Divorce Fees, by Country
Australia's A$1,170 court fee is by far the most expensive standard divorce filing in this table; Ireland and Spain charge nothing at all. Figures are each country's own currency, at face value, not converted to a common currency.
Last updated 2 November 2026.
A divorce's real cost is almost always dominated by lawyers, not the government — but the government fee is the one number every country actually publishes and fixes, which makes it the only clean, comparable figure across borders. This table prices the official court or administrative fee to file for the standard uncontested divorce, excluding legal representation, mediation, and serving papers unless a government bundles that cost into one mandatory charge.
Figures are each country's own currency, at face value, not converted to a common currency — see the methodology section for why a face-value ranking isn't a precise cost ranking once exchange rates are applied.
| Source | ||
|---|---|---|
🇨🇿 Czech RepublicDistrict Court, for an agreed (smluvený) divorce — the standard uncontested route. A contested divorce costs 5,000 Kč instead, under the fee schedule effective 1 January 2026. | 2,000 Kč | [11] |
🇦🇺 AustraliaEstimateFederal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, effective 1 July 2026 (up from A$1,125). A reduced fee of A$390 applies for eligible concession-card holders. | A$1,170 | [5] |
🇨🇦 CanadaOntario Superior Court, simple/joint divorce total: CA$214 to file + CA$445 to place the application on the list for hearing + a CA$10 federal divorce fee. | CA$669 | [4] |
🇬🇧 United KingdomEngland & Wales, online or postal application. Non-refundable once the application is issued. No lawyer is required to file. A "Help with Fees" waiver exists for low income. | £628 | [2] |
🇵🇱 PolandFlat fee (opłata stała) to file at the Regional Court. If the divorce is granted without a finding of fault (bez orzekania o winie — the standard no-fault route), the court refunds half (300 zł) after judgment becomes final. | 600 zł | [8] |
🇺🇸 United StatesCalifornia Superior Court, statewide uniform fee for the first petition. A joint petition for summary dissolution is the same $435; if the other spouse later files a response, a second $435 fee applies ($870 total). | $435 | [3] |
🇩🇪 GermanyEstimateNot a flat fee: Germany's court fee is 2.0× a statutory "Verfahrenswert" (value in dispute) set from both spouses' combined net income, with a floor of €3,000 — €250 is the fee at that floor and rises with income. At least one spouse must be legally represented to file at all (Anwaltszwang); lawyer fees are mandatory and separate from this figure. | from €250 | [1] |
🇳🇿 New ZealandFamily Court, Dissolution Order application — New Zealand's only divorce route (available after 2 years' separation, with no separate contested track for the dissolution itself). A fee waiver is available. | NZ$247 | [13] |
🇸🇰 SlovakiaDistrict Court, standard filing. Reduced to €50 if filed electronically via the slovensko.sk portal (a 50% e-filing discount, capped at €50 off). | €100 | [12] |
🇸🇬 SingaporeFamily Justice Courts, filing fee for the Originating Application for Divorce (normal/uncontested track), for filings from 15 October 2024. A further S$63 fee applies later to request a hearing date, bringing the total court cost to complete the process to roughly S$119. | S$56 | [6] |
🇫🇷 FranceNot a court fee: since 2017, mutual-consent divorce (used by the large majority of amicable French divorces) isn't a court proceeding at all — it's a lawyer-drafted agreement deposited with a notary for this fixed statutory fee (€41.20 excl. VAT). Each spouse must have their own lawyer by law; lawyer fees are the real cost and aren't included here. A contested divorce instead goes through family court, where France charges no separate filing fee. | €49.44 | [10] |
🇪🇸 SpainSpain's court fee (tasa judicial) applies only to companies, not individuals, since a 2015 legal reform — confirmed directly against the consolidated statute. Applies whether the divorce is mutual-agreement or contested. | Free | [9] |
🇮🇪 IrelandThe Courts Service charges no fee at all for family law applications, including divorce, at the Circuit Court — the venue for the vast majority of Irish divorces. Legal representation isn't mandatory but is near-universal in practice. | Free | [7] |
What's included: the official court or administrative fee to file for the standard uncontested/no-fault divorce via each country's normal domestic route — whichever single charge is genuinely mandatory to formally end the marriage, even where (as in France) that isn't technically a court filing.
What's excluded: lawyer/solicitor fees (market-priced, varies enormously by case and country, and is mandatory in some countries — Germany and France — but not others), mediation, the cost of serving papers on the other party, and any additional cost specific to a contested or litigated divorce.
Sub-national jurisdictions. The US and Canada set court fees at the state/provincial level, not nationally. This table uses California (US) and Ontario (Canada) — the same convention this site uses elsewhere for sub-national fees. A different state or province will charge a different fee.
Why three countries show €0 or near-€0. Ireland's Courts Service charges no fee for any family law application, confirmed directly on its own site. Spain's court fee applies only to companies, not individuals, since a 2015 reform — also confirmed directly against the statute. France charges no court fee for the standard mutual-consent route because it isn't a court process at all (see Germany/France notes below) — only a fixed notary deposit fee applies.
