Your Texas Divorce Packet Guide
Agreed divorces in Texas are built out of a pile of court paperwork, and not one page of it costs anything to obtain. An online document service completes that same paperwork from answers typed into a questionnaire, at prices that typically start around $69 on top of whatever the county charges to file. Finding the paperwork was never the difficult part. The difficulty lies in sorting out which pages an agreed case truly needs, then making sure each name, each date, and the county read the same way on every one of them.
We may be compensated when you use services linked from this page.
- ✓Get your full packet built to matchForms cost nothing at the courthouse. Choosing which ones apply and keeping each name and date aligned is the actual work.
- ✓The forms themselves are freeYou can pull every official form off the court's site for free. The document itself is not what anyone should pay for.
- ✓Free eligibility checkYou can learn in 5 minutes whether an agreed case works online, and nothing has to be paid before you do.
- ✓File without a lawyerNothing contested, everything agreed. The review, the signature, and the filing all belong to you.
The Basic Stack of Paperwork in an Agreed Case
There is no official Texas divorce kit for sale. What follows comes at no charge from TexasLawHelp, the public legal-aid website that Texas courts recommend to filers without lawyers, plus the cover sheet used statewide and the vital statistics form. Pulling those documents down and typing your own answers into them is an ordinary way to proceed. The original form sources are listed in the directory.
-
FM-DivA-100 / FM-DivB-100
Original Petition for Divorce
This is what starts everything. Residency facts belong here, along with the marriage and separation dates and the request for a divorce on the no-fault ground of insupportability. Couples with no children under 18 use Set A, families with children use Set B, and Set D covers a childless couple that owns real property.
-
PR-Gen-116
Civil Case Information Sheet
Filed alongside the petition, this cover sheet is used across the state. Nothing on it describes the marriage. Its job is to direct the case to the right place inside the courthouse, and leaving it out can strand a packet at the counter.
-
VS-165
Information on Suit Affecting the Family Relationship
People call this one the BVS form or the Austin form, and it serves as the vital statistics record. Children or no children, no Texas divorce goes through without it, because that is how the state registers the end of a marriage.
-
FM-DivA-103 / FM-DivB-103
Waiver of Service Only
Here is the friendly path. Rather than accept formal service, the other spouse puts a signature on this page before a notary. Texas requires that signing to occur no sooner than 1 day after the petition reaches the clerk, and overlooking that single rule is the usual reason a waiver comes back.
-
FM-DivA-102 / FM-DivB-102
Respondent's Original Answer
This stands in for the waiver. A brief answer, filed by the spouse who is responding, puts that person into the case with no notary involved and no process server needed.
-
FM-Chil-306
Standard Possession Order
When children under 18 are involved, this rides along with the decree. Following the pattern laid down by statute, it spells out the possession and access schedule, summers and holidays included.
-
FM-DivA-600 / FM-DivB-601
Affidavit for Prove-Up of Agreed Divorce
A notarized sworn statement like this replaces, in some courts, the brief hearing where the filing spouse testifies. Because acceptance differs from one court to the next, the packet also carries a Sample Testimony script in case a hearing is required. Find both variants in the Texas form directory.
-
FM-DivA-201 / FM-DivB-201
Final Decree of Divorce
Judges sign this one, and it is the bulkiest thing in the stack. Property gets divided inside a Texas decree itself, not by reference to some agreement sitting in another file.
Certain entries here replace one another rather than stack up. A case brings the spouse in through formal service, an Answer, or a Waiver of Service, and it closes with a prove-up hearing or with an affidavit, but not with both.
What Makes the Stack Grow
Those 8 documents cover a standard case. 3 situations bring additional pages with them.
Kids Under the Age of 18
Petition and decree switch to their Set B editions, joined by a Record of Support Order that feeds the state registry, then an Income Withholding Order for Support, plus the Standard Possession Order. A parent or a child residing outside Texas adds one more page, the Out-of-State Party Declaration.
Real Estate and Retirement Accounts
Once a couple without children owns real property, the Set D forms apply, because only those spell out wording that truly conveys title. A 401(k) or pension split requires a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, left unpublished by TexasLawHelp, since each retirement plan sets the rules such an order must follow.
Court Costs and Former Names
Filing fees can be set aside for people who meet the standard, using a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs to make that request. A prior name can be restored during the divorce itself through an Order Restoring Name Used Before Marriage, far easier than opening a separate name-change case down the road.
What Gets a Packet Handed Back
Anyone can obtain these forms at no cost. Whether the clerk takes them on the first try is a different question entirely, and legal knowledge is seldom what decides it.
A Superseded Version of a Form
Each page carries a printed revision date, because Texas updates its forms from time to time. Turning in an edition the courts have already replaced ranks among the top reasons a stack returns with corrections marked on it.
Small Details That Fail to Match
Perhaps a middle name shows up on one form and vanishes from the following one, or a wedding date shifts by a single day, or the caption names a county other than the one receiving the filing. Every such inconsistency gives grounds to return the paperwork.
One Absent Companion Document
A petition never arrives by itself. It has to be accompanied by the vital statistics form and the cover sheet, and a single missing sheet stalls everything queued behind it.
