Uncontested and joint divorce in New York

New York gives you three different ways to get an uncontested divorce, and most people only find out about one of them. The packet everybody knows about is the oldest and the most work. The joint filing is the newest and the easiest, and almost nobody has heard of it.

What counts as an uncontested divorce in New York?

Four situations, according to the court's uncontested divorce page:

1. Your spouse signs a paper agreeing to the divorce, does not object to what you are asking for, and asks the court for nothing

2. Your spouse defaults by failing to answer the summons or the summons and complaint

3. You both have a written agreement about finances, property, and the custody and support of your children, and your spouse signs a paper agreeing to the divorce

4. You both have such an agreement and file jointly on the no-fault ground

The word uncontested is doing something specific here. It does not mean you agree about everything. It means your spouse is not asking the court for anything, which is why the court's own materials warn that the packet stops working the moment your spouse decides to seek relief.

What are the three ways to get an uncontested divorce in New York?

The uncontested divorce forms packet

The full set of UD forms, free, downloadable, and usable with any of the seven grounds. It comes with a 44 page instruction booklet, and it is the route to use if your spouse consents or defaults but you are not filing together.

This is also the only route available on a fault ground. Cruel and inhuman treatment, abandonment, imprisonment, adultery, and conversion of a separation judgment or agreement all have to go through this packet. The grounds chapter covers when a fault ground is worth pleading, which is rarely.

The online DIY program

A guided interview that produces your filled-in forms. The DIY Uncontested Divorce Program lists four eligibility rules, and all four have to be true:

• Both spouses are over 18

• There are no children under 21

• The marriage has been over for at least six months and the relationship cannot be saved

• All marital property issues, including debt, have been settled

Bring your spouse's full name, previous last names, current address, social security number, and phone number, a copy of your marriage certificate, and any settlement agreement or order of protection. If you cannot afford the fees, bring your income, what you own, and your monthly rent and utility costs so you can apply for a waiver.

Commercial use is prohibited and nobody may charge you for using it.

The joint divorce

Both spouses file together, on the no-fault ground, with an agreement already reached. The uncontested joint divorce page describes it as much easier and quicker, because you do not have to prove grounds and neither of you is suing the other. You file your papers together and ask the court to approve what you have agreed.

Two limits worth knowing before you plan around it:

• It is no-fault only. Any other ground sends you to the standard packet.

• You cannot already have started. If a summons or summons and complaint has been filed, the joint program is closed to you.

The JD forms come as packets, one for cases with children under 21 and one for cases without, plus an appendix of additional forms for particular circumstances. The current versions were revised March 1, 2026.

Which uncontested route should you use in New York?

Work down the list.

If neither of you has filed and you agree on everything, use the joint divorce. It skips service entirely, which removes the single most common source of delay described in the service chapter.

If you have no children under 21, everything is settled, and you would rather answer questions than fill out forms, use the DIY program.

If your spouse is cooperative but will not file with you, or if you are relying on a fault ground, or if there is anything unusual about your case, use the full packet.

And if there is a real disagreement about money or the children, none of these is right. The packet instructions say plainly that many of its forms only work where your spouse consents and asks the court for nothing.

What forms does an uncontested New York divorce require?

The core set, from the court's forms list:

• Notices served with the summons in every case: the Notice of Automatic Orders, the Notice of Guideline Maintenance for cases started on or after January 25, 2016, and the notice about continuing health care coverage, plus the Child Support Standards Chart if there are children

• Summons with Notice, Form UD-1, or Summons with Verified Complaint, Forms UD-1a and UD-2

• Affirmation of Service, Form UD-3

• Sworn statement removing religious barriers to remarriage, Form UD-4, with proof of service on Form UD-4a

• Affirmation of Regularity, Form UD-5, confirming whether your spouse was served, appeared and signed, or defaulted

• Plaintiff's Affirmation, Form UD-6, required in every case

• Defendant's Affirmation, Form UD-7, where your spouse will sign it

• Income and support worksheets, Forms UD-8(1), UD-8(2), and UD-8(3)

• The judgment packet: Note of Issue UD-9, Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law UD-10, Judgment of Divorce UD-11, Part 130 certification UD-12, Request for Judicial Intervention UD-13, Notice of Entry UD-14, and affirmation of service of the judgment UD-15

Cases with children add the Addendum to the RJI, Form 840M, and the UCS-111 child support summary. The filing guide covers the order they get filed in and what each one costs.

Can an uncontested divorce still require a hearing in New York?

Yes, and people are caught out by it. The uncontested divorce instructions say that where the case asks for maintenance, custody, visitation, or distribution of property, the court may require a hearing even if there is a prior court order or a prior agreement between you and your spouse.

Any agreement you reach is subject to judicial approval before the court will incorporate it into a judgment, and the court may hold a hearing before deciding whether to approve. Uncontested means your spouse is not fighting you. It does not mean the judge stops looking.

What if your uncontested divorce becomes contested?

You change tracks. File the Request for Judicial Intervention, get a judge assigned, and the court rules take over the schedule. The contested divorce chapter walks through the conferences and deadlines that follow.

The court's own advice is worth repeating: if your spouse later decides to disagree with what you are asking for, this packet should not be used, because most of its forms assume a spouse who consents and requests nothing.