Why Germany isn't a single number. German divorce court fees are calculated as 2.0× a statutory "value in dispute" set from both spouses' combined net monthly income, with a floor of €3,000 — so the fee shown here (€250) is the minimum, for a couple with little income or assets, not a typical case. A couple with substantial income pays considerably more. Legal representation is also mandatory for at least one spouse.
Limits of this comparison. Figures are each country's own currency, face value, with no FX conversion — treat a 'cheapest/most expensive' ranking as directional, not exact, once exchange rates are applied.
Which countries charge nothing to file for divorce?
Ireland and Spain charge no court fee at all for a standard divorce — Ireland's Courts Service doesn't charge for any family law application, and Spain's court fee has applied only to companies, not individuals, since a 2015 legal reform. France charges no court fee either for its standard mutual-consent route, though a small fixed notary deposit fee (€49.44) applies instead.
Why is Australia so much more expensive than every other country here?
The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia's A$1,170 application fee is genuinely an outlier — several times higher than most other countries in this table by face value. It's reviewed annually each 1 July; a reduced A$390 fee applies for eligible concession-card holders.
Why isn't the United Arab Emirates in this table?
The UAE's own judicial department page doesn't publish a fee — it states that applicants are told the cost only once they begin filing. The only available secondary estimates range from AED 500 to AED 5,000, a ten-fold spread with no way to tell which is current or correct, so it's excluded rather than published as an unverified guess.
Does this include lawyer fees?
No — only the government filing fee is priced here. Lawyer fees are market-priced and vary enormously by country, case complexity and whether the divorce is contested. In Germany and France, legal representation is actually mandatory by law, making the government fee alone a significant understatement of the real total cost in those two countries specifically — flagged on both rows.
Marriage Fees by Country
The other end of the same life event, from the same sourcing standard.
Probate Fees by Country
Another official government fee for a major life event.
Notary Fees by Country
What it costs to certify a signature — relevant to France's notary-deposit divorce route.
Passport Fees by Country
Another official life-event document cost, from the same sourcing standard.
- 1Gesetz über Gerichtskosten in Familiensachen (FamGKG), §43 and Kostenverzeichnis KV 1110
Bundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de)
§43: minimum Verfahrenswert of €3,000 for divorce proceedings. KV 1110: 2.0× fee multiplier. gesetze-im-internet.de returned persistent HTTP 503 across two independent research passes; figures corroborated via a search-tool relay quoting the statute's own text and one legal-mirror site, not independently read. Checked 2 November 2026.
- 2Apply for a divorce, dissolution or legal separation
GOV.UK (HM Courts & Tribunals Service)
Divorce application fee: £628, non-refundable once issued. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 3Statewide Civil Fee Schedule, effective 1 January 2026
Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento
Item 97: petition for dissolution of marriage, legal separation, or nullity: $435. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 4Family court fees
Government of Ontario (ontario.ca)
Filing an application: $214. Placing the application on the list for hearing: $445. Plus a $10 federal divorce fee. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 5Fees
Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia
Application for divorce: A$1,170, effective 1 July 2026 (up from A$1,125); reduced fee A$390. fcfcoa.gov.au returned persistent HTTP 503 across two independent research passes; figure corroborated via a search-tool relay quoting the court's own page, cross-confirmed by a second official court domain (familycourt.wa.gov.au) showing the identical figure. Checked 2 November 2026.
- 6Prepare a matrimonial application for divorce (normal track)
Family Justice Courts, Singapore Judiciary
Filing fee for the Originating Application for Divorce: S$56 (from 15 October 2024). Request for a trial/hearing date: a further S$63. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 7How to apply for a divorce
Courts Service of Ireland
"The Courts Service does not charge either person a fee for making family law applications." Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 8Ustawa z dnia 28 lipca 2005 r. o kosztach sądowych w sprawach cywilnych, Art. 26
Kancelaria Sejmu (Sejm legislative database)
Flat fee of 600 PLN for a divorce petition (Art. 26); half refunded (Art. 79) where granted without a finding of fault. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 9Ley 10/2012, Art. 4.2 (as amended by Real Decreto-ley 1/2015)
Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE)
Natural persons (personas físicas) are exempt from the court fee (tasa judicial) in all cases, since a 2015 amendment. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 10Divorce par consentement mutuel : quelle procédure ? (F10567)
Service-public.fr (Direction de l'information légale et administrative)
Notary deposit fee for the mutual-consent divorce convention: €41.20 excl. VAT (€49.44 incl. VAT). Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 11Zákon č. 549/1991 Sb., o soudních poplatcích, Položka 4a
Government of the Czech Republic (zakonyprolidi.cz)
Agreed (smluvený) divorce: 2,000 Kč. Other (contested) divorces: 5,000 Kč. Current version effective 1 January 2026. Independently fetched and read directly against the primary source 2 November 2026.
- 12Zákon č. 71/1992 Zb. o súdnych poplatkoch, Položka 7
Slov-Lex (official legislative portal of the Slovak Republic)
Divorce petition: €100 standard; 50% e-filing discount (capped at €50 off) under §6(3). Current consolidated version effective 17 August 2026. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 13Divorce forms & fees
Ministry of Justice, New Zealand
Dissolution Order application fee: NZ$247. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.