Divorce waiting periods by state

The judge can't sign the final divorce until 30 days after the summons and complaint are filed. Temporary orders (custody, support, who stays in the home) can be made sooner.

Generally you must wait at least 30 days after filing before the judge will sign the final divorce or dissolution decree.

The court can't hold the final hearing or sign the decree until 60 days after your spouse is served or signs an acceptance of service.

You must wait at least 30 days after filing the complaint before the divorce can be granted. If you use the separation ground, you must first have lived apart 18 months in a row.

Divorce takes at least 6 months. The earliest your marriage can end is 6 months after your spouse is served or responds (or after you file a joint petition).

The decree can't be entered until 91 days after the petition is filed and your spouse is served (or signs a waiver of service or joins as co-petitioner). This applies even if you agree on everything.

If you reach a full agreement, the court can enter judgment soon after the return date (the date set when you file). Otherwise: a default judgment (spouse served at home or in hand and doesn't appear) can't be entered until at least 30 days after the return date; a contested trial can't start until at least 90 days after it.

You can file anytime, but the court won't move forward until you and your spouse have been separated for at least 6 months, unless you file on misconduct grounds (such as abuse, adultery or desertion). You can be 'separated' under the same roof if you don't share a bedroom or have sex.

There is no required period of separation and no set waiting period before you file. The case still takes time: your spouse must be served and have a chance to answer, and the court schedules a hearing.

The final judgment can't be entered until at least 20 days after the petition is filed, unless the judge finds that waiting would cause an injustice.

Georgia
court self-help

The law sets no fixed waiting period for a divorce on the ground that the marriage is irretrievably broken. If your spouse denies the marriage is broken, the judge can continue the case 30 to 60 days for further hearing.

Your divorce can't be finalized until at least 20 days after your spouse is served (21 days if it is entered by default). A contested case often takes 6 months or more.

No fixed waiting period after filing (beyond the 90-day residency). If you have lived apart for at least 6 months in a row right before the judgment, the law treats irreconcilable differences as proven (an 'irrebuttable presumption').

The final hearing can't be held, and a summary (agreed) decree can't be entered, until at least 60 days after the petition is filed.

The court can't enter a final decree until 90 days after your spouse is served (or the acceptance of service is filed, or the last day of publication). The court can shorten this only in an emergency, on a written motion with an affidavit.

The case can't be heard until 60 days after the petition is filed, unless the judge finds an emergency.

No decree can be entered until you and your spouse have lived apart for 60 days. Living apart can be under the same roof, as long as you don't have sex.

For a no-fault divorce you must live separate and apart for 180 days if you have no minor children, or 365 days if you do. Under Article 102 you can file first and then must wait that period after service (or a signed waiver of service) and live apart that long before asking for the judgment.

Maine requires at least 60 days between filing all the needed divorce papers and the final hearing. Cases often take longer if you don't agree.

There is no waiting period after filing. For the 6-month separation ground, you must have lived separate lives for 6 months without interruption before you file (you can do that under the same roof).

Uncontested joint petition (1A): after the court approves your agreement, the judgment nisi enters 30 days later and becomes final (absolute) 90 days after that, about 120 days total. Contested no-fault (1B): the hearing can't be held earlier than 6 months after filing, then 90 more days until final.

No testimony can be taken (so the divorce can't be finished) until 60 days after filing if you have no minor children, or 6 months if you have children under 18. With children, the judge can shorten the wait for unusual hardship or another compelling reason, but not below 60 days.

Minnesota has no set waiting period. An agreed case can be finished as soon as the court signs your papers.

An irreconcilable-differences (no-fault) complaint must be on file for 60 days before it can be heard. Fault-based divorces have no fixed waiting period but usually need a trial with proof.

The judgment can't be entered until at least 30 days after the petition is filed.

The judge can't sign the decree until 21 days after your spouse is served. There is no required separation: you can show the marriage is broken either by more than 180 days living apart or by serious marital discord.

The case can't be heard and no decree can be entered until 60 days after your spouse is served (or signs a Voluntary Appearance). The decree becomes final 30 days after the judge enters it, but you can't marry someone else until 6 months after it is entered.

Nevada has no waiting period after filing. If you file a joint petition, the judge often signs the decree without a hearing.

New Hampshire
court self-help

There is no set waiting period after filing. But each ground has its own time rule: irreconcilable differences must have lasted at least 6 months; the separation ground needs 18 months living apart; for extreme cruelty you must wait 3 months after the last act before filing.

No statutory waiting period after filing was found. Your spouse has 30 days after service to respond; after that the case can move to a hearing or a default.

No set waiting period after filing. For the no-fault ground, the marriage must have broken down irretrievably for at least 6 months (you don't have to live apart), and the judgment can't be granted until property, support, fees, custody and visitation are all settled or decided.

You must live in separate homes for at least 1 year (a year and a day) before you can file, with at least one of you meaning it to be permanent. After your spouse is served, wait 30 days, then set a hearing.

No statutory waiting period. Your spouse has 21 days after service to answer; if they don't, you can ask for a default judgment.

Dissolution (you agree on everything): both spouses go to a hearing 30 to 90 days after filing the petition (the 30-day minimum does not apply if you finished a collaborative family law process first). Divorce: no fixed waiting period, but your spouse has 28 days to answer and contested cases take longer.

If you have minor children, the court can't issue the final decree until at least 90 days after filing (the judge can waive this for good cause if neither of you objects). It doesn't apply to some fault grounds such as abandonment, extreme cruelty or imprisonment.

No statutory waiting period after filing was found. Your spouse has 30 days after service to respond; after that you can ask for a default judgment or the case moves forward.

Mutual consent divorce: at least 90 days after the case starts, and both spouses file consent affidavits. Irretrievable breakdown without consent: you must have lived separate and apart for at least 1 year.

After the hearing and decision, the divorce doesn't become final until 3 months later; then the final judgment can be entered (ex parte, within the next 180 days). You can't remarry until final judgment is entered.

For most grounds, no final decree until 3 months after filing (and no referral to a master before 2 months). But for a 1-year separation or desertion divorce, the hearing can be held as soon as your spouse answers or is in default.

The court can't hear or decide the divorce until at least 60 days after your spouse is served with the summons and complaint. Temporary orders can be made during the wait.

Tennessee
court self-help

The court can't grant the divorce until the 60th day after you file. No wait is required if your spouse was convicted of (or got deferred adjudication for) family violence against you or your household, or you have an active protective order or emergency magistrate's order because of family violence.

The court can't enter a divorce decree until 30 days after the petition is filed, unless it finds extraordinary circumstances. With minor children, both parents must also finish the required classes first (petitioner within 60 days of filing, respondent within 30 days of service).

After the final hearing, the divorce is a 'decree nisi' and becomes final automatically 90 days later; the judge can shorten or waive this if you both agree. The no-fault ground also requires living apart for 6 months in a row.

No-fault divorce requires living separate and apart, without cohabitation and without interruption, for 1 year before filing — or 6 months if you have no minor children and have signed a separation agreement. Fault grounds of cruelty or desertion also need 1 year from the act.

The court can't finalize the divorce until at least 90 days after the petition has been both filed and served on your spouse (whichever happens later starts the clock).

No statutory waiting period after filing was found. Your spouse has 20 days to answer (30 days after publication).

There is a required 120-day waiting period (counted from service of the summons and petition, or from filing a joint petition) before the final hearing. After the divorce is granted, neither of you can remarry anywhere for 6 months.

The divorce decree can't be entered until at least 20 days after the complaint is filed. In practice you also wait for your spouse's answer time (20 days, or 30 if served out of state) and for initial financial disclosures.