Minimum period or timing rule
For the ordinary dissolution procedure, at least 60 days after service or acceptance of service. For the summary-consent procedure, the period begins on the filing date.
Prepare for a divorce case in Arizona.
This page organizes the recorded statewide starting rules and official sources for Arizona. Court location, local forms, fees, service, deadlines and individual eligibility still require confirmation before filing.
Source record reviewed: 2026-10-29 · Page updated: 2026-11-03 · Not attorney-certified legal advice
STATE SNAPSHOT
Timing and financial issues need separate review.
Classification and division
Community property and debts, and separate property, are listed separately in the inventory; each item’s classification must be verified.
Guidance and official links
Divorce Filing Path provides an intake roadmap and source links for this jurisdiction. Selected official PDF drafting is not currently offered for this state; do not purchase expecting state-form generation.
PREPARATION ROADMAP
Use this order before filing.
- 01
Confirm residence and filing eligibility
One spouse must have maintained Arizona domicile or qualifying armed-services presence for 90 days before filing. The petition is ordinarily filed where the petitioner resides; child-custody jurisdiction is separate. Record actual dates and do not combine two people’s residence periods unless the controlling rule expressly allows it.
- 02
Identify the correct court and county
Use the official statewide source to locate the trial court or clerk. Confirm venue, the family-law filing location, accepted filing method, current fee and required local packet.
- 03
Select the procedure that matches the facts
Check whether the state distinguishes regular, joint, simplified, summary, contested or uncontested procedures. Agreement alone does not prove eligibility for a shorter procedure.
- 04
Collect the facts requested by the forms
Prepare legal names, marriage and separation dates, residence history, children’s information, income, expenses, assets, debts, requested relief and existing orders.
- 05
Prepare opening documents without inventing events
Complete only facts you know. Leave clerk, court, signature, notarization, service and later-event fields for the correct person and stage.
- 06
File and complete valid notice
A draft or download is not a filed case. Follow the clerk’s instructions and record service or waiver only after the legally effective event occurs.
- 07
Address disclosure, children and unresolved issues
Use current financial, child-jurisdiction, parenting and support documents. Settlement terms should match the procedure and be reviewed before rights are waived.
- 08
Obtain and review the final judgment
A waiting or separation period does not itself end a marriage. Confirm entry and the effective date from the court’s signed or entered order.
RESIDENCE CHECK
Which spouse has maintained Arizona domicile or qualifying military presence for the 90 days immediately before filing?
Generally, one spouse must have lived in Arizona or been stationed there as a member of the military for at least 90 days before filing. For children, the usual 6-month home-state jurisdiction requirement must be examined separately.
This intake question helps organize facts; it does not decide domicile, jurisdiction or venue for an individual case.
IMPORTANT STATE NOTES
Questions to verify before relying on a packet
- Standard non-covenant packets are not used for a covenant marriage.
- A Summary Consent Decree requires agreement on all issues before filing.
- Check county-specific additional forms.
OFFICIAL FORM STARTING POINTS
Forms and packets identified in the current review
Open the official page and read the current instructions. A listed document may be conditional or require local additions.
Petition for Dissolution of Non-Covenant Marriage — official packets
The opening petition and service documents appropriate to whether there are children.
Open official starting point ↗Dissolution of Marriage With Children
Child-related declarations, a parenting plan and child-support documents.
Open official starting point ↗PRIMARY SOURCES
Verify with the official source
Rules, forms, fees and local procedures can change. These links are the controlling starting points; the explanations on this site are preparation guidance, not a substitute for the current source.
- Arizona Judicial Branch — Family Law Forms ↗Official or recorded public starting source
- Arizona Legislature — A.R.S. §25-329 ↗Official or recorded public starting source
- Arizona Legislature — Summary consent petition and decree ↗Official or recorded public starting source
- Arizona Legislature — A.R.S.25-312 ↗Official or recorded public starting source
- Arizona Legislature — A.R.S.12-401 ↗Official or recorded public starting source
- Arizona Legislature — A.R.S.25-903 ↗Official or recorded public starting source