Uncontested Divorce in Texas: Cost, Process & Timeline

What is an uncontested divorce in Texas?

An uncontested divorce, which Texas courts and forms call an agreed divorce, is one where you and your spouse have reached agreement on every legal issue in the case before it goes to a judge for a final decree. Reaching that agreement before you file is the cleanest and cheapest path, but a case can still finish as agreed as long as every issue is resolved before the decree is signed. Because there is no dispute, there is nothing for the court to decide beyond confirming that your agreement is voluntary and lawful.

To be genuinely uncontested, you have to agree on all of the following that apply to you:

• How your property and assets are divided. Texas divides community property in a way the court finds "just and right" under Texas Family Code § 7.001, which is not automatically 50/50. If you put your agreement in a written agreement that meets the statute's requirements, and the court finds the terms just and right, the court is bound by them (Texas Family Code §§ 6.604, 7.006); short of that, the judge can request a revised agreement or decline to approve terms that are not just and right.
• How your debts are allocated, including credit cards, loans, and the mortgage.
• What happens to the marital home and any retirement accounts.
• If you have children: conservatorship (Texas's term for legal custody), the possession and access schedule (visitation), and child support, plus medical and dental support.
• Spousal maintenance (Texas's term for alimony), if either spouse is seeking it.

Is an uncontested divorce the same as a no-fault divorce?

No, and this is the most common confusion about Texas divorce. No-fault and uncontested answer two different questions. No-fault is about the ground for the divorce (the legal reason). Uncontested is about the process (whether a judge has to decide anything).

Many Texas divorces are filed on the no-fault ground of insupportability under Texas Family Code § 6.001, meaning the marriage has become insupportable because of discord or conflict of personalities that destroys the legitimate ends of the marriage, with no reasonable expectation of reconciliation. You do not have to prove your spouse did anything wrong. Texas also keeps fault grounds on the books, such as cruelty and adultery, which can affect how property is divided.

The two are independent. You can file a no-fault divorce and still fight bitterly over the house, which makes it a no-fault contested case. You can also settle every issue and file as agreed, which makes it uncontested. In an uncontested divorce, the ground is typically insupportability, since spouses who already agree on everything have little reason to plead and prove a fault ground, which is generally raised only in a contested case.

Do you qualify for an uncontested divorce?

Two things have to be true. First, you have to be eligible to file in Texas at all. Second, you and your spouse have to agree on every applicable issue.

Residency. To file for divorce in Texas, at least one spouse must have been a domiciliary of Texas (that is, living in the state with the intent to remain) for the six months before filing, and a resident of the county of filing for the preceding 90 days (Texas Family Code § 6.301). Only one spouse has to meet this; the other can live anywhere.

Full and final agreement. The agreement has to be real, complete, and reduced to writing in the decree. A verbal understanding that you will "work it out" is not agreement. Use the check below to pressure-test whether your case is actually uncontested.

How does the uncontested divorce process work in Texas?

Even an agreed divorce follows the court's steps. Here is the path from filing to a signed decree.

1. File the Original Petition for Divorce. The filing spouse (the petitioner) files it with the district clerk in the county where the residency requirement is met and pays the filing fee. If you cannot afford the fee, you can file a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145.
2. Handle notice to your spouse. Because you agree, the other spouse (the respondent) usually signs a Waiver of Service instead of being formally served. Under § 6.4035, the waiver can only be signed after the petition is filed, must include the spouse's mailing address, and must be sworn before a notary public who is not an attorney in the case. If your spouse will not sign it, you serve them the normal way, and the case can still be agreed if they later sign the decree.
3. Prepare the Agreed Final Decree of Divorce. This is the core document. It sets out every term you agreed on: property, debts, and any children's and support terms. Both spouses sign it.
4. Wait out the 60-day period. A Texas court may not grant a divorce before the 60th day after the petition was filed (§ 6.702). The only exception is a narrow one for documented family violence. This waiting period applies even when you agree on everything.
5. Prove up the divorce. In most counties, one spouse attends a brief prove-up hearing, often only a few minutes, where the judge confirms the agreement is voluntary and meets the legal requirements. Some counties accept a sworn affidavit in place of a live appearance, and some offer a virtual hearing. Your exact requirement depends on the county's local rules.
6. The judge signs the decree. Once the judge signs the Agreed Final Decree and it is filed with the clerk, you are divorced.

How long does an uncontested divorce take in Texas?

