Reviewed July 2026
Filing for Divorce in New York
A plain-language look at how divorce works under New York law: who can file, how long it takes, what it costs, and where New York'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 New York law, using New York'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 New York divorce paperwork. See how Virdix works for California divorces.
New York only added true no-fault divorce in 2010 with DRL 170(7), for essentially the entire 20th century, New York required proof of fault (adultery was long the only ground) or a lengthy prior separation, making it a national outlier as the last state to adopt no-fault. Even now, no-fault in New York is narrower than in most states: a court cannot enter judgment on the no-fault ground until every ancillary issue in the case, equitable distribution of property, spousal maintenance, child custody and support, and counsel fees, has been resolved by agreement or decided by the judge, so 'no-fault' does not mean 'fast' the way it does in states that grant a bare divorce and let ancillary issues follow later. Divorce is also filed in Supreme Court rather than Family Court, which regularly confuses self-represented filers researching where to go.
Grounds for divorce in New York
No-fault grounds
- Irretrievable breakdown of the relationship for at least 6 months, stated under oath (DRL 170(7))
Fault-based grounds
- Cruel and inhuman treatment endangering the plaintiff's physical or mental well-being (DRL 170(1))
- Abandonment of the plaintiff for one or more years (DRL 170(2))
- Imprisonment of the defendant for 3 or more consecutive years after the marriage (DRL 170(3))
- Adultery (DRL 170(4))
- Living apart pursuant to a decree or judgment of separation for 1 year or more, with the plaintiff having substantially performed its terms (DRL 170(5))
- Living separate and apart pursuant to a written, acknowledged separation agreement for 1 year or more, with the plaintiff having substantially performed its terms (DRL 170(6))
A court cannot enter judgment on the no-fault ground until every ancillary issue (equitable distribution, spousal maintenance, custody/support, counsel fees) has been resolved by agreement or decided by the judge.
Source: nysenate.gov
Who can file: residency rules
New York does not have a single flat residency rule. A divorce action may be maintained only if one of five alternative conditions is met: (1) the parties married in New York and either party has lived in NY continuously for the 1 year immediately before filing; (2) the parties lived in NY as a married couple and either party has lived in NY continuously for the 1 year immediately before filing; (3) the grounds for divorce arose in New York and either party has lived in NY continuously for at least 1 year before filing; (4) the grounds arose in New York and both parties currently live in NY; or (5) either party has lived in New York continuously for at least 2 years immediately before filing (this last option requires no NY connection to the marriage or the grounds at all). There is no requirement that a party keep living in New York once the case has been filed.
DRL § 230
Source: nysenate.gov
How long it takes
New York has no mandatory post-filing 'cooling off' period between commencing the action and entry of judgment. However, the no-fault ground itself (DRL 170(7)) requires the marriage to have been irretrievably broken for a period of at least six months before that ground can be sworn to, and no judgment of divorce can be entered on that ground until all ancillary economic and custody issues (equitable distribution, spousal maintenance, child support, counsel fees, custody/visitation) have been resolved by agreement or decided by the court.
DRL § 170(7)
Source: nysenate.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
$335 total for an uncontested divorce: $210 to purchase an index number at the start of the case, plus $125 paid together when the Request for Judicial Intervention (RJI) and Note of Issue (NOI) are filed at the end of the uncontested process. Confirmed directly via browser from the New York State Unified Court System's own official 'Uncontested Divorce Overview' page (a statewide, not county-specific, help page), and cross-verified against three independent county clerk fee-schedule pages (New York County, Bronx County, and Queens County), all of which list the same $210 index-number fee. This does not include additional case-specific fees such as service of process, a fee-based (rather than uncontested-track) RJI, or Note of Issue variants outside the uncontested matrimonial track. A fee waiver is available for filers who show extreme financial hardship.
Source: nycourts.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
A divorce action is started with a Summons with Notice or a Summons and Verified Complaint (no single numbered 'petition' form the way CA uses FL-100). For an uncontested divorce, the case is completed by e-filing an Uncontested Matrimonial Packet, which for cases with children under 21 must include the Child Support Worksheet (Form UD-8(3)), the Support Collection Unit Information Form (UD-8a) or NYS Case Registry Form, and the UCS-111 Child Support Summary Form.
