Virginia divorce laws

Where and how to file in Virginia

Who can file (residency)

One spouse must have been a real (bona fide) resident and domiciliary of Virginia for at least 6 months before filing.

Waiting period

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.

Court

Circuit Court (custody, visitation and support can also be handled in Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court)

Official forms

Divorce forms (Virginia courts)

Court self-help

Divorce self-help (Virginia courts)

Filing fee

No single statewide amount: the clerk's fee for a divorce is $60 (Va. Code 17.1-275(A)(26)) plus local and statutory add-ons and service costs. Use the court's Civil Filing Fee Calculator: https://webdev.courts.state.va.us/cgi-bin/DJIT/ef_djs_ccfees_calc.cgi. No fee for the defendant's answer or counterclaim.

If you can't afford the fee

Form CC-1414 (Petition for Proceeding in Civil Case Without Payment of Fees or Costs): https://www.vacourts.gov/static/forms/circuit/cc1414.pdf

Simpler process for agreed cases

Uncontested no-fault divorce after the separation period; VALegalAid.org (linked from the court's self-help site) offers online forms and guidance for no-fault divorce.

Law

Va. Code 20-97 · Va. Code 20-91(A)(9), (A)(6)

Divorce in Virginia, step by step

1. Check that you can file in Virginia

   One spouse must have been a real (bona fide) resident and domiciliary of Virginia for at least 6 months before filing.

2. Get the official forms

   Use the court's official divorce forms: Divorce forms (Virginia courts) Uncontested no-fault divorce after the separation period; VALegalAid.org (linked from the court's self-help site) offers online forms and guidance for no-fault divorce.

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

   File with the Circuit Court (custody, visitation and support can also be handled in Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court). Filing fee: No single statewide amount: the clerk's fee for a divorce is $60 (Va. Code 17.1-275(A)(26)) plus local and statutory add-ons and service costs. Can't afford it? Form CC-1414 (Petition for Proceeding in Civil Case Without Payment of Fees or Costs): https://www.vacourts.gov/static/forms/circuit/cc1414.pdf.

4. Serve your spouse

   Your spouse must be served with the complaint (by the sheriff or a private process server), or can accept service in writing.

5. Your spouse responds

   21 days after service (Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia, Rule 3:8) 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

   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.

7. Agree, or go to mediation or a hearing

   Not required; courts may refer parties to a dispute resolution orientation session. 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: Yes. If you changed your name because of the marriage, the court must restore your former or maiden name on your motion when it grants the divorce.

Free tools for Virginia

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Divorce timeline estimator for Virginia

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Grounds for divorce in Virginia

No-fault ground

living separate and apart without cohabitation for 1 year (6 months with a separation agreement and no minor children)

Fault grounds

Also allowed

Living apart first

Yes: 1 year, or 6 months with a separation agreement and no minor children.

Law

Va. Code 20-91(A) (adultery before the last separation, or sodomy/buggery outside the marriage; felony conviction with over 1 year confinement; cruelty or desertion after 1 year; separation)

Property and debts in Virginia

System

Equitable distribution

The rule

If either spouse asks, the court classifies property as separate, marital or part of each, values it, and can make an equitable monetary award or divide retirement benefits, using statutory factors.

Law

Va. Code 20-107.3

Alimony (spousal support) in Virginia

Called spousal support and maintenance. The court considers the reasons the marriage ended (including adultery, cruelty and desertion) and a list of financial factors, and can order periodic payments for a defined or undefined time, a lump sum, or reserve the right to future support. Permanent support generally can't go to a spouse who committed adultery, unless denying it would be a manifest injustice. No formula for final support. Va. Code 20-107.1.

Children: custody and support in Virginia

What Virginia calls custody

custody and visitation

Parenting class

Required when custody, visitation or support is contested: parents must attend an approved educational seminar of at least 4 hours (within 12 months before or 45 days after their court appearance); in uncontested cases only for good cause. Va. Code 20-103.

Child support calculator

Official child support calculator or guidelines

Child support agency

Virginia Department of Social Services, Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE)

Serving your spouse in Virginia

How your spouse gets the papers

Your spouse must be served with the complaint (by the sheriff or a private process server), or can accept service in writing. If you can't find them, the court can order service by publication.

Time to respond

21 days after service (Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia, Rule 3:8)

Law

Va. Code 8.01-293 et seq.; Va. Sup. Ct. R. 3:8

Going back to a former name in Virginia

Yes. If you changed your name because of the marriage, the court must restore your former or maiden name on your motion when it grants the divorce. Va. Code 20-121.4.

Mediation in Virginia

Not required; courts may refer parties to a dispute resolution orientation session.

Free help in Virginia

• Virginia Judicial System Court Self-Help
• VALegalAid.org (no-fault divorce forms and guidance)

Good to know in Virginia

• With no minor children and a signed separation agreement, the separation period drops from 1 year to 6 months. (Va. Code 20-91(A)(9))
• Adultery generally bars the guilty spouse from permanent spousal support. (Va. Code 20-107.1(B))
• Parents in contested custody or support cases must take a 4-hour parenting seminar. (Va. Code 20-103)

Changes in 2024–2026

2026 Acts ch. 918 (HB 303), in effect July 1, 2026 (no other date stated): (1) the adultery ground in 20-91(A)(1) now covers only adultery that happened before the spouses' last separation; (2) a divorce from bed and board (20-95) can now also be based on living separate and apart with intent to stay apart, can be filed with no waiting period, but can be decreed only under 20-91; (3) a work group must report by Dec. 1, 2026 on whether Virginia should move to only no-fault divorce and shorten or drop the separation periods. 2026 Acts ch. 402 (HB 556) only added 'if known and available' to the rule that the decree include each party's Social Security or DMV number. The separation periods (1 year, or 6 months with an agreement and no minor children) did not change.

Divorce checklist for Virginia

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Questions about divorce in Virginia

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