Each of those three traces back to a single root cause: one set of facts, recorded a single time, then repeated without variation on every page of the packet.
Two Routes to a Completed Packet
The official paperwork is identical either way. What follows is where the two genuinely part ways.
| Empty forms straight from the court | Completed from questionnaire answers | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Nothing | Commonly starts near $69 |
| Picking the correct set | Read the court's guides and match them to your situation | Determined by the answers entered |
| Entering the information | One document at a time, by hand | Typed a single time and reused throughout |
| Matching details page to page | Every page is yours to proofread | Compared across the forms without extra effort |
| County filing instructions | Ask the district clerk or look them up | Generally provided |
Not every online document service prices things the same way. A few take one payment, others attach a monthly membership once the first month ends, and the court's filing fee always stands apart and goes straight to the court, which makes the checkout page worth a careful read.
We may be compensated when you use services linked from this page.
The Order the Papers Travel In
Paperwork matters less than the sequence it follows. Here is how an agreed Texas case unfolds.
Start the Case with the District Clerk
Your petition heads to the district clerk in the county of filing, along with the Civil Case Information Sheet and the VS-165. Deliver them in person, mail them, or send them over eFileTexas.gov, which stays optional for anyone without a lawyer. Back comes a file stamp and a cause number.
Get the Other Spouse on the Record
Three options exist: formal service handled by a constable or a private process server, an Answer that the responding spouse files, or a notarized Waiver of Service signed no earlier than 1 day after filing. Until one of them has happened, the case cannot reach an ending.
Let the 60 Days Run
Counting begins on the filing date of the petition rather than on the date a spouse signs anything. Being fully in agreement will not shrink the wait, and apart from two narrow family-violence exceptions no decree may be signed until day 61.
Finish with the Prove-up and the Signature
When the waiting period ends, one of two things happens: a short courtroom appearance in which the filing spouse answers the Sample Testimony script questions, or a filed prove-up affidavit where a court allows that. The Final Decree then gets the judge's signature, and certified copies are sold by the clerk for the banks and the DMV that will ask to see one.
The Rules Texas Sets
What the Court Charges
Each county fixes its own figure, handed to the district clerk and most commonly falling in the $250 to $350 band. Confirm the amount with the court clerk. Papers carried by a constable add service charges. A waiver of the fee exists for those who qualify.
The 60-day Pause
Texas law bars a judge from finalizing a divorce until 60 days have run from the petition's filing date, a rule found at Tex. Fam. Code Section 6.702.
Where You Have Lived
Before a case opens, at least one of the spouses needs 6 months of residence in Texas behind them, plus 90 days in the county where the papers are filed.
Common Questions
Where can I get the original Texas divorce forms?
Use the original source pages in the form directory, rather than a copy uploaded by another website. TexasLawHelp publishes the main form sets, and the directory identifies the source used for each group of papers. Check the instructions and revision dates alongside the documents. A Qualified Domestic Relations Order is a separate, plan-specific document, so it is not a standard form you can download from TexasLawHelp.
Can I complete a Texas divorce packet myself?
Yes. The supplied form sets include instructions for people filing without a lawyer. Before filling anything in, read the instructions for the set that fits the case and check the signature lines on each document. Keep a single record of names, dates, and county information to compare against the completed pages. Choosing guided preparation changes how the documents are filled in. You still review the result, sign where required, and file with the court.
Do I file every document on the same day?
No. Treat the packet as paperwork for different stages rather than a stack to hand over all at once. The opening documents start the case. The responding spouse's Answer or Waiver comes after the petition, and the final documents come later. Keep the clerk's file-stamped papers with your working copies so you can follow the filing sequence. If a court requires a hearing rather than an affidavit, follow that court's prove-up instructions.
Can I use this agreed packet if we still disagree?
The packet described here is for an agreed divorce. A form set cannot settle a disagreement about property, debts, support, or arrangements for the children. Before preparing final papers, identify the terms that remain unresolved rather than filling a blank with an assumption. A family law attorney can advise you about those terms and your rights. The information on this site and an online preparation questionnaire do not replace advice about a disputed case.
Does every Texas divorce form need a notary?
No. Signing requirements depend on the document. The Waiver of Service Only and the prove-up affidavit are marked as requiring notarization in the form directory. Other papers have their own signing instructions, so read the signature lines before signing. Also check the timing instruction for a waiver and whether your court accepts an affidavit for prove-up. A notarized document does not replace the other papers needed for the case or the judge's final signature.
Are blank forms and guided document preparation the same thing?
They use the same court paperwork, but the work of completing it is handled differently. With blank forms, you select the set, enter the information on each document, and compare the pages yourself. Guided preparation uses questionnaire answers to fill the paperwork. Read the provider's terms before choosing that route. Court fees are separate, and neither route makes a divorce final by itself. The case still has to follow the court process described in this guide.
Help Preparing Your Texas Forms
Children, property, and your spouse's role determine the form set. A free 5-minute qualification check shows whether your agreed case fits the guided preparation route. No account is needed to see the result.
You still review, sign, and file the documents. Court fees are separate from preparation.
We may be compensated when you use services linked from this page.
This page carries general information on Texas divorce forms and is not legal advice.
Filing fees belong to the county, which sets the amount, and they are paid to the court itself.