How Long Does an Uncontested Divorce Take in Arizona?

How long does an uncontested divorce take in Arizona?

Sixty days at the absolute earliest, and that clock starts when your spouse is served, not when you file. Arizona law bars the court from holding a hearing or acting on an affidavit submission for a decree until 60 days after service or acceptance of process. Agreeing on everything does not shorten it.

So the honest answer to "how fast can this be" is: 60 days plus however long service takes, plus however long the court takes to sign. Most people who ask this question are really asking two things at once, whether the law imposes a delay and whether their own case will drag. The first has a clean answer. The second depends almost entirely on things you control.

When does the 60 day clock actually start?

At service, or at the date your spouse accepts service in writing. A.R.S. § 25-329 is one sentence, and the operative words are "sixty days after the date of service of process or the date of acceptance of process."

This is the single most common misunderstanding about Arizona divorce timing. Filing does not start the clock. A petition that sits for three weeks while you work out how to serve your spouse pushes the earliest possible decree back three weeks, and nothing about agreeing with each other changes that.

The practical consequence is worth stating plainly. If both of you want this done quickly, the fastest lever you have is acceptance of service. A spouse who signs an acceptance the day the petition is filed starts the clock immediately. A spouse you have to track down and serve through a process server does not.

There is a hard outer edge too. Under Rule 40(i) of the Arizona Rules of Family Law Procedure, if a respondent is not served within 120 days after the petition is filed, the court must dismiss the case without prejudice as to that respondent or order that service happen within a set time, unless the petitioner shows good cause.

What has to be true before you can file?

Ninety days of Arizona domicile, by one of you.

A.R.S. § 25-312 requires the court to find that one party was domiciled in Arizona when the action was commenced, or was stationed here in the armed services, and that the domicile or military presence had been maintained for 90 days before the petition was filed. The court must also find the marriage is irretrievably broken, which the statute defines as no reasonable prospect of reconciliation.

Read those two periods as sequential rather than overlapping. The 90 days is a precondition to filing. The 60 days runs after service. Someone who moved to Arizona last month is looking at roughly five months before a decree is possible, not two.

What are the steps, in order?

For a case where both spouses agree, the sequence is short. The waiting is the long part, not the paperwork.

1. Confirm the 90 day domicile. One of you has to clear it before anything is filed.
2. File the petition. In Maricopa County that costs $376, with or without children.
3. Get your spouse served, or have them accept service in writing. This is the step that starts the 60 day clock, so it is the one worth doing fast.
4. Exchange the required financial disclosure. Both sides owe it under Rule 49, and a resolution statement follows 30 days after the initial exchange unless the court orders otherwise.
5. Complete the parent education program if you have children together.
6. Put the agreement in writing. A separation agreement covering property, maintenance, support, legal decision-making, and parenting time is binding on the court under A.R.S. § 25-317 unless the court finds it unfair, with the children's provisions always reviewable.
7. Wait out the 60 days, then submit for a decree.

Step 6 is where the "uncontested" part is actually earned. A case is not uncontested because neither of you wants to fight. It is uncontested because every issue has a written answer both of you signed.

What makes an uncontested divorce take longer than 60 days?

Almost always one of five things, and four are inside your control:

• Slow service. The clock has not started. Nothing else matters until it has.
• The parent education program. Arizona requires it in dissolution, legal separation, and annulment cases involving a minor child common to the parties, under A.R.S. § 25-352, with limited exemptions. The judge sets the deadline. An unfinished class will hold up an otherwise finished case.
• Incomplete disclosure or paperwork the clerk rejects. Forms get returned for missing signatures, missing exhibits, or the wrong caption, and each round trip costs days.
• An agreement that is not actually complete. A separation agreement silent on a retirement account or a vehicle title is an agreement that comes back.
• The court's own calendar. This is the one you do not control.

On that last point, the Arizona courts publish what they aim for. Under the statewide case processing time standards, the target for family law dissolution and allocation of parental responsibility cases is 75% within 180 days, 90% within 270 days, and 98% within 365 days, measured from filing to entry of the decree or order.

Read that benchmark carefully, because it is easy to misuse. It covers all pre-adjudication family law cases in the category, contested trials included, not uncontested ones specifically. It is a ceiling for the system as a whole rather than a forecast for your agreed case. A case where everything is signed and served promptly should finish well inside it.

What is a default divorce, and is it faster?

It is what happens when the other spouse does not respond, and no, it is not faster than the 60 day floor.

A respondent served in Arizona must file a response within 20 days. Served outside Arizona, it is 30 days. Both come from Rule 24.1 of the Arizona Rules of Family Law Procedure. If nothing is filed, the petitioner can file an application for default, which becomes effective 10 days later under Rule 44, and does not become effective if the respondent files a response inside that 10 day window.

So default is a route to a decree when your spouse is unreachable or simply disengaged. It is not a shortcut, and the waiting period applies to it the same as to any other dissolution.

Does a covenant marriage change the timeline?

Only if you cannot agree.