The floor is set by law. Texas imposes a minimum 60-day waiting period from the date the petition is filed before any divorce can be finalized (§ 6.702), with a narrow exception in documented family-violence cases (a family-violence conviction or deferred adjudication, or an active protective order). You cannot finalize sooner, no matter how completely you agree.

In practice, a straightforward agreed case finalizes in about 60 to 90 days, once you add the time to sign the waiver, prepare the decree, and get on the court's prove-up docket. That is dramatically faster than a contested divorce, which commonly runs 6 to 18 months because of temporary orders, discovery, mediation, and hearings. For how that difference drives cost, see what a Texas divorce costs.

How much does an uncontested divorce cost in Texas?

An uncontested divorce is the cheapest way to end a marriage in Texas, because agreement is what keeps attorney hours, and therefore the bill, low.

• Court filing fee: $350 in Bexar County (San Antonio), rising to $401 with children, and roughly $250 to $400 across Texas depending on the county. The filing fee is separate from service of process, certified copies, any QDRO or deed preparation, a parenting class, and attorney fees. If you cannot afford it, you can request a waiver under Rule 145.
• Do it yourself: about $300 to $500 total, which is essentially just court costs, using the free approved forms. This is realistic only when the case is genuinely simple.
• Attorney-assisted flat fee: commonly about $1,500 to $5,000, though this is a market range that varies by county and complexity, not a fee set by law. Because you agree on everything, many attorneys will quote a fixed price to draft the decree and handle the filing, which gives you cost certainty instead of an open-ended hourly meter.

For the full breakdown of filing fees, attorney billing, and the costs people forget, see our guide to how much a divorce costs in Texas, and if children are involved, our Texas child support calculator.

Can you do an uncontested divorce yourself, or do you need a lawyer?

Texas allows you to represent yourself. Whether you should comes down to how simple your case really is, because the risk in an agreed divorce is not the process, it is the decree.

The do-it-yourself path. For a genuinely simple agreed case, with no children, no real estate, and no retirement accounts, the free Texas Supreme Court-approved forms from TexasLawHelp and the Texas State Law Library, filed through eFileTexas, can work.

Where it goes wrong. An agreed decree is a court order, not a private handshake, and mistakes are expensive to fix after the judge signs. Common problems include a home that is not properly transferred, a retirement account that is not divided by the separate order it requires, and a support or property term written so loosely it cannot be enforced. Once the decree is signed, property terms are generally final absent fraud, duress, or newly discovered evidence.

The middle path. Many couples who agree on everything still use a flat-fee, attorney-drafted agreed divorce. It gives cost certainty and a decree that holds up, without the open-ended expense of a contested case. That is the practical sweet spot between doing it entirely alone and fighting it out.

What documents does an uncontested divorce require?

The paperwork scales with what you own and whether you have children. At minimum, an agreed divorce needs the first three below.

• Original Petition for Divorce. Starts the case and states the ground, usually insupportability.
• Waiver of Service (§ 6.4035), if your spouse signs one instead of being formally served.
• Agreed Final Decree of Divorce. The central document. Every term you agreed on goes here, and nothing is final until the judge signs it.
• If you have children: a parenting plan and possession schedule, a child support order, and medical and dental support terms, set out in or attached to the decree. Many counties also require a parenting class.
• If you have retirement accounts: a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) is a separate document, because the decree by itself does not divide a 401(k) or a pension.
• If one spouse keeps the marital home: a Special Warranty Deed to transfer title, and usually a mortgage refinance to remove the other spouse from the loan.

What should you not do in an uncontested divorce?

A few avoidable moves turn an agreed divorce into a slow or contested one, or leave you with a decree that fails when you need it. As general guidance, not advice on your situation:

• Do not treat a verbal agreement as final. Nothing is binding until the judge signs the decree, so get every term in writing. Handshake deals fall apart, and by then leverage has shifted.
• Do not sign a Waiver of Service without understanding it. It gives up your right to be formally served and, in some forms, your right to notice of later steps in the case. Read what you are waiving, and never sign one under pressure.
• Do not leave any asset or debt out of the decree. Every account, vehicle, and debt should be named and assigned. Anything left out can resurface later as a dispute the decree does not resolve.
• Do not assume the decree divides retirement or transfers the house by itself. Retirement accounts need a QDRO, and the home needs a deed and usually a refinance. Skipping these is the most common way an "agreed" divorce unravels years later.
• Do not file as uncontested when you actually disagree. If even one issue is open, the case is contested, and proceeding as if it is not just delays the reckoning and can cost more in the end.
• Do not skip a required parenting class or a county's local steps. Missing them stalls finalization, sometimes for weeks, even when everything else is agreed.