouse communicates the intent to end the marriage and starts acting consistently with that intent.5California Legislative Information. California Family Code 70 You list this date on the petition, and it matters. Everything earned or acquired before that date is community property; everything after is separate. A bonus, a vesting date, or a retirement contribution can land on either side depending on where the line falls.
Hold onto texts, emails, and lease or move-out records that support the date you’re claiming. If your spouse disputes it later, a judge decides.
The Three Forms That Open a Case
A divorce case in Los Angeles starts with three forms, all free to download from the California Courts website:
- Petition (Form FL-100), which tells the court you want a divorce and what you’re asking for on property, support, and custody.6California Courts Self Help Guide. Petition – Marriage/Domestic Partnership (Family Law) (FL-100)
- Summons (Form FL-110), which notifies your spouse the case exists and triggers automatic restraining orders on both of you.7California Courts. Summons (FL-110)
- UCCJEA Declaration (Form FL-105), required only if you have minor children. It lists every address the children have lived at over the past five years so the court can confirm it has jurisdiction over custody.8California Courts. Declaration Under Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA)
Before you sit down with the forms, gather your marriage certificate, each spouse’s Social Security number, recent pay stubs and tax returns, mortgage and bank statements, and any existing custody or support orders. Having the numbers in front of you makes the paperwork much faster.
Filing at the Los Angeles Superior Court
The filing fee is $435.1Superior Court of Los Angeles County. 2026 Fee Schedule You can file in person at a family law courthouse, by mail, or electronically through an approved e-filing service provider. LA County accepts e-filed family law petitions and lets you submit a fee waiver application at the same time.9Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. Family Law E-Filing FAQs
If the fee is out of reach, file a Request to Waive Court Fees (Form FW-001). You qualify automatically if you receive certain public benefits, and otherwise the court looks at whether your income covers basic living expenses.10California Courts. Request to Waive Court Fees Once you file, the clerk stamps your documents and returns conformed copies as proof the case is open.
Automatic Restraining Orders Take Effect the Moment You File
This is the part people miss. As soon as you file the summons, restraining orders printed on the form bind you. They bind your spouse as soon as they are served. Until the divorce is final, neither of you may:
- Move children out of state or apply for new passports for them without written consent or a court order
- Cancel or change health, life, auto, or disability insurance covering either spouse or the children
- Transfer, hide, or borrow against property, community or separate, except for normal living expenses or attorney fees
- Change beneficiary designations on retirement accounts or other nonprobate transfers without consent or a court order
You also have to notify each other at least five business days before any large or unusual expenditure.11Judicial Council of California. FL-110 Summons Violations can bring sanctions, contempt, or an unfavorable property ruling. If you need to do something the orders cover, get written agreement or file a motion first.
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.12California Courts. Service by Notice and Acknowledgment of Receipt Two methods work in most cases:
- Personal service. A professional process server or any qualified adult physically delivers the summons and petition to your spouse. It’s the method courts prefer. Professional process servers in LA typically charge between $65 and $100.
- Service by mail with acknowledgment. If your spouse is cooperative, a third party mails the documents along with a Notice and Acknowledgment of Receipt (Form FL-117). Your spouse must sign and return it, or the service doesn’t count.13California Courts. Notice and Acknowledgment of Receipt
The person who served the papers then completes a Proof of Service of Summons (Form FL-115) for personal service, or a Proof of Service by Mail (Form FL-335) for mailed service. File the proof of service with the court. Your case cannot move forward without it.
If You Cannot Find Your Spouse
You’ll need to show the court you tried: last-known addresses, relatives, public records searches. If those fail, you can ask permission to serve by publication, meaning a notice runs in a newspaper once a week for four consecutive weeks. Courts scrutinize the diligence of your search before allowing it.
After Service: The 30-Day Response Window and Financial Disclosures
Your spouse has 30 days from the date they’re served to file a Response (Form FL-120).14California Courts. Learn Your Options What happens next depends on whether they file it.
If Your Spouse Responds
Both sides are in the case. If you agree on everything, you can submit a written settlement agreement and ask the judge to approve it in the final judgment. If you don’t agree, the case moves through negotiation, mediation, or eventually a trial.
If Your Spouse Does Not Respond
After 30 days you can ask the court to enter a default, and the judge decides the case based on your petition. You can request the default and final judgment together, or enter the default first and finish the paperwork later. Even after default is entered, you can still reach an agreement with your spouse and present it as a “default with agreement.”15California Courts. How to Finish Your Divorce If Your Spouse Didn’t Respond
The Financial Disclosures Both Sides Must Exchange
Contested or not, both spouses must exchange preliminary declarations of disclosure: a Declaration of Disclosure cover sheet (Form FL-140), a Schedule of Assets and Debts (Form FL-142), and an Income and Expense Declaration (Form FL-150).16Judicial Council of California. Declaration of Disclosure (Family Law) – Form FL-140 Serve them on your spouse. You do not file the actual schedules with the court; you only file a declaration (Form FL-141) confirming that service happened. If you skip this step, the court won’t finalize the divorce.
The Six-Month Wait and the Final Judgment
California’s mandatory six-month waiting period is measured from the date your spouse was served or the date they first appeared in the case, whichever is earlier.2California Legislative Information. California Family Code 2339 No judge can sign the final judgment before it runs. The court can extend the period for good cause but cannot shorten it.
The case doesn’t sit idle during those months. Use the time to finish disclosures, negotiate a settlement, work out custody, and prepare the judgment paperwork. When the six months have passed and the issues are settled, you submit:
- Judgment (Form FL-180) and Notice of Entry of Judgment (Form FL-190), plus attachments covering custody, support, and property
- If your spouse never responded, a Request to Enter Default (Form FL-165) and a Declaration for Default (Form FL-170)
The judge reviews the packet and, if everything is in order, signs the judgment. Your marriage ends on the date stated there.
Asking for Support While the Case Is Pending
Six months is a long time to wait when income is uneven. If you need spousal support, child support, or custody orders during the case, file a Request for Order (Form FL-300) with an Income and Expense Declaration (Form FL-150) and proof of recent income, like two months of pay stubs. The filing fee is $60 unless you have a fee waiver, and you can combine support and custody requests on one form.17California Courts. Ask for Temporary Spousal Support
The court sets a hearing and issues temporary orders that stay in effect until the divorce is final or the court modifies them. Temporary spousal support in LA is typically calculated using a county guideline formula rather than the longer list of factors that apply to permanent support.
Everything that follows the judgment, from dividing retirement accounts through a QDRO to sorting out taxes, health insurance under COBRA, and Social Security eligibility after a long marriage, sits downstream of the filing pathway above. Get the filing right, keep the ATROs in mind, and don’t miss the disclosure step; the rest of the case is built on that foundation.