To file for divorce in Travis County, you take a completed Original Petition for Divorce and a Civil Case Information Sheet to the Travis County District Clerk’s office on the third floor of the Civil and Family Courts Facility at 1700 Guadalupe Street in Austin (Room 3.200), or submit them electronically through eFileTexas.gov, and pay the $350 base filing fee. At least one spouse must have lived in Texas for six months and in Travis County for 90 days before filing, and Texas law requires a 60-day wait after filing before any divorce can be finalized.
Who Can File Here
Texas requires at least one spouse to have lived in the state for six continuous months before filing, and the spouse who files must have been a Travis County resident for at least 90 days.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code 6.301 – General Residency Rule for Divorce Suit Both conditions have to be met at the same time. If you just moved from Houston or Dallas, you already satisfy the statewide six-month rule, but you still need to wait out the 90-day Travis County clock before filing here.
If neither of you meets Travis County’s 90-day threshold, the court can dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction. You would need to file in whichever Texas county one of you has lived in for at least 90 days. If neither spouse has been in Texas for six months, you can’t file for divorce anywhere in the state yet.
Where to File
Divorce in Travis County goes through the District Courts, Family Division, which handles divorces along with custody disputes, name changes, and adoptions.2Travis County, Texas. Family Division You file with the District Clerk, not the County Clerk. The office sits inside the Civil and Family Courts Facility at 1700 Guadalupe Street, Austin, TX 78701.3Texas Law Help. Travis County Civil District Courts Check current office hours on the District Clerk’s website before you go.
When you submit the petition, the clerk file-stamps it, assigns it a cause number, and randomly assigns it to one of the family district courts. That court handles your case from start to finish.
Documents You Need
The core document is the Original Petition for Divorce. This is the formal request asking the court to dissolve your marriage. Along with it, you file a Civil Case Information Sheet, which Texas courts require for any original petition in a civil or family case.
Depending on your situation, you may also need:
- A Waiver of Service, if your spouse is willing to sign one (notarized) or file an answer instead of being formally served.
- A Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs, if you can’t pay the filing fee.4Texas Courts. Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs or an Appeal Bond
- An Agreed Final Decree of Divorce, if you and your spouse have already worked out all the terms.
Forms are available through the Travis County Law Library, TexasLawHelp.org, and the Texas Courts website.5Texas State Law Library. Filing for Divorce Travis County’s own divorce page links the forms and the standing order that applies to family law cases.6Travis County, Texas. Divorce
What the Petition Must Contain
The petition asks for both spouses’ full legal names, current addresses, dates of birth, the date and place of marriage, and the date of separation. If there are minor children, list their names and birthdates. You’ll also describe community property and debts in general terms.
The petition must state a legal ground for the divorce. The most common is insupportability, Texas’s no-fault ground, which means the marriage has broken down due to discord with no reasonable chance of reconciliation.7State of Texas. Texas Family Code 6.001 – Insupportability You don’t have to prove anyone did anything wrong. Texas also recognizes fault grounds like cruelty, adultery, and abandonment, but insupportability covers the vast majority of cases.
Redact Sensitive Information Before Filing
Court filings are public records. Before submitting anything, redact Social Security numbers to the last four digits, reduce birth dates to just the year, use initials rather than full names for minor children, and trim financial account numbers to the last four digits. Anyone can pull court records, and unredacted filings expose you and your family to identity theft.
How to Submit the Petition
You have two options. You can walk the papers into the District Clerk’s office, or file electronically through eFileTexas.gov.8eFileTexas.gov. eFileTexas.gov Official E-Filing System E-filing is mandatory for attorneys and optional for anyone representing themselves. If you’re filing pro se, the eFileTexas Self-Help portal walks you through it step by step.
If you file in person, bring the original plus at least two copies: one for the court and one for you. The clerk stamps all of them with the filing date. If you e-file, confirmation is generated electronically.
