To get an uncontested divorce in Texas, you file an Original Petition for Divorce in the county where you or your spouse lives, wait out a mandatory 60-day period, and appear at a short prove-up hearing where the judge signs the Final Decree. It works only if you and your spouse agree on every issue the court would otherwise decide: property, debts, custody, support, and maintenance. If any of that is still in dispute, the case is contested, and the streamlined track closes.
Do You Qualify to File in Texas
Either you or your spouse must have lived in Texas for at least six months and in the filing county for at least 90 days.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code 6.301 – General Residency Rule for Divorce Suit Only one of you has to meet those requirements, so if your spouse qualifies in a county where you don’t, you can still file there.
Almost every uncontested case uses the no-fault ground called insupportability, meaning the marriage has broken down over discord or personality conflicts and there’s no reasonable expectation of reconciliation.2State of Texas. Texas Family Code 6.001 – Insupportability You don’t have to prove fault, and neither spouse has to blame the other.
What “Uncontested” Actually Requires
Uncontested doesn’t just mean nobody’s fighting in court. It means the two of you agree on who gets which assets, who pays which debts, where the children live, how much child support is paid, and whether either spouse receives spousal maintenance. The Texas Supreme Court’s approved divorce forms say plainly not to use the uncontested set if you and your spouse disagree about any issue.3Texas Judicial Branch. Divorce Set 1 – Uncontested, No Minor Children, No Real Property
You don’t need a signed written agreement before you file, but you need one before the court will grant the divorce. Most couples work out the terms informally, write them into the proposed Final Decree, and submit it together. If disagreement surfaces later, the case gets reclassified as contested and the simplified timeline disappears.
Forms You’ll Need
The Texas Supreme Court has approved standardized divorce forms available for free through TexasLawHelp.org and the Texas Judicial Branch website. Different sets apply depending on whether you have minor children and whether you own real property.3Texas Judicial Branch. Divorce Set 1 – Uncontested, No Minor Children, No Real Property The three core documents are:
- The Original Petition for Divorce, which opens the case.
- The Waiver of Service, which your spouse signs so no process server has to track them down.
- The Final Decree of Divorce, which spells out every term of your agreement.
A couple of small details trip people up. You only put the last three digits of each spouse’s Social Security number, and children are identified by their initials rather than full names to protect their privacy in the public record. You’ll also need your marriage date, the date you separated, and current addresses for both spouses.
Before you fill in the decree, build a complete inventory of what you own and owe. Pull recent statements for bank accounts, retirement funds, mortgages, car loans, and credit cards. The values you list become the official record of how the estate was divided, and mistakes create real problems later when you try to transfer titles or close accounts.
Filing and Fees
The petitioner files with the district clerk in the appropriate county. Attorneys must e-file, and self-represented filers can use the eFileTexas system too, or file paper copies in person at the courthouse.4eFileTexas.gov. Official E-Filing System for Texas
Filing fees in most counties run about $350 for a divorce without children and roughly $365 to $401 when children are involved. If you can’t afford the fee, file a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs and include evidence of hardship, such as receiving government benefits or being represented by a legal aid provider. If the court accepts it, the clerk must process your case without collecting fees.
Waiver of Service
Normally a filed lawsuit requires formal service, meaning a constable or process server hands the respondent a copy of the petition. In an uncontested case, that step goes away if your spouse signs a Waiver of Service.5State of Texas. Texas Family Code 6.4035 – Waiver of Service
Your spouse must sign the waiver in front of a notary public, and that notary cannot be an attorney involved in the case. The waiver must include the signing spouse’s mailing address. A digitized signature is allowed. Once notarized, it gets filed with the court. Without it, you’ll pay for formal service and lose time.
The 60-Day Waiting Period
Once the petition is filed, the court cannot grant the divorce for at least 60 days.6State of Texas. Texas Family Code 6.702 – Waiting Period There is no way to shorten this in a standard case. The narrow exception is for family violence: if the respondent has been convicted of or received deferred adjudication for a family violence offense against the petitioner, or the petitioner has an active protective order, the court can skip the waiting period.
Use these weeks to finalize the decree, gather account statements, and, if retirement plans are being divided, get a QDRO drafted (more on that below).
The Prove-Up Hearing
After the 60 days pass, you contact the court coordinator to schedule a prove-up hearing. It’s typically over in 10 to 15 minutes.7Texas State Law Library. Divorce – Finalizing the Divorce The petitioner takes the stand and answers a short set of questions under oath: confirming residency, stating that the marriage has become insupportable, and verifying the terms in the proposed Final Decree.
Some courts accept a written affidavit in place of live testimony, especially in cases without children.8TexasLawHelp. Affidavit for Prove-Up of Agreed Divorce Without Children Ask the coordinator whether your judge allows that.
