Reviewed July 2026
Filing for Divorce in Colorado
A plain-language look at how divorce works under Colorado law: who can file, how long it takes, what it costs, and where Colorado's own court forms and self-help resources are.
Virdix's document-preparation product currently prepares divorce paperwork for California cases only. This page explains how the process works under Colorado law, using Colorado's own court forms and self-help resources, for people researching before they file. It is not legal advice, and Virdix does not prepare or file Colorado divorce paperwork. See how Virdix works for California divorces.
Colorado combines two genuinely distinctive features: it eliminated fault grounds entirely (irretrievable breakdown is the sole ground, C.R.S. § 14-10-106(1)(a)(II)), and it is one of the few states with a statutory advisory maintenance formula (C.R.S. § 14-10-114) rather than leaving spousal support to unguided discretion. The moment a Petition (JDF 1011) is filed, an automatic temporary injunction binds both spouses under C.R.S. §§ 14-10-107 and 14-10-108 without either party having to request it: neither may sell, transfer, hide, or borrow against marital property, or cancel/change beneficiaries on health, home, auto, or life insurance covering the other party or a child, without consent or a court order. The waiting-period start date is not simply 'the filing date' the way many summaries imply, under § 14-10-106(1)(a)(III) the 91 days run from whichever event gives the court jurisdiction over the respondent (joint filing, service, or the respondent's waiver/appearance), so a jointly filed petition and a one-files-and-serves petition can reach the earliest possible decree date up to several weeks apart even though both are filed the same day. Colorado's own form, JDF 1011, is titled in plain language 'Petition for Divorce or Legal Separation,' even though the governing statute, case type, and final decree all still use 'dissolution of marriage.'
Grounds for divorce in Colorado
No-fault grounds
- Irretrievable breakdown of the marriage (C.R.S. § 14-10-106(1)(a)(II)), the sole ground
Colorado abolished fault-based grounds in 1971 when it adopted the Uniform Dissolution of Marriage Act and has retained none since. Marital misconduct cannot be pled as a ground and is expressly excluded from property division and maintenance awards.
Source: content.leg.colorado.gov
Who can file: residency rules
At least one party must have been domiciled in Colorado for at least 91 days immediately preceding the commencement (filing) of the dissolution proceeding, per C.R.S. § 14-10-106(1)(a)(I). This is exactly 91 days, not the commonly rounded 'about 3 months.' Separately, if minor children are involved, they must have lived in Colorado for at least 182 days (or since birth, if under six months old) for the court to have jurisdiction to allocate parental responsibilities, a distinct, longer threshold from the 91-day marital-domicile requirement, confirmed on the Colorado Judicial Branch's own dissolution guidance page and its official filing guide (JDF 1010).
C.R.S. § 14-10-106(1)(a)(I)
Source: coloradojudicial.gov
How long it takes
A mandatory 91-day waiting period applies before a decree of dissolution can be entered, even when both spouses agree on every issue. Per C.R.S. § 14-10-106(1)(a)(III), the court cannot enter a decree until 91 days or more have elapsed since it acquired jurisdiction over the respondent, which occurs via (a) service of process under C.R.C.P. Rule 4, (b) the respondent joining the case as co-petitioner on a jointly filed petition, or (c) the respondent otherwise entering an appearance (including signing a waiver of service). Mechanically this means: if both spouses sign and file the petition together, the 91 days run from the filing date; if one spouse files and then must serve the other, the 91 days run from the date of service or the date the respondent signs a waiver, not from the filing date. Colorado's official guide, JDF 1010 ('How to File for Divorce'), states this explicitly: 'The 91 days start when the petition is filed together, or the other person is served or signs a waiver.' It is 91 days, not the frequently rounded '90 days.'
C.R.S. § 14-10-106(1)(a)(III)
Source: coloradojudicial.gov
That figure is the statutory floor, not a promise. Service, exchanging financial disclosures, and the court's own hearing calendar routinely add time on top of it, and a contested case takes longer than an uncontested one regardless of the minimum. California, by comparison, requires a mandatory six month waiting period from the date of service.
Cost and filing fees
$260 for a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, Legal Separation, Declaration of Invalidity (annulment), or declaratory judgment, per the Colorado Judicial Branch's statewide fee schedule, authorized by C.R.S. § 13-32-101(1)(a),(a.5),(5)(a)(I-X),(9). A response/answer filed by the other party is $222 under § 13-32-101(1)(f),(9). Colorado court filing fees are set by state statute and the Judicial Branch's statewide fee schedule applies identically in every county/judicial district, there is no county-level fee variation. Confirmed live on the Colorado Judicial Branch's official 'List of Fees' page as of this verification date.
Source: coloradojudicial.gov
California's own statewide filing fee is generally $435 to $450 statewide, with a fee waiver available for those who qualify.
Divorce forms and papers
The petition
JDF 1011, titled on the form itself 'Petition for Divorce or Legal Separation.' Colorado's Judicial Branch has renamed its public-facing family forms into plain-language 'divorce' terminology, but the governing statute (Uniform Dissolution of Marriage Act, C.R.S. Title 14, Article 10), the case type, and the final decree all still use 'dissolution of marriage.' JDF 1011 is a fillable PDF (confirmed via AcroForm field inspection of the live file).