Arizona is one of a small number of states offering covenant marriage, a marriage the spouses opt into that is harder to dissolve. A covenant marriage needs a statutory ground before the court can grant a dissolution. A.R.S. § 25-903 lists eight, including adultery, a felony sentence of death or imprisonment, abandonment of the matrimonial domicile for at least a year, abuse, habitual drug or alcohol abuse, and living apart without reconciliation for at least two years.

The eighth ground is that the spouses both agree to a dissolution. So a couple in a covenant marriage who both want out are not forced to wait two years or prove fault. They are, however, still subject to the same 60 day waiting period as everyone else.

If you do not know whether yours is a covenant marriage, it is not a detail you should guess at. Arizona couples opt in deliberately and sign a separate declaration, so the answer is on your marriage paperwork.

What does it cost to file?

In Maricopa County Superior Court, checked in August 2026, a petition for dissolution of marriage costs $376 whether or not there are children, and a response costs $287. Fees are set by statute and administrative order, then each county adds its own charges, so confirm the figure with your clerk.

If those numbers are the obstacle, the court can postpone or cancel them. Arizona courts must defer filing fees for applicants who receive certain benefits or whose income sits at or below 150% of the federal poverty level, on a single statewide form. That process is covered in detail in our guide to Arizona court fee waivers and deferrals.

Do you still need a lawyer if you both agree?

Many people complete an agreed Arizona divorce without one, and the courts publish the forms precisely so that is possible. Whether it is a good idea depends less on how amicable you are and more on what you are dividing.

Two features of Arizona law are worth understanding before deciding. Arizona is a community property state, so what counts as community rather than separate property is a legal question with real money attached, and people routinely get it wrong about retirement accounts, businesses started during the marriage, and homes bought before it. And under § 25-317, once a decree is entered, its property settlement terms generally cannot be modified.

That combination is the reason to be careful. An agreement reached quickly to avoid conflict is still binding years later, when the account it did not mention turns out to have mattered. People who have retirement accounts to divide, a business, real property, or a spouse whose finances they cannot see clearly usually get more out of a single consultation with an Arizona family law attorney than out of any amount of form-filling.

Court staff and self-service centers can hand you the forms and tell you how to complete them. They are not permitted to tell you whether the deal you struck is a good one.

Frequently asked questions

Can you get divorced in Arizona in less than 60 days?

No. Arizona law says the court shall not consider a submission of a motion supported by affidavit, or hold a trial or hearing on an application for a decree of dissolution of marriage or legal separation, until sixty days after the date of service of process or the date of acceptance of process. There is no hardship exception and no way to shorten it by agreement.

Does the 60 days start when I file or when my spouse is served?

Service. The statute counts from the date of service of process or the date of acceptance of process, not from the date the petition was filed. This catches people out, because a petition sitting unserved for a month simply delays the earliest possible decree by a month.

Do both spouses have to go to court for an uncontested divorce in Arizona?

Not necessarily. The waiting period statute contemplates the court acting on a submission supported by affidavit as an alternative to a trial or hearing, which is the route many agreed cases take. Whether a hearing is set is up to the judge and the practice of the particular court, so ask the clerk or the court self-service center how your county handles it.

How long do you have to live in Arizona before filing for divorce?

Ninety days. Arizona law requires the court to find that one of the parties was domiciled in Arizona, or stationed here as a member of the armed services, and that the domicile or military presence had been maintained for ninety days before the petition was filed.

What happens if my spouse will not sign or respond?

The case can still move, through default. A respondent served in Arizona has 20 days to file a response, or 30 days if served outside Arizona. If none is filed, the petitioner may file an application for default, which takes effect 10 days later. It does not take effect if the respondent responds within those 10 days. The 60 day waiting period still applies.

Do we have to take a parenting class before the divorce is final?

In most cases with children, yes. Arizona law requires the court to order the parties to complete an educational program in dissolution, legal separation, and annulment actions involving a minor child common to the parties, with limited exemptions. The judge sets the deadline for finishing it, and an incomplete class is a common reason an otherwise agreed case sits waiting.

Is a covenant marriage divorce different in Arizona?

Yes, a covenant marriage needs a statutory ground before the court can dissolve it. There are eight, including adultery, abandonment for at least one year, abuse, and living apart without reconciliation for at least two years. Mutual agreement is also on that list, so spouses who both want the divorce are not blocked from proceeding. The 60 day waiting period still applies.

Sources

• A.R.S. 25-329, waiting period · Arizona State Legislature · checked 2026-08-10
• A.R.S. 25-312, dissolution of marriage; findings necessary · Arizona State Legislature · checked 2026-08-10
• A.R.S. 25-317, separation agreement; effect · Arizona State Legislature · checked 2026-08-10
• A.R.S. 25-352, applicability of educational program; compliance · Arizona State Legislature · checked 2026-08-10
• A.R.S. 25-903, dissolution of a covenant marriage; grounds · Arizona State Legislature · checked 2026-08-10
• Case processing standards analysis, family law dissolution: timelines under statute and rule · Arizona Supreme Court, Administrative Office of the Courts · checked 2026-08-10
• Arizona case processing time standards summary chart · Arizona Supreme Court, Administrative Office of the Courts · checked 2026-08-10
• Filing fees for Superior Court · Maricopa County Clerk of Superior Court · checked 2026-08-10

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