The judge reviews the decree to confirm it covers all required issues. In cases with children, the judge looks closely at whether custody and support serve the child’s best interest. Once satisfied, the judge signs the decree, and the marriage ends at that moment. Take the signed decree to the clerk’s office for recording and request certified copies, which typically cost about $1 per page.
Getting Property and Debts Right
Texas is a community property state, meaning anything either spouse earned or acquired during the marriage belongs to both of you equally.9State of Texas. Texas Family Code 3.002 – Community Property Bank accounts, retirement contributions made during the marriage, vehicles bought with marital income, and jointly accumulated credit card debt are community. Property you owned before the wedding, gifts you received individually, and inheritances remain separate.
In an uncontested case, you and your spouse decide the split, and the judge will almost always approve a reasonable division both parties signed off on. The key is being thorough. List every account, retirement fund, vehicle, piece of real estate, and outstanding debt. Anything you leave out doesn’t disappear; it becomes something you’ll have to clean up later through a post-divorce proceeding.
Custody and Child Support
If you have children under 18, the court must approve your custody and support arrangement, and a judge will reject anything that doesn’t serve the child’s best interest.10State of Texas. Texas Family Code 153.002 – Best Interest of Child Even in an agreed case, the judge can refuse to sign a decree that shortchanges the kids.
Texas calculates guideline child support as a percentage of the paying parent’s monthly net resources:11State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 154 – Child Support
- 1 child: 20% of net resources
- 2 children: 25%
- 3 children: 30%
- 4 children: 35%
- 5 or more children: 40% or more
Net resources means gross income minus Social Security taxes, federal income tax (calculated as a single filer with the standard deduction), union dues, and the cost of the child’s health insurance.12State of Texas. Texas Family Code 154.062 – Net Resources The percentages apply up to a cap on monthly net resources that is adjusted periodically; as of September 2025, that cap is $11,700 per month. Above the cap, the court can order additional support based on the child’s proven needs, but the guideline percentages stop applying.
You can agree to an amount above or below the guidelines, but a judge will look hard at any agreement significantly below what the guidelines call for. Your decree should also spell out a detailed possession schedule, holiday arrangements, and which parent makes decisions about education and medical care.
Don’t Forget the QDRO for Retirement Accounts
If either spouse has a 401(k), pension, or other employer-sponsored retirement plan and it’s being split in the divorce, the Final Decree alone won’t do the job. You need a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, or QDRO.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 1056 – Form and Payment of Benefits
Federal law prohibits retirement plans from paying benefits to anyone other than the participant unless a QDRO is in place. The order must identify both spouses by name and address, name the specific retirement plan, state the dollar amount or percentage being transferred, and specify the time period or number of payments.14U.S. Department of Labor. QDROs Chapter 1 – Qualified Domestic Relations Orders Overview A signed agreement between spouses isn’t enough on its own; the order must be issued or approved by the court.
This is where many DIY divorces go wrong. Couples put the retirement split in the decree but never draft and submit a QDRO to the plan administrator. Years later, one spouse tries to access the funds and learns the plan won’t release anything without the order. Getting a QDRO done after the fact is possible but more expensive. If significant retirement assets are in play, have an attorney or QDRO specialist prepare it alongside your decree.
After the Judge Signs
COBRA Health Coverage
If you’re covered under your spouse’s employer-sponsored health plan, divorce is a qualifying event for COBRA continuation coverage.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 1163 – Qualifying Event You or your spouse must notify the plan administrator within 60 days of the divorce, and missing that deadline can cost you the right to continue coverage.16U.S. Department of Labor. FAQs on COBRA Continuation Health Coverage for Workers COBRA lets you stay on the plan for up to 36 months, but you pay the full premium yourself.
Name Change
If you took a spouse’s name and want to revert, include a name-change provision in the Final Decree. After it’s signed, update your Social Security card first by filing Form SS-5 with proof of identity and the legal change.17Social Security Administration. How Do I Change or Correct My Name on My Social Security Number Card Then use the new card to update your driver’s license, bank accounts, and other records.
Taxes on Transferred Property and the Child Tax Credit
Property transferred between spouses as part of a divorce is tax-free under federal law if it happens within one year after the marriage ends or is related to the divorce.18Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1041 – Transfers of Property Between Spouses or Incident to Divorce The recipient takes over the original owner’s tax basis, so the tax bill is deferred rather than erased. Factor that into who gets what.
For divorces finalized in 2026, spousal maintenance is not deductible by the payer and not taxable to the recipient. Both spouses should weigh that when negotiating any maintenance.
Only one parent can claim each child for the Child Tax Credit in a given year. By default, the IRS assigns the claim to whichever parent the child lived with for the greater number of nights during the tax year, regardless of what the custody order says. If the noncustodial parent is going to claim the child, the custodial parent must sign IRS Form 8332 releasing the claim.19Internal Revenue Service. Form 8332 – Release or Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child A decree provision alone won’t satisfy the IRS; without Form 8332 attached to the return, the claim will be denied.