How to file for divorce in Texas, step by step

Filing a Texas divorce is four things: a petition, a court, a fee, and a request for citation. The paperwork itself is not hard. What trips people up is choosing the wrong court, missing what the standing order does to their bank accounts, and paying a fee they could have had waived.

What form do you file to start a divorce in Texas?

An Original Petition for Divorce. It names the parties, states that residency is met, states the ground you are relying on, and lists what you are asking the court to order: the property division, conservatorship and possession if you have children, support, and a name change if you want one.

The Supreme Court of Texas has approved a statewide form set for the simplest cases. Divorce Set 1 covers uncontested divorces with no minor children and no real property, and it includes the petition, a waiver of service, a final decree, an affidavit of indigency, a certificate of last known address, a notice of change of address, and an affidavit of military status.

Read the set's own list of situations it does not cover before you use it. It rules itself out if you disagree about anything, if you want to plead a fault ground, if either of you owns or is buying real property, if there is a minor child or a disabled child of any age, if the wife is pregnant, if anyone wants spousal maintenance, or if there is an ongoing bankruptcy.

The Texas Judicial Branch self-represented litigants page adds an important point about all of the approved forms: using them is not required, but a trial court must not refuse one simply because the filer used a form or is not represented by counsel.

Which court handles divorce in Texas?

A district court in the county where residency is met. Larger counties have district courts designated for family matters, and a few counties route family cases through a statutory county court at law with family jurisdiction. Your district clerk's office will tell you which court takes the filing.

Pick the county before you pick the court, using the 90-day rule in the filing requirements chapter. If both of you qualify in different counties, the petition that gets filed first usually decides where the case lives, and that choice affects your fees, your local rules, and how long you wait for a hearing.

How much does it cost to file for divorce in Texas?

There is no statewide filing fee. Two consolidated fees are set by statute and every district clerk adds local charges on top, so the number is a county number.

The statutory piece is the larger one. Local Government Code section 135.101 sets a local consolidated filing fee of $213 on any civil case filed in a district court, statutory county court, or county court, plus $35 on later actions other than the original one.

Travis County is a useful worked example. Its district clerk's fee schedule for cases filed on or after January 1, 2026 shows a total base fee of $350, made up of the $213 local consolidated fee, a $137 state consolidated fee, and the itemized charges behind them: a $50 clerk's basic filing fee, $35 for the law library, $30 for records preservation, $25 for the court reporter, $20 for courthouse security, $20 for the court facility fund, $15 for alternative dispute resolution, $10 for the jury fund, $5 for the appellate judicial system, and $3 for language access.

Budget for the rest of it too:

• Service of citation: roughly $75 to $150 through a constable or a private process server, and more if your spouse is hard to find

• Certified copies of the decree: a few dollars per copy, and you will want several

• Qualified domestic relations order: usually drafted separately, and often the largest single add-on in an otherwise simple case

• Mediation: commonly $500 to $2,000 per side for a half or full day

Can you get the Texas filing fee waived?

Yes, and the rule is stronger than most people realize. Under Rule 145 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, a party who cannot afford court costs files a sworn Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs.

What the clerk must do once you file it:

• Make the form available to anyone for free, without being asked

• Docket the case, issue citation, and provide every other ordinary service

• Return the Statement only if it is not sworn, and for no other reason, including missing attachments

Attaching evidence still helps. Proof that you or a dependent receive benefits from a means-tested government program, or that you are represented by a legal aid provider funded by the Texas Access to Justice Foundation or the Legal Services Corporation, is prima facie evidence that you cannot pay.

"Costs" here is broad. It covers filing fees, issuance and service of process, copies, court-appointed professionals, and the court reporter's charge for an appellate record.

What is a standing order in a Texas divorce?

Most Texas counties attach a standing order to every new divorce case, and it takes effect on both spouses as soon as the case is filed. You do not get notice, a hearing, or a grace period. Read your county's order the day you file.

They vary, but they generally stop both of you from:

• Selling, hiding, giving away, or borrowing against property

• Emptying, closing, or moving money out of bank and investment accounts, outside ordinary living and business expenses

• Cancelling or changing the beneficiaries on health, life, auto, or homeowners insurance

• Taking the children out of the area, changing their school, or removing them from an insurance policy

• Harassing the other spouse, or disparaging either parent in front of the children

When a standing order is not enough, Family Code section 6.501 lets the court grant a temporary restraining order without notice to preserve property and protect the parties, including an order barring a spouse from destroying, removing, concealing, encumbering, transferring, or otherwise reducing the value of the parties' property with intent to obstruct the court's power to divide the estate.

What happens right after you file for divorce in Texas?

1. Ask for citation to issue. The clerk issues it when requested, and the party who requested it is responsible for getting it served. Nothing happens automatically.

2. Serve your spouse, or get a waiver signed. The rules and the deadlines are in the service chapter.

3. Calendar day 60. No decree before then, so this is your earliest possible finish.

4. Set temporary orders if you need them. Support, exclusive use of the house, a possession schedule, or an order to produce records.

5. Start your document work. Texas does not hand you the other side's financial picture. Read the discovery chapter before month two, because everything in it runs on deadlines you have to trigger yourself.