Missouri · Divorce laws · Updated Oct 2026
Missouri divorce laws
Who can file for divorce in Missouri, how long it takes, the official forms and fees, property, support and children, in plain English from official sources, with a free timeline estimator and checklist.
Where and how to file in Missouri
- Who can file (residency)
- You or your spouse must have lived in Missouri (or been stationed there in the military) for 90 days right before filing.
- Waiting period
- The judgment can't be entered until at least 30 days after the petition is filed.
- Court
- Circuit Court in the county where you or your spouse live
- Official forms
- Divorce forms (Missouri courts)
- Court self-help
- Divorce self-help (Missouri courts)
- Filing fee
- Check with your court
- If you can't afford the fee
- Ask the court to let you proceed as a poor person (in forma pauperis) by filing a motion and affidavit with your petition.
- Simpler process for agreed cases
- No summary process. If you agree, you can file a signed settlement agreement (and parenting plan) and finish after the 30-day wait, often at a short hearing. Self-represented people must complete the court's Litigant Awareness Program before filing in many family cases.
- E-filing
- Missouri courts use statewide e-filing (Case.net / eFiling); self-represented litigants can e-file in many circuits.
- Law
- RSMo 452.305.1(1) · RSMo 452.305.1(1)
Divorce in Missouri, step by step
Check that you can file in Missouri
You or your spouse must have lived in Missouri (or been stationed there in the military) for 90 days right before filing.
Get the official forms
Use the court's official divorce forms: Divorce forms (Missouri courts) No summary process.
File the papers and pay the fee, or ask for a waiver
File with the Circuit Court in the county where you or your spouse live. Can't afford it? Ask the court to let you proceed as a poor person (in forma pauperis) by filing a motion and affidavit with your petition.
Serve your spouse
Your spouse must be served with the petition and summons by the sheriff or a special process server, or can sign an Entry of Appearance and Waiver of Service.
Your spouse responds
30 days after service. The summons states the deadline. If your spouse doesn't respond in time, you can usually ask for a default judgment.
Wait out the waiting period
The judgment can't be entered until at least 30 days after the petition is filed.
Agree, or go to mediation or a hearing
Courts may order mediation of custody and visitation disputes (except where there is domestic violence); many circuits do so routinely. If you agree on everything, you can usually submit a signed agreement. If not, the judge decides the issues you can't settle.
Get the final decree
The judge signs the final decree (judgment), which ends the marriage. Get a certified copy and keep it. Name change: Yes. You can ask in the divorce for the court to restore your former name in the judgment.
Free tools for Missouri
Pre-set for Missouri. They run in your browser and send nothing.
Divorce timeline estimator for Missouri
See the earliest date the law lets a judge sign your final divorce decree, from your filing date. Nothing you type here is sent anywhere.
Grounds for divorce in Missouri
- No-fault ground
- the marriage is irretrievably broken (no reasonable likelihood it can be preserved)
- Fault grounds
- Not available: no-fault only
- Living apart first
- Only if your spouse denies the marriage is broken: you must then prove a fact such as adultery, intolerable behavior, abandonment for 6 months, living apart by consent for 12 months, or living apart for 24 months.
- Law
- RSMo 452.305, 452.320
Property and debts in Missouri
- System
- Equitable distribution
- The rule
- Each spouse keeps their nonmarital property; marital property and debts are divided in proportions the court finds just, considering economic circumstances (including who keeps the family home with the children), each spouse's contributions (including as homemaker), the value of nonmarital property, conduct during the marriage, and custody arrangements.
- Law
- RSMo 452.330
Alimony (spousal support) in Missouri
Called maintenance. The court may award it only if the spouse asking lacks enough property for reasonable needs and can't support themselves through appropriate work (or is caring for a child who needs them at home). Amount and length depend on factors such as financial resources, time needed for training, standard of living, length of the marriage, age, health, and conduct. RSMo 452.335.
Children: custody and support in Missouri
- What Missouri calls custody
- legal and physical custody (joint or sole) under a parenting plan
- Parenting class
- Yes, usually. In divorces with minor children the court must order parents to attend educational sessions on the effects of custody and divorce on children, unless there's good cause (for example, you've agreed on custody and visitation, or attending would endanger someone) or a local rule says otherwise (RSMo 452.605).
