Tennessee divorce forms come in two free, court-approved packets published by the state’s Administrative Office of the Courts: one for agreed divorces without minor children, and one for agreed divorces with minor children. Both require that you and your spouse agree on every issue and that neither of you owns real property. If your case doesn’t fit those limits, you’ll need custom pleadings drafted for your situation, and most people in that position hire an attorney.
Who Can Use the Court-Approved Packets
“Agreed” is strict. Both spouses must consent to every term, including property division, debt allocation, and any custody or support arrangement. Both packets also share one hard limit: neither spouse can own real property. That covers houses, land, buildings, mobile homes permanently attached to the ground, condominiums, and cooperatives.1Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Court-Approved Divorce Forms
If either of you owns a home or any other real estate, you cannot use these packets even if you agree on everything else. The same is true for contested cases where a spouse disputes custody, support, or property. Those filings typically start with a formal Complaint for Divorce written to fit the circumstances.
Residency Before You File
At least one spouse has to meet Tennessee’s residency threshold under Tennessee Code 36-4-104. If the events that led to the divorce happened in Tennessee, the filing spouse only needs to be a resident when the case is filed. If those events happened outside Tennessee, one spouse must have lived in the state for at least six months before filing. File without meeting this requirement and the court has no authority over the case, so a judge will dismiss it.
The Two Packets
The Administrative Office of the Courts organizes the packets by whether minor or dependent children are involved:
- Divorce Forms With No Kids, for agreed divorces with no minor or dependent children and no real property on either side.
- Divorce Forms With Kids, for agreed divorces where minor or dependent children are involved and neither spouse owns real property.
Both are available as free PDF downloads from the AOC website or in paper form at the circuit court clerk’s office in your county.1Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Court-Approved Divorce Forms Each packet includes step-by-step instructions. Read them fully before filling in anything. The packets warn that if any eligibility requirement doesn’t apply to you, the forms don’t apply either.
What’s Inside Both Packets
Every agreed divorce filing runs on the same core documents:
- Request for Divorce. This starts the case, identifies both spouses, states the grounds, and outlines the terms of the agreement.
- Marital Dissolution Agreement. A written agreement signed by both spouses covering property, debts, and any support. In an irreconcilable-differences divorce the court must find that you’ve made adequate provision for property division and, if applicable, for custody and support of the children.2Justia. Tennessee Code 36-4-103 – Irreconcilable Differences – Procedure
- Certificate of Divorce or Annulment. A Tennessee Department of Health form recording demographic and marriage information. The clerk certifies it and sends it to the state for vital records.
- Final Decree of Divorce. The document the judge signs to end the marriage. You prepare it as part of the packet; the judge reviews and signs it at the final hearing.
What the “With Kids” Packet Adds
Tennessee law requires every final divorce decree involving a minor child to include a permanent parenting plan.3Justia. Tennessee Code 36-6-404 – Permanent Parenting Plan The plan sets out where the children live, how time is split, holiday and vacation schedules, and who makes decisions about school, health care, activities, and religion. It also has to include a dispute resolution process that parents must use before returning to court. The parenting plan form is also posted separately on the AOC’s court forms page if you want to look it over before starting the full packet.4Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Court Forms
The packet also includes a Child Support Worksheet. Tennessee uses an Income Shares model, so both parents’ incomes feed the formula. The worksheet produces the presumptive support amount based on adjusted gross incomes and the number of children, and a completed copy has to be filed as part of the divorce record.5Tennessee Department of Human Services. A Guide to Tennessee’s Child Support Worksheet The support amount in your marital dissolution agreement must comply with the state guidelines; if you agree on a different figure, the judge will want to know why.6Tennessee Department of Human Services. Child Support Guidelines
One boundary worth flagging: if your child recently moved to Tennessee from another state, the court may not yet have custody jurisdiction. Tennessee follows the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, which generally gives jurisdiction to the child’s home state, meaning the state where the child lived with a parent for at least six consecutive months before the filing.2Justia. Tennessee Code 36-4-103 – Irreconcilable Differences – Procedure For a child under six months old, the home state is wherever the child has lived since birth.
Information to Gather First
Pull all of this together before you sit down with the forms. Fixing errors after filing costs time and sometimes money.
- Full legal names and current residential addresses for both spouses.
- Both spouses’ Social Security numbers, which Tennessee law requires in the divorce records.7Justia. Tennessee Code 36-5-1302 – Inclusion of Social Security Numbers in Certain Records
- The date and place of the marriage.
- The date you and your spouse last lived in the same household.
- Full names, dates of birth, and current addresses for all minor children of the marriage.
- Income, debts, and a list of the property you need to divide.
Grounds You’ll List on the Forms
The forms ask for the legal reason for the divorce. Agreed cases use “irreconcilable differences,” which means the marriage is broken beyond repair and both spouses agree to end it. That’s the only ground the court-approved packets support.