Source: coloradojudicial.gov
Fee waiver
JDF 205, 'Motion to Waive Fees' (Clerk's Event Code: MIFP, Motion to file Without Payment), filed together with JDF 206, 'Order Re: Fee Waiver' (parties complete only the caption section). Authorized under C.R.S. § 13-16-103 and Colorado Chief Justice Directive 98-01. Eligibility is household income at or below 125% of federal poverty guidelines, or enrollment in certain public benefit programs (e.g., Aid to the Blind, Aid to the Needy and Disabled, Old Age Pension A & B, Supplemental Security Income). For a domestic relations case, JDF 205 must be filed in person or by mail with the court clerk; the online fee-waiver e-filing path is limited to eviction cases only.
Source: coloradojudicial.gov
Colorado publishes fillable forms for this process. https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/self-help-forms
California uses standardized Judicial Council forms, starting with the Petition (Form FL-100), across every county. See California's own divorce forms.
Filing online
Statewide system called Colorado Courts E-Filing (CCE), a single platform used across all Colorado district courts, not a county-by-county patchwork. For domestic relations (dissolution) cases, self-represented parties may register for a CCE account and opt in to e-file/e-serve, but the Judicial Branch's own guidance for non-attorneys frames this as something the pro se filer chooses to do, paper filing with the county clerk remains available and is not displaced. CCE charges its own per-filing fee ($12 per filing, plus separate e-service fees) in addition to the court's statutory filing fee.
Source: coloradojudicial.gov
Uncontested and simplified divorce
Colorado does not have a separate statutory simplified or summary divorce track. An uncontested case still uses the standard process, it just moves faster because there is nothing to litigate.
Colorado does not have a separately named statutory 'simplified dissolution' track with fixed numeric eligibility caps, no marriage-length or asset-value threshold appears in the Uniform Dissolution of Marriage Act or in the Judicial Branch's own filing guide (JDF 1010); an earlier draft of this research incorrectly attributed an '8-year marriage / no real property' cap to Colorado and that claim was discarded after it could not be verified against the primary source. What Colorado does offer procedurally: (1) both spouses may file the Petition (JDF 1011) jointly as co-petitioners, which skips the Summons and Service steps and starts the 91-day waiting period immediately at filing; and (2) if the parties reach full agreement on every issue and have no minor children of the marriage, they may file JDF 1018, 'Affidavit for Decree Without Appearance,' letting the court enter the final decree without a hearing. Cases with minor children require a signed Parenting Plan (JDF 1113) and are not eligible for the no-hearing JDF 1018 pathway per the Judicial Branch's guide. Eligibility for the streamlined, no-hearing path turns on full agreement (and no minor children), not on any fixed marriage-length or property-value ceiling.
Source: coloradojudicial.gov
California's equivalent is uncontested divorce in California, which uses the same statewide forms as any other case but moves faster once both spouses agree on every term.
Filing without a lawyer
Colorado allows self-represented filers, and most divorces filed in the state proceed this way. Because Virdix prepares paperwork for California cases only, a Colorado filer handling their own case works directly from Colorado's own forms and self-help materials rather than a Virdix-prepared packet. Colorado's official self-help resources are the direct source for the current forms and instructions.
For how self-representation works in the state Virdix does serve, see divorce without a lawyer in California and DIY divorce vs. hiring a lawyer.
More about divorce in Colorado
How property is divided
Equitable distribution, not community property. Under C.R.S. § 14-10-113, the court divides 'marital property', all property acquired by either spouse during the marriage except gifts, inheritances/devises, property excluded by valid agreement, and property acquired after a decree of legal separation, in 'such proportions as the court deems just' after weighing each spouse's contribution (including as homemaker), the value set apart to each spouse, each spouse's economic circumstances (including whether the parent with majority parenting time should get the family home), and any change in value of separate property during the marriage. Division is made 'without regard to marital misconduct.' The statute mentions 'community property' only in passing, as one of several title-holding forms (like joint tenancy) that does not defeat the marital-property presumption, Colorado itself is not a community property state.
Source: content.leg.colorado.gov
Spousal support
Colorado is one of the minority of states with an advisory statutory maintenance formula rather than pure judicial discretion. C.R.S. § 14-10-114 directs the court to make initial findings on each party's gross income, the marital property apportioned to each party, each party's financial resources, and reasonable financial need, then apply advisory guidelines (for combined gross incomes up to the statutory ceiling) to reach a presumptive amount and term as a 'starting point' for a fair and equitable award. The court may deviate from the guideline result if it makes findings that the guideline amount or term would be unfair or inequitable given the statutory factors. Maintenance, like property division, is awarded without regard to marital misconduct.
Source: content.leg.colorado.gov
Child support guideline
Income Shares model. Under C.R.S. § 14-10-115, support is calculated from the parents' combined adjusted gross income, the amount estimated to have been allocated to the child had the parents and child been living in one household, then allocated between the parents based on their respective incomes and physical care (parenting time) arrangements, with adjustments for extraordinary medical expenses and work-related child care costs.
Source: content.leg.colorado.gov
California is the only state on this site with a full county-by-county breakdown. See how California's divorce process compares across its 58 counties.
This page is general information about Colorado divorce procedure, not legal advice for your situation. Laws, fees, and forms change over time; confirm current details with Colorado's own courts before relying on anything here. Virdix is not a law firm, is not licensed to practice law in Colorado, and does not prepare or file Colorado divorce paperwork. It is not a substitute for an attorney licensed in Colorado.