What You’ll Pay
The base filing fee is $350 as of January 1, 2026. That single number rolls together the clerk’s basic filing fee, the law library fee, the court reporter fee, the courthouse security fund, the alternative dispute resolution fee, and several other line items. Additional charges for citation issuance, certified copies, certificates of divorce, and other services are billed separately when they come up.9Travis County, Texas. Fees
The District Clerk accepts cash, check, money order, and credit cards. Credit card payments carry a non-refundable 3% convenience fee with a $3 minimum. E-filing payments are handled through the electronic system.
If you can’t afford the fee, file a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs with your petition.10Texas State Law Library. Filing for Divorce – Section: Court Fees, Attorney Fees, and Temporary Support The form asks you to disclose income, expenses, and assets. If the court approves it, the waiver covers the filing fee, citation, copies, and other court costs. A bilingual version is on the Texas Courts website.4Texas Courts. Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs or an Appeal Bond
Serving Your Spouse
Once the petition is filed, your spouse has to receive official notice before the court will take any further action. Several methods work:
- Waiver of service. Your spouse voluntarily signs a notarized waiver or files a formal answer. Simplest and cheapest, but requires cooperation.
- Personal service. A constable, sheriff’s deputy, or licensed private process server hands the papers to your spouse. Your spouse doesn’t sign anything; the server files a return of service.
- Certified mail. The clerk or constable mails the papers certified, return receipt requested. The signed receipt is the proof.
- Substituted service. If personal service fails but you know where your spouse can be found, a judge can authorize leaving the papers with someone over 16 at that location, or another method reasonably likely to give notice.
- Service by posting or publication. A last resort when you genuinely cannot locate your spouse after diligent effort. Posting applies in cases without children; publication in a newspaper applies in cases with children.
Private process servers typically charge $40 to $400 depending on how hard your spouse is to track down. A cooperative spouse who signs a waiver eliminates this cost.
If your spouse may be on active military duty, federal law adds a required affidavit before any default judgment and may trigger appointment of counsel or a postponement under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Default Judgments You can verify active-duty status through the Defense Manpower Data Center if you have your spouse’s full name and either their Social Security number or date of birth.
The 60-Day Waiting Period
Texas requires a 60-day cooling-off period. The court cannot grant your divorce until at least 60 days after you filed, no matter how simple or uncontested the case is.12State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 6.702 – Waiting Period You can have everything signed and agreed on day one and still wait two months for the judge to finalize it.
The only exception is family violence. If the respondent has a final conviction or deferred adjudication for a family violence offense against the petitioner or a member of the petitioner’s household, or the petitioner has an active protective order based on family violence during the marriage, the court can waive the waiting period.12State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 6.702 – Waiting Period
The Standing Order That Kicks in Automatically
Travis County has a standing order that applies automatically to every family law case filed on or after January 1, 2020.6Travis County, Texas. Divorce It restricts both spouses from hiding or destroying property, making large unusual purchases, canceling insurance, and removing children from the county without agreement or court permission. It binds both sides equally, not just the person who filed, and you don’t need to request it. Read the full order carefully before and right after you file. Violating it can result in contempt of court. A copy is linked on the Travis County District Clerk’s divorce page.
What Happens After Filing
How the case proceeds depends on whether you and your spouse can agree on everything: property division, debt allocation, child custody, child support, and spousal maintenance.
In an agreed (uncontested) divorce, both spouses sign an Agreed Final Decree of Divorce, and one spouse appears at a short hearing called a prove-up. You testify briefly about the agreement, the judge reviews the decree, and the hearing often takes less than 15 minutes. Many Travis County courts also accept prove-up affidavits in place of live testimony, a practice that became common during the pandemic and continues today.
A contested divorce is a different animal. If you disagree on any significant issue, the case moves through discovery, usually mediation, and potentially a full trial. Contested cases take months or years and cost far more in legal fees. Texas courts strongly encourage mediation before trial, and the ADR fee built into your $350 filing cost helps fund those services. Resolving even some issues before trial saves time and money.