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Edit: At time of edit, in 2018, court fees have risen again to £550

Many people that visit our site do so after having googled ‘free divorce in England or Wales’ or a similar phrase. It is for this reason that we thought we’d write this post and let these people know that, under certain circumstances, it is indeed possible to get divorced without spending a penny. Unfortunately, though unsurprisingly, however, it is by no means a simple task. The first hurdle that you will need to clear are the court’s fees. When filing for a divorce, the courts request that a fee be paid in order to cover their administrative costs. Whilst these fees currently stand at £410, though, you may be exempt from them provided you meet certain criteria. Firstly, you will need to possess savings of less than £3,000 or £16,000 if you are older than 61 years of age. Additionally, items that you possess that are not essential (such as additional cars for example) would be considered as savings by the court also. Provided that you clear this first test, then you will be exempt from the court’s fees if you receive one of the following benefits:

• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance;
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance;
• Income Support;
• Universal Credit (along with annual earnings of less than £6,000 before tax); and
• State Pension Guarantee Credit.

Do not despair if you do not receive one of the benefits listed above. You will still be exempt from the court fee if you earn less than £1,085 per month before tax or below £1,245 if you are living with a partner (you would be classified as a single person if you and your spouse have separated but live separately in the same property). You should also add £245 to this figure for every dependent child (i.e. any that is under 18 and in full-time education) that lives with you. There are a few important points to add here. Firstly, when determining your monthly income, you should not only consider income you receive through employment, but from other sources such as rents, pensions, benefits etc. also. Certain benefits are excluded, however, and a list of these can be found on the court’s website, a link to which can be found at the end of this post. If your income is higher than the numbers specified above, then you will be required to pay a fee to the court. Fortunately, you may still be entitled to have the fee of £410 reduced, though you will be unable to obtain a free divorce. If, however, you receive one of the benefits listed above or your income is below the stipulated figures then congratulations, you’ve cleared the first hurdle – but that was the easy part. The next thing that you’re going to need to do is obtain and correctly complete a variety of documentation. You’ll also need to ensure that it’s all submitted to the court at the correct times. Getting the forms is easy - they’re available on the court’s website or can be collected from numerous county courts throughout both England and Wales. If your divorce is uncontested (the only circumstances under which you should try and get divorced for free) then you’ll need the following forms:

• D8 (Divorce Petition);
• D8a (Statement of Arrangements for Children (only required if dependent children or step-children are involved);
• D80 (Divorce Affidavit (there are five separate versions and you’ll need to complete the correct one. The form that you need to complete is determine by which ground you selected within your petition);
•  D84 (Application for Directions for Trial); and
• D36 (Application for Decree Absolute)

You may have come across a number of websites that claim that the courts are excessively pedantic and that even the slightest error will result in your application being rejected. Whilst these claims are somewhat exaggerated (a spelling mistake is unlikely to result in a rejection, for instance), it is still fair to say that there are numerous reasons why the court could reject your documentation resulting in you needing amend and re-file them, many of which could quite reasonably be viewed as overly fussy. Oh, and whilst you may have been exempt from the initial court fee, you’ll have to pay to submit amended documents and will also need to pay this over and over again until the courts are satisfied that they have been completed to the required standard. There are, of course, a number of sites offering free advice on how to complete these documents and, yes, it is possible that you could complete them correctly and get your divorce for free, but it’s equally, if not more likely, that you’ll have to amend and resubmit your documents at least once and pay the courts a three figure sum for the privilege. With Quickie Divorce, you can purchase what we believe to be the very best and most comprehensive guide to completing all of the forms that you’ll need for just £37. Alternatively, you can have every form you’ll need completed for you by an experienced case manager for just £67 saving you time and providing you with the peace of mind that comes from knowing that your documents have been completed correctly. If you’d like to try and get divorced for free, then you can find out more about court fees and download the documents that you’ll need at www.justice.gov.uk.  Alternatively, visit www.quickie-divorce.com to find out how we can help you get divorced cheaply, quickly and with a minimum of stress.