No-fault divorce has been the only way to divorce in England and Wales since 6 April 2022: you state the marriage has irretrievably broken down, nobody has to be blamed, and your spouse cannot contest it. The court fee is £628 and the process takes around seven months at minimum. This guide walks through the application, the real costs, the timeline stage by stage, and the financial and children matters the divorce itself does not resolve.
On This Page
Divorce Without Blame: the Only Route Since April 2022
The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 replaced decades of fault-based divorce with a single, uncontestable route. There are no grounds to prove, no conduct to plead, and no defence beyond jurisdiction or the marriage's validity — which is why energy now goes where it matters, into the financial settlement and the children's arrangements.
Apply online alone or jointly, stating the marriage has irretrievably broken down. After a 20-week minimum you confirm and receive the conditional order; six weeks and a day later you can apply for the final order. The court fee is £628 (from 13 July 2026), with Help with Fees on low income. Money and children are dealt with separately.
How No-Fault Divorce Works
The application contains one operative statement — irretrievable breakdown — which the court must accept as conclusive. Adultery, behaviour and separation periods are legally irrelevant, and a spouse who "refuses to divorce" has no mechanism to refuse with: non-cooperation slows service, never the outcome.
Sole or Joint Applications
Couples can apply jointly, sharing the process from the start, or one spouse applies alone and the other is served. Joint applications suit amicable endings and remove service problems entirely; a joint application can convert to sole if one party stops engaging, so choosing joint carries no procedural risk. If your spouse goes silent on a sole application, our guide to a non-responding spouse covers every fix.
The Process, Stage by Stage
Application (online via gov.uk, with your marriage certificate); service and acknowledgement where the application is sole; the 20-week reflection period; confirmation and the conditional order; then, six weeks and a day later, the final order that legally ends the marriage. The old decree nisi and decree absolute survive only as terminology — our conditional and final order guide translates.
When Not to Rush the Final Order
The final order ends more than the marriage: widow's pension rights, spousal death benefits and some inheritance positions die with it. Where the financial settlement is not yet approved, it is often right to delay the final order until the consent order is sealed — a timing decision your solicitor should make deliberately, not by default.
What Divorce Actually Costs
The court fee is £628 from 13 July 2026, paid once per divorce (jointly agreed between joint applicants). Help with Fees (EX160) can reduce or remove it on low income or qualifying benefits. Solicitor costs depend on what you need — many uncontested divorces run on fixed fees, and the guideline hourly rates benchmark anything charged by time.
The Fees Around the Divorce
The divorce fee is rarely the whole bill: a consent order approving your financial agreement costs £62, a contested financial application (Form A) £321, and a children application (C100) £270. Budgeting those alongside the £628 gives the true picture — still a fraction of what contested proceedings cost.
Timeline from Application to Final Order
The legal minimum is roughly 26 weeks: 20 weeks from issue to conditional order eligibility, six weeks and a day from conditional to final order. Real cases run longer — service delays, court processing and, most often, the sensible choice to finish the financial settlement before the final order. Around seven to nine months is a realistic expectation for a well-run divorce with finances agreed.
Money and Children Sit Outside the Divorce
The divorce ends the marriage and nothing else. Financial claims stay open until a court order closes them — the 20-week period is the natural window to negotiate, so a consent order or financial order is ready when the conditional order unlocks the court's power to approve it. Our guide to deciding whether divorce is right for you covers the pre-application thinking.
Children Too
There is no custody stage in a divorce: arrangements for children are agreed between parents — ideally in a planned separation with a parenting plan — and only reach court where agreement fails or safety requires it, through the separate framework in our child living arrangements guide.
Frequently askedQuestions about the no-fault divorce process
How much does a no-fault divorce cost?
The court fee is £628 (from 13 July 2026), with Help with Fees available on low income. Legal costs sit on top if you use a solicitor — commonly fixed-fee for the divorce itself. A consent order for finances adds £62 plus drafting.
How long does a no-fault divorce take?
A minimum of about 26 weeks: 20 weeks from issue to the conditional order, then six weeks and a day to the final order. Most divorces take seven to nine months in practice, usually because finances are being settled in parallel — which is the right way round.
Can my spouse refuse the divorce?
No. The breakdown statement is conclusive and there is no defence beyond jurisdiction or the validity of the marriage. A spouse who will not engage can delay service, but deemed and dispensed service procedures exist precisely to move past silence.
Should we apply jointly or alone?
Jointly if you are both willing — it removes service issues and starts the process cooperatively, and it can convert to a sole application if one of you stops engaging. Apply alone where your spouse is hostile, absent or you need to control the timetable.
Does the divorce sort out money and children?
No. Financial claims remain open until a separate court order closes them, and children's arrangements are agreed or decided under their own framework. Use the 20-week period to negotiate finances so a consent order follows the conditional order promptly.
When should I delay the final order?
Where the financial settlement is not yet approved — the final order ends pension widow's benefits and changes your inheritance position, so sealing the consent order first is often the safer sequence. Take advice before applying for it rather than after.
Tell us where you are: decision made, spouse cooperative or not, finances simple or tangled. We will sequence the divorce, the money and the children so nothing gets finalised in the wrong order.
Get Expert Advice