- Child support agency
- Missouri Department of Social Services, Family Support Division - Child Support
Serving your spouse in Missouri
- How your spouse gets the papers
- Your spouse must be served with the petition and summons by the sheriff or a special process server, or can sign an Entry of Appearance and Waiver of Service.
- Time to respond
- 30 days after service.
- Law
- Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 54, 55.25
Going back to a former name in Missouri
Yes. You can ask in the divorce for the court to restore your former name in the judgment.
Mediation in Missouri
Courts may order mediation of custody and visitation disputes (except where there is domestic violence); many circuits do so routinely.
If you are in danger
If you are in danger, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is free, confidential and open 24/7, in English and Spanish: call 1-800-799-7233, text START to 88788, or chat at thehotline.org.
Protective orders in Missouri: If you are in danger, call 911. You can ask the circuit court for an Order of Protection (Adult Abuse Act, RSMo 455). Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence: https://www.mocadsv.org/
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Free help in Missouri
Good to know in Missouri
- Missouri can grant a divorce just 30 days after filing, one of the shorter waits (RSMo 452.305).
- If your spouse denies the marriage is broken, you must prove a specific fact, such as 12 months living apart by consent or 24 months apart (RSMo 452.320).
- Since Aug. 28, 2026, a pregnancy can't stop a Missouri court from finalizing your divorce (RSMo 452.305.3, 2026 H.B. 1908 & 2337).
Changes in 2024–2026
2026 H.B. 1908 & 2337 (effective Aug. 28, 2026) amended RSMo 452.305: being pregnant no longer prevents the court from entering a divorce or legal separation judgment, and judgments show only the last four digits of Social Security numbers.
Divorce checklist for Missouri
Answer a few questions to get a checklist for your state: documents to gather, the official forms, the fee or fee waiver, serving your spouse, children and the final steps. Print it or download it. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Questions about divorce in Missouri
How long do you have to live in Missouri to file for divorce?
You or your spouse must have lived in Missouri (or been stationed there in the military) for 90 days right before filing.
How long does a divorce take in Missouri?
The judgment can't be entered until at least 30 days after the petition is filed.
What are the grounds for divorce in Missouri?
Missouri's no-fault ground is the marriage is irretrievably broken (no reasonable likelihood it can be preserved). Missouri has no fault grounds. Only if your spouse denies the marriage is broken: you must then prove a fact such as adultery, intolerable behavior, abandonment for 6 months, living apart by consent for 12 months, or living apart for 24 months.
Is Missouri a community property state?
No. Missouri uses equitable distribution. Each spouse keeps their nonmarital property; marital property and debts are divided in proportions the court finds just, considering economic circumstances (including who keeps the family home with the children), each spouse's contributions (including as homemaker), the value of nonmarital property, conduct during the marriage, and custody arrangements.
Can I get the divorce filing fee waived in Missouri?
Ask the court to let you proceed as a poor person (in forma pauperis) by filing a motion and affidavit with your petition.
Is there a simpler divorce process in Missouri?
No summary process. If you agree, you can file a signed settlement agreement (and parenting plan) and finish after the 30-day wait, often at a short hearing. Self-represented people must complete the court's Litigant Awareness Program before filing in many family cases.
How long does my spouse have to respond in Missouri?
30 days after service.
Can I change my name back in a divorce in Missouri?
Yes. You can ask in the divorce for the court to restore your former name in the judgment.
Is mediation required in a divorce in Missouri?
Courts may order mediation of custody and visitation disputes (except where there is domestic violence); many circuits do so routinely.
Do divorcing parents have to take a class in Missouri?
Yes, usually. In divorces with minor children the court must order parents to attend educational sessions on the effects of custody and divorce on children, unless there's good cause (for example, you've agreed on custody and visitation, or attending would endanger someone) or a local rule says otherwise (RSMo 452.605).
How does alimony work in Missouri?
Called maintenance. The court may award it only if the spouse asking lacks enough property for reasonable needs and can't support themselves through appropriate work (or is caring for a child who needs them at home). Amount and length depend on factors such as financial resources, time needed for training, standard of living, length of the marriage, age, health, and conduct. RSMo 452.335.