Tennessee also recognizes fifteen fault-based grounds. The ones people use most often are adultery, inappropriate marital conduct, desertion for at least one year, habitual substance abuse that began after the marriage, and conviction of a felony carrying a prison sentence.8Justia. Tennessee Code 36-4-101 – Grounds for Divorce from Bonds of Matrimony A fault case is a contested proceeding requiring a formal Complaint for Divorce, witnesses, and usually a lawyer. It can’t be run through the standardized packets.
If You Can’t Afford the Filing Fee
Tennessee lets you submit a Uniform Civil Affidavit of Indigency under Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 29 to ask the court to waive certain costs.9Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Rule 29 – Uniform Civil Affidavit of Indigency You’ll list income, expenses, and assets under oath. A judge decides. If approved, you can proceed without paying the standard filing fee, though not every court cost will necessarily be waived.
Where to File and What It Costs
You file the completed forms with the circuit court clerk or chancery court clerk in the county where either spouse lives. Fees vary by county and by whether children are involved. In Davidson County (Nashville), 2026 fees run $234.50 for a divorce without minor children and $309.50 with minor children, before the service fee. Shelby County (Memphis) charges $356.50 and $431.50 for the same categories. Smaller counties tend to fall at the lower end. Statewide, expect somewhere between $235 and $435 depending on the county and case type.
Giving Your Spouse Notice
After filing, your spouse has to be notified officially. Tennessee provides two paths.
In an irreconcilable-differences case, your spouse can sign a notarized marital dissolution agreement that references the pending case or acknowledges one will be filed. Signing acts as both a waiver of formal service and a general appearance in the court. The waiver is valid for 180 days from the date the last party signs.2Justia. Tennessee Code 36-4-103 – Irreconcilable Differences – Procedure The agreed divorce packets assume this path, because both spouses are cooperating.
If your spouse won’t sign a waiver, you’ll need formal service of process. A sheriff’s deputy or licensed private process server delivers the paperwork in person. Sheriff service fees typically run $42 to $67 on top of the filing costs.
Waiting Period and the Final Hearing
Tennessee requires a mandatory waiting period between filing and the final hearing. With no minor children, the case must sit at least 60 days. With minor children, the minimum is 90 days. The clock starts on the date you file the original complaint or request, not on any later amendment.2Justia. Tennessee Code 36-4-103 – Irreconcilable Differences – Procedure
Once the waiting period passes, the court schedules the final hearing. In an agreed irreconcilable-differences case, the hearing is usually short. No witnesses. The judge reviews the paperwork, confirms both spouses entered the agreement voluntarily, and checks that any child support and parenting plan meet state guidelines. If everything’s in order, the judge signs the Final Decree and the marriage ends.
When These Forms Won’t Fit Your Case
The packets are built for a narrow lane. A few red flags mean you need something else.
Real estate is the most common one. Neither spouse can own a home, land, or any of the other real property the AOC lists, or the packet does not apply.1Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Court-Approved Divorce Forms
Retirement accounts are another. Dividing a 401(k), pension, or similar plan requires a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, a separate legal document directing the plan administrator to pay part of the account to the other spouse. If either spouse participates in the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System, TCRS requires its own prescribed QDRO form, and it will only apply the order to a monthly retirement allowance or a refund of employee contributions, with the divided amount capped at what accrued during the marriage.10Tennessee Department of Treasury. Instructions for Completion and Submission of a Qualified Domestic Relations Order Private-sector plans have their own QDRO requirements. A rejected QDRO can mean months of delay and the risk of losing your share, which is why attorneys handle this piece even when the rest of a divorce is straightforward.
Tennessee is an equitable distribution state, meaning marital property is divided fairly rather than automatically 50/50. Marital property is everything acquired by either spouse during the marriage up to the final hearing; separate property, which includes assets owned before the marriage, gifts, and inheritances, stays with the original owner.11Justia. Tennessee Code 36-4-121 – Division, Distribution, or Assignment of Marital Property Those categories blur fast when accounts are mixed, businesses are involved, or values are contested. If any of that describes your situation, the standardized forms aren’t the right tool.
After the Decree Is Signed
A signed decree doesn’t finish the paperwork.
If you want your former name back, ask for name restoration in the decree itself. To update your Social Security card, bring the certified divorce decree and a valid photo ID to a Social Security Administration office. The SSA requires originals or certified copies and will not accept photocopies.12Social Security Administration. Learn What Documents You Will Need to Get a Social Security Card From there, update your driver’s license, bank accounts, insurance policies, and any other accounts tied to your former name.
Your divorce also changes your federal tax filing. The IRS uses your status as of December 31. If the divorce is finalized any time during the year, you file as single or head of household for the entire year.13Internal Revenue Service. Filing Status If the divorce is still pending on December 31, you’re considered married for that tax year and must file jointly or separately as a married taxpayer.
Anything the decree orders transferred still needs to be transferred. A QDRO has to be submitted to the plan administrator before retirement funds actually move. Deeds for any real property awarded in the decree need to be recorded with the county register of deeds. Skip these follow-up steps and assets can sit in limbo, or enforcement problems can surface years later.