This page organizes the recorded statewide starting rules and official sources for Virginia. 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
No-fault divorce generally requires at least 1 continuous year of separation without cohabitation. The period may be 6 months if there are no minor children together and there is a written separation agreement; the requirements for fault-based filings differ.
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.
One spouse must have been a bona fide Virginia domiciliary and resident for at least 6 months before filing; military rules and county venue must also be checked. 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 ordinary 6-month bona fide residence and domicile rule. Current § 20-97 also addresses military stationing, certain military spouses and qualifying federal/military personnel abroad or returned to Virginia after prior 6-month residence; every condition must be checked. The 2026 return-from-station language was read directly. Separation 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.
Do not assume there is a single ready-made statewide template; identify the local filing documents.
Open official starting point ↗Jurisdiction, custody, parenting time and support requests in a case with children require separate review.
Open official starting point ↗Request to proceed without fees and costs in a no-fault case.
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.