This page organizes the recorded statewide starting rules and official sources for Pennsylvania. 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
For mutual consent, consent affidavits must be signed at least 90 days after service of the complaint and filed within 30 days after signing. The unilateral separation route requires 1 year if separation began on or after December 5, 2016, or 2 years if it began earlier. These are decree/affidavit requirements; follow the applicable complaint packet and current court rules rather than assuming a universal filing ban.
Property and debt classification and division must be separately verified under local law.
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.
At least one spouse must have been a bona fide Pennsylvania resident for at least 6 months immediately before the case is filed. Record actual dates and do not combine two people’s residence periods unless the controlling rule expressly allows it.
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.
Check whether the state distinguishes regular, joint, simplified, summary, contested or uncontested procedures. Agreement alone does not prove eligibility for a shorter procedure.
Prepare legal names, marriage and separation dates, residence history, children’s information, income, expenses, assets, debts, requested relief and existing orders.
Complete only facts you know. Leave clerk, court, signature, notarization, service and later-event fields for the correct person and stage.
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.
Use current financial, child-jurisdiction, parenting and support documents. Settlement terms should match the procedure and be reviewed before rights are waived.
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.
Either spouse may meet the six-month state residence rule. County venue is governed by current Rule 1920.2, not the suspended procedural venue list in section 3104(e). Mutual consent and unilateral separation-based decrees use different conditions; custody venue is separate.
This intake question helps organize facts; it does not decide domicile, jurisdiction or venue for an individual case.
Open the official page and read the current instructions. A listed document may be conditional or require local additions.
Starts the case and gives the other party notice to defend.
Open official starting point ↗Mutual consent after the statutory period in the §3301(c)(1) procedure.
Open official starting point ↗Separate official forms and county procedure for child-custody requests.
Open official starting point ↗Application when unable to afford fees.
Open official starting point ↗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.