Since April 2022, getting divorced in England and Wales no longer means proving your spouse did something wrong. The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 replaced the old fault-based system with a single ground — irretrievable breakdown — and a fixed statutory timeline that applies whether the application is made by one spouse or jointly.
Who can apply, and on what ground
You can apply for a divorce in England and Wales if you’ve been married for over a year, your relationship has permanently broken down, and your marriage is legally recognised in the UK, as GOV.UK’s own guidance confirms. Unlike the pre-2022 system, there’s no longer any need to cite adultery, unreasonable behaviour or a period of separation as evidence — a statement that the marriage has broken down irretrievably is enough on its own, and the other spouse generally cannot contest that statement in court.
Sole vs joint applications
You can apply alone, as the “applicant”, with your spouse then receiving the application as the “respondent” — or you can apply jointly, as “applicant 1” and “applicant 2”, if you both agree the marriage has broken down. A joint application can switch to a sole one if one party stops engaging, but a sole application cannot later become a joint one. Which route suits a couple often comes down to whether they can realistically cooperate on paperwork and timing, not just whether they agree the marriage is over.
The court fee and how to apply
The standard court fee for applying for a divorce, dissolution or judicial separation in England and Wales is £628, payable when the application is submitted, whether that’s done online through GOV.UK’s digital service or by post. Help with court fees is available for people on a low income or certain benefits, reducing or waiving the fee depending on financial circumstances. Applying online is generally quicker to process than a paper application, and GOV.UK notes it as the recommended route for most people.
The 20-week reflection period
This is the part of the process that most surprises people: even once the application is issued, there’s a mandatory minimum wait of 20 weeks before you can apply for the next stage, called a conditional order. According to GOV.UK’s guidance on applying for a conditional order, this 20-week period runs from when the application was issued, and only starts counting once the respondent has been formally served and, for a sole application, has returned an acknowledgement of service (or alternative service has been confirmed by the court). The reflection period exists by design — it was one of the more debated parts of the 2020 reforms, intended to give couples a genuine pause before the legal process moves toward finality, rather than allowing a divorce to be rushed through in days.
Conditional order and final order
Once the 20 weeks have passed, either spouse (or both, for a joint application) can apply for a conditional order — the modern equivalent of what used to be called “decree nisi”. This is a formal statement from the court that it sees no reason the divorce cannot go ahead, but the marriage is still legally in force at this point. A further six weeks and one day must then pass before applying for the final order (formerly “decree absolute”), which is the document that actually, legally ends the marriage. Financial matters, including any consent order dividing assets, are generally best resolved before applying for the final order, since remarrying or finalising the divorce can affect certain financial claims between former spouses.
Realistic overall timeline
- Minimum possible timeline: around 26 weeks (roughly six months) from application to final order, assuming no delays in service, acknowledgement or court processing.
- Typical real-world timeline: often closer to eight or nine months, once normal court processing times and any delays in serving the respondent are factored in.
- You cannot apply at all until you’ve been married for more than a year, regardless of how long the relationship itself has actually broken down for.
- Children and finances are handled separately from the divorce process itself — the divorce ends the marriage, but arrangements for children or splitting assets need their own agreement or court order.
What the no-fault reform actually changed
Before April 2022, anyone wanting to divorce without waiting for a period of separation had to attribute blame — citing the other spouse’s adultery or “unreasonable behaviour” as the legal basis, even in genuinely amicable separations. This created an structural incentive to manufacture conflict on paper, which family lawyers and reform campaigners argued made divorces more acrimonious than they needed to be. The 2020 Act removed the ability to contest the divorce itself (contesting is now only possible on very narrow jurisdictional grounds, such as disputing that the marriage is legally valid or that the courts have jurisdiction), and introduced the option of a joint application for the first time.
FAQs
Can my spouse stop the divorce if they don’t want it?
Generally no. Since the 2020 reforms, a respondent cannot contest a divorce simply because they disagree with it or dispute that the marriage has broken down — contesting is now limited to narrow legal issues like jurisdiction or the validity of the marriage itself.
Do I need a solicitor to get a no-fault divorce?
No — the online GOV.UK process is designed to be usable without a solicitor for the divorce application itself. Many people still take legal advice for the financial settlement or arrangements for children, which are separate matters the divorce process doesn’t automatically resolve.
Can the 20-week reflection period be skipped or shortened?
Not in ordinary circumstances — it’s a statutory minimum built into the process. Courts have limited discretion to depart from the standard timeline only in specific, unusual circumstances, so most applicants should expect the full 20 weeks to apply.