Divorce cost · CA
Cost of divorce in California
One statewide fee schedule applies in every superior court, and the spouse who responds pays the same first paper fee as the one who files.
Rules read on official California pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Filing fee
- $435
- statewide
- Response fee
- $435
- Waiting period
- 182 days
- Fees read on
- October 8, 2026
A California divorce costs $435 to file, in every county, because the Judicial Council's statewide civil fee schedule sets the first paper fee for a petition for dissolution, legal separation or nullity under Government Code § 70670. The other spouse pays $435 too when filing a response, so a case in which both spouses appear carries $870 of court fees before any motion. Spouses who agree can file a single joint petition instead: it costs $870 and covers both of them, which is the same money in one payment. Couples married a short time with no children and few assets can use summary dissolution for one $435 fee. Anyone who cannot pay asks the court to waive fees on form FW-001. The divorce cannot become final until 6 months after service, whatever the route.
Estimated cost of a divorce in California
$435
of which $435 in court fees · earliest final decree after 182 days
| Court filing fee (petition) | $435 |
Low income? Court fees can be waived in California: Request to Waive Court Fees (FW-001).
Court fees are the official California amounts; attorney, mediation and service costs are the figures you enter. How this is calculated.
Two first papers, one price each
California charges by document, not by case. The petitioner's first filing and the respondent's first filing are each a "first paper" and each carries the same $435, which is why the response fee is not a token amount here as it is in many states. A respondent who never files anything and lets the case go by default pays nothing, but then has no say in the judgment. The statewide schedule effective January 1, 2026 lists every family law charge; the ones people meet most are $60 for a request for order (a motion for temporary support, custody or fees) and $25 more when the motion asks to change a custody or visitation order.
Since the joint petition arrived in Family Code § 2342.5, agreeing spouses can file together for $870. That is not a discount over petition plus response ($870); the gain is one filing, no summons to serve and no default to manage.
Summary dissolution: the short track
Family Code § 2400 keeps a separate procedure for small, short marriages. Its limits are strict and all must be met: no children, a marriage of five years or less, no real estate beyond a qualifying lease, debts other than car loans of no more than $4,000, and community and separate property under the dollar ceilings written in the statute. Both spouses sign one joint petition and pay a single $435. Because nothing is contested, the case moves on paper and the only court charge is that one fee.
Residence and the six-month clock
One spouse must have been a resident of California for 6 months and of the filing county for 3 months before the petition is filed (Fam. Code § 2320(a)); same-sex marriages entered in California may be dissolved without residency under § 2320(b). The clock that matters for cost is § 2339: the judgment cannot end the marriage until 6 months after the respondent was served or appeared. Paperwork, including the judgment itself, can be filed earlier; the status simply waits. Nothing in that delay is billed by the court.
A worked budget
Take spouses who each file a first paper and share one lawyer's review of their settlement. Suppose the lawyer quotes $350 an hour and 12 hours; both numbers are placeholders, so put your own quote in the calculator above. The court's part stays $870 and the total comes to $5,070. A request for order on temporary custody would add $60. If the household income is low, Request to Waive Court Fees (FW-001) can remove every one of those court charges. California guideline support has its own formula, covered on the California child support page, and temporary spousal support is on the California alimony page.
The California fees and rules this calculator applies
| Court fee | California |
|---|---|
| Petition for divorce | $435 |
| Response or answer | $435 |
| Joint petition for dissolution or legal separation, covers both petitioners (Fam. Code § 2342.5(h)) | $870 |
| Joint petition for summary dissolution (Gov. Code § 70670(b)) | $435 |
| Motion or order to show cause in family law matter (Gov. Code § 70677(a)) | $60 |
| Additional charge on motion to modify or enforce custody or visitation (Gov. Code § 70678) | $25 |
Filing fee. Petition or other first paper for dissolution of marriage or domestic partnership, legal separation, or nullity: $435 (Statewide Civil Fee Schedule row 97: Gov. Code § 70670(b), 70602.5, 70602.6); response: $435 (row 98: Gov. Code § 70670(d), 70602.5, 70602.6). Schedule effective January 1, 2026. source
Fee waiver. Request to Waive Court Fees (FW-001). source
Residency. One spouse must have been a resident of California for 6 months and of the filing county for 3 months before the petition is filed (Fam. Code § 2320(a)); same-sex marriages entered in California may be dissolved without residency under § 2320(b). source
Waiting period. A judgment of dissolution is not final until six months have expired from the date of service of the summons and petition or the respondent's appearance, whichever occurs first (Fam. Code § 2339(a)). 182 days is the brief's day count for 6 months. source
Simplified procedure. Summary dissolution is available when, among other conditions, there are no children, the marriage lasted not more than 5 years, neither party owns real property (except a qualifying lease), unpaid obligations do not exceed $4,000 (excluding car loans), community property is under $25,000 and each spouse's separate property is not over $25,000 (Fam. Code § 2400). source
Parenting class. No statewide parenting-class requirement was verified. Contested custody is sent to court mediation/child custody recommending counseling under Fam. Code § 3170, which could not be read (archive unavailable).