Utah divorce laws

Where and how to file in Utah

Who can file (residency)

You or your spouse must have lived in the Utah county where you file for at least 90 days before filing (or you are military stationed in Utah for 90 days, or both spouses consent to Utah jurisdiction).

Waiting period

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).

Court

District Court in the county where you or your spouse has lived for 90 days

Official forms

Divorce forms (Utah courts)

Court self-help

Divorce self-help (Utah courts)

Filing fee

$350 to file a petition for divorce; $130 for the respondent's answer/counter-petition (Utah Courts fee schedule effective May 6, 2026; Utah Code 78A-2-301(1)(b)(iv), (1)(d)(iv)). Extra costs may include service and the required classes.

If you can't afford the fee

Ask the judge to waive fees with a Motion to Waive Fees, filed with your other papers: https://www.utcourts.gov/en/self-help/legal-help/procedures/waiver.html

Simpler process for agreed cases

No special summary divorce, but if you agree you can file a stipulation and get a decree after the 30-day wait, often without a hearing. MyPaperwork (online interview) prepares the forms.

E-filing

Self-represented people can file new papers in person, by email to the court's filing address (PDF only), or by mail; MyPaperwork (online interview) prepares the divorce forms: https://www.utcourts.gov/en/self-help/services/mycase/mypaperwork.html

Law

Utah Code 81-4-402(1) · Utah Code 81-4-402(3), (4); 81-4-406(2)

Divorce in Utah, step by step

1. Check that you can file in Utah

   You or your spouse must have lived in the Utah county where you file for at least 90 days before filing (or you are military stationed in Utah for 90 days, or both spouses consent to Utah jurisdiction).

2. Get the official forms

   Use the court's official divorce forms: Divorce forms (Utah courts) No special summary divorce, but if you agree you can file a stipulation and get a decree after the 30-day wait, often without a hearing.

3. File the papers and pay the fee, or ask for a waiver

   File with the District Court in the county where you or your spouse has lived for 90 days. Filing fee: $350 to file a petition for divorce; $130 for the respondent's answer/counter-petition (Utah Courts fee schedule effective May 6, 2026; Utah Code 78A-2-301(1)(b)(iv), (1)(d)(iv)). Can't afford it? Ask the judge to waive fees with a Motion to Waive Fees, filed with your other papers: https://www.utcourts.gov/en/self-help/legal-help/procedures/waiver.html.

4. Serve your spouse

   Someone 18 or older who isn't you delivers the papers to your spouse (or leaves them at home with another adult), or your spouse signs an Acceptance of Service (form 1022FA).

5. Your spouse responds

   21 days if served in Utah; 30 days if served outside Utah. The summons states the deadline. If your spouse doesn't respond in time, you can usually ask for a default judgment.

6. Wait out the waiting period

   The court can't enter a divorce decree until 30 days after the petition is filed, unless it finds extraordinary circumstances.

7. Agree, or go to mediation or a hearing

   Required: if any issues are still contested after the response is filed, you must attend at least one mediation session in good faith (cost split equally unless ordered otherwise). If you agree on everything, you can usually submit a signed agreement. If not, the judge decides the issues you can't settle.

8. Get the final decree

   The judge signs the final decree (judgment), which ends the marriage. Get a certified copy and keep it. Name change: Ask the court clerk or the Self-Help Center how to request a former name in your divorce; a name-restoration rule was not found in Utah Code Title 81, chapter 4, and this was not confirmed on a court page.

Free tools for Utah

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Divorce timeline estimator for Utah

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Grounds for divorce in Utah

No-fault ground

irreconcilable differences

Fault grounds

Also allowed

Law

Utah Code 81-4-405 (impotency, adultery, willful desertion over 1 year, willful neglect, habitual drunkenness, felony conviction, cruel treatment, irreconcilable differences, incurable insanity, 3 years apart under a separate maintenance decree)

Property and debts in Utah

System

Equitable distribution

The rule

The court may make equitable orders dividing property, debts and obligations. The decree must say who pays each joint debt.

Law

Utah Code 81-4-406(3)-(4)

Alimony (spousal support) in Utah

The court weighs factors such as the payee's needs, the payer's ability to pay, the payee's earning capacity, length of the marriage, custody of children and contributions to the payer's career (Utah Code 81-4-502). Alimony generally can't last longer than the marriage did; temporary alimony paid during the case counts toward that limit. For a divorce filed on or after Jan. 1, 2026 between spouses who remarried each other, the court counts the two marriages together unless that would be inequitable. No fixed formula.

Children: custody and support in Utah

What Utah calls custody

custody and parent-time (parenting plan)

Parenting class

Required with minor children: a divorce orientation course (at least 1 hour) and a divorce education (parenting) course, unless the court waives them (Utah Code 81-4-105, 81-4-402(4), 81-4-406(2)). Discount if taken in person within 30 days of filing (Utah Courts).

Child support agency

Utah Office of Recovery Services (ORS)

Serving your spouse in Utah

How your spouse gets the papers

Someone 18 or older who isn't you delivers the papers to your spouse (or leaves them at home with another adult), or your spouse signs an Acceptance of Service (form 1022FA). Then file the proof of service.

Time to respond

21 days if served in Utah; 30 days if served outside Utah

Law

Utah Courts divorce page; Utah R. Civ. P. 4, 12

Going back to a former name in Utah

Ask the court clerk or the Self-Help Center how to request a former name in your divorce; a name-restoration rule was not found in Utah Code Title 81, chapter 4, and this was not confirmed on a court page.

Mediation in Utah

Required: if any issues are still contested after the response is filed, you must attend at least one mediation session in good faith (cost split equally unless ordered otherwise). You can be excused for good cause, such as domestic violence. Utah Code 81-4-403.

Free help in Utah

• Utah State Courts Self-Help Center

Good to know in Utah

• Utah moved its divorce laws from Title 30 to the new Title 81 (Utah Domestic Relations Code), effective Sept. 1, 2024. (2024 Utah Laws ch. 366)
• Alimony usually can't last longer than the marriage. (Utah Code 81-4-502)
• At least one mediation session is mandatory for contested issues. (Utah Code 81-4-403)

Changes in 2024–2026

Recodification: divorce provisions moved from Utah Code 30-3 to Title 81, chapter 4, effective Sept. 1, 2024 (2024 General Session ch. 366). 81-4-406 amended by 2025 ch. 479; 81-4-404 by 2025 ch. 426. 2026 General Session ch. 249 amended the alimony sections (81-4-501, -502, -504, -505), including the new rule that when spouses divorced, remarried each other and file again on or after Jan. 1, 2026, the court counts both marriages together for the alimony time limit (81-4-502(8)); ch. 155 amended 81-4-104 (temporary separation order).

Divorce checklist for Utah

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