Source: iappscontent.courts.state.ny.us
Fee waiver
No single statewide numbered fee-waiver form. Confirmed directly via browser from the NY Unified Court System's official 'Fee Waivers (Poor Person's Relief)' page: relief is requested by filing a Motion with a sworn Affidavit under CPLR 1101/1102, and the page states outright 'There is no official form for this request, and different Judges may require different information to decide your fee waiver request.' The court publishes non-uniform sample/guide forms by court type (Supreme Court, Civil Court, Appellate Division, Inmate) as examples only, not as a required statewide form.
Source: nycourts.gov
New York publishes fillable forms for this process. The NY Unified Court System publishes an official Uncontested Divorce Forms Packet (UD-series forms) with instructions, available through the court's divorce resources pages; the packet was fully revised effective March 1, 2026 per court self-help materials.
California uses standardized Judicial Council forms, starting with the Petition (Form FL-100), across every county. See California's own divorce forms.
Filing online
Mixed/evolving, governed by 22 NYCRR 202.16-c ('Rules Governing the Electronic Filing of Matrimonial Actions in Supreme Court'), confirmed directly via browser navigation to the official nycourts.gov rules text. Historically, e-filing for matrimonial (divorce) cases was authorized only on a consensual basis, no party could be compelled to e-file or be e-filed against in a matrimonial case, and an attorney could opt out by filing a letter of declination (confirmed via the official NYSCEF county e-filing protocol for New York County Supreme Court, which describes matrimonial matters as excluded from the mandatory e-filing regime that began February 19, 2013). Secondary legal-commentary sources report that as of April 21, 2025, mandatory e-filing was expanded statewide to matrimonial cases, with Allegany and Erie counties excluded, the full text of 202.16-c was located this pass but the specific 2025 mandatory-expansion claim and the county carve-out were not independently re-confirmed within it before time ran out on this research pass; verify against the current 202.16-c text and any implementing administrative order before publishing as fact.
Source: nycourts.gov
Uncontested and simplified divorce
New York offers a distinct simplified or summary track.
New York's 'uncontested divorce' pathway functions as its simplified track: both spouses agree on all terms (or the defendant does not contest), no trial is required, and the case is resolved via the Uncontested Divorce Packet rather than full litigation. This is not a separate abbreviated-grounds procedure the way some states' short-marriage summary dissolution laws are, it is the standard no-fault ground (DRL 170(7)) processed through a paperwork-only track once both sides agree on custody, support, and property.
Source: iappscontent.courts.state.ny.us
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
New York allows self-represented filers, and most divorces filed in the state proceed this way. Because Virdix prepares paperwork for California cases only, a New York filer handling their own case works directly from New York's own forms and self-help materials rather than a Virdix-prepared packet. New York'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 New York
How property is divided
Equitable distribution, not community property. Marital property is distributed equitably (not necessarily equally) based on the circumstances of the case and the parties, per DRL 236(B); the statute lists specific factors courts must weigh and explicitly excludes a spouse's enhanced earning capacity from a license, degree, or celebrity goodwill from being treated as distributable marital property.
Source: nysenate.gov
Court structure
Divorce in New York is filed in Supreme Court (a court of general jurisdiction), not Family Court, Family Court has no jurisdiction to grant a divorce, only certain related matters like child support and custody outside of a divorce action. This trips up a lot of self-represented New Yorkers who assume 'family law' means Family Court.
Source: nysenate.gov
Spousal support
New York has a statutory maintenance formula, not pure judicial discretion, under DRL 236(B): temporary (pendente lite) maintenance is calculated from set percentages of each spouse's income (subject to an income cap), and post-divorce maintenance uses a similar formula plus an advisory duration schedule keyed to the length of the marriage.
Source: nysenate.gov
Child support guideline
Income Shares model under the Child Support Standards Act (CSSA). The statute sets the child support percentage of combined parental income at 17% for one child, 25% for two, 29% for three, 31% for four, and no less than 35% for five or more, prorated between the parents by income share.
Source: nysenate.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 New York divorce procedure, not legal advice for your situation. Laws, fees, and forms change over time; confirm current details with New York's own courts before relying on anything here. Virdix is not a law firm, is not licensed to practice law in New York, and does not prepare or file New York divorce paperwork. It is not a substitute for an attorney licensed in New York.