Online divorce FAQ

All of the online providers only deal with uncontested divorces.  We are not a law firm and, therefore, cannot engage in litigation on your behalf.  Instead, we offer advice and guidance on the divorce process and can draft your paperwork for a fraction of the cost when compared to a high street solicitor.

Our customers come to us having settled their finances between themselves via discussion or having been referred to us via the mediation process.  Some of our customers may have even started using a solicitor but quickly reached agreement on the finances with their spouse.  Rather than continue to pay inflated legal fees, they have appointed an online provider to handle their divorce and save hundreds of pounds.

All of us provide similar services, however, Express Divorce use experienced lawyers to supervise all divorces.  In the case of our premium services, the entire divorce documentation is drafted by a senior matrimonial solicitor who subsequently oversees the process through court.

In addition, our actual managed services are significantly less expensive than Divorce Online’s services.  Both Divorce Online and Quickie Divorce do outsource to solicitors, however, we are committed to keeping all divorces in-house to reduce delay and/or potential loss of documents.

Express Divorce are also entirely transparent about costs.  We started our online divorce service as an antidote to the rising legal fees charged by solicitors.  Our competitors’ websites are not particularly clear about the court fees and when you will need to pay them.  On the other hand, we are entirely upfront about these additional fees as we do not want to give any of our customers a nasty surprise after they have purchased one of services.

The process is broadly similar whether you apply online or use a traditional paper application.

There are 3 main stages:

The Application

The Applicant completes either an online or paper application.  The court issues the application by sending a copy to the Respondent together with an acknowledgement of service.  The Respondent must acknowledge receipt of the application confirming they are happy for the divorce to proceed.

Application for the Conditional Order

20 weeks after the application is issued, the Applicant can apply for the conditional order.

Application for the Final Order

The Applicant must wait a minimum of 6 weeks and 1 clear day after the date of the conditional order before they can apply for the final order.

The application is a simple one page form in the case of a paper application and several short questions if you are using an online application.

It is extremely unlikely that you will need to attend court.  That said, we can never completely rule out the possibility as the judge, when considering the paperwork, might want to see you and your spouse to make enquiries about why and how you reached the financial agreement you did.  This may seem like a box ticking exercise, however, most of these hearings take approximately 5 minutes and it is rare for a judge to refuse an order following such a hearing.

It is unlikely that you will need representation at one of these hearings.  That said, we are happy to suggest options if the need ever arose.  Once again, we stress that the likelihood of this happening is rare.

The only ground for divorce is the ‘irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.’

No.  Since 6 April 2022, any application for divorce is based on the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.  You can no longer divorce based on the fact of adultery, unreasonable behaviour or a period of separation.

The Bill is currently proceeding through the Parliamentary process.  We suspect that ‘no fault’ divorce will become law in mid 2022.

On average, it will take between 7 and 8 months to get divorced.  Once the divorce application is issued, you must wait a minimum of 20 weeks before you can apply for the conditional order.  Once the court has granted the conditional order, you have to wait a further 6 weeks and 1 clear day before you can apply for the final order.

The simple answer is ‘no.’  The actual process is the same although Express Divorce use the HMCTS online portal to issue divorce applications so there is less physical paperwork.

Our number one priority at Express Divorce is ensuring you’re satisfied with the divorce service you’ve purchased from us. We understand that starting a divorce is a big step and, occasionally, our customers change their minds. Therefore, we introduced a 7 day money back guarantee on all of our managed services* meaning we’ll refund your money if you decide our service isn’t for you.  Simply reach out to our friendly customer service team.

* Guarantee expires 7 days after purchase or upon customer opening link in welcome email to complete data capture forms. This includes all managed divorce services as well as our clean break and consent order service.

Although this is rare in no fault divorce proceedings, it does occasionally crop up from time to time.  There are a number of options available which include:

• A simple chase email to your spouse.
• Court bailiff service of the application.
• Appointing a private process server to serve the application.
• Requesting the court to deem service of the application (if there is evidence such as a message/email/telephone call from the Respondent confirming that they have received the paperwork).

We do NOT charge for simple chasing correspondence to your spouse.  Unfortunately, appointing a court bailiff/process server will cost an additional fee (between £75 and £100).  An application to the court will also incur costs, including a court fee.

We cannot accept cash although we can accept cheques made payable to ‘ExD Legal Services.’  Please note that, should you pay by cheque, Express Divorce will not carry out any work on your behalf until 24 hours after the money has cleared.

We can assist you with obtaining a replacement or you may want to contact your local Registry Office.  Replacement certificates normally take between 48 hours and 2 weeks depending on whether you use a private firm or your Local Registry to obtain the replacement certificate.  The cost of using a private firm varies depending on how quickly you want your replacement certificate.

If you are using a traditional paper application, you will need to complete an EX160 form. In the case of online application, you will need to apply for an exemption online and obtain a ‘Help with Fees’ (HWF) reference code.

Both the form and online application can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-for-help-with-court-and-tribunal-fees

The online application is much quicker.  If you are applying for an exemption with a traditional paper application, you should factor in the likely delay of several weeks.

There is often very little we can do to hurry the court along when it comes to decisions regarding court fees.  Sometimes, applicants can find the money from family or friends to pay the fees up front AND recover it from the court at a later date.  Please bear in mind that you have  a maximum of 3 months after the date of the final order to request a fee refund.

We ask you to transfer the court fee to us several days before we issue the application. Of course, you have the option to pay the court fees when you first order your divorce service.

It is worth checking to see if you are entitled to a court fee exemption or a reduction by clicking here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-for-help-with-court-and-tribunal-fees

You will need a certified translation of your marriage certificate.  We have a list of approved court translators that we can appoint on your behalf.  Normally, a professional translator will provide a translated certificate within 72 hours.

Provided you are live in England and Wales, it is rarely a problem.  Of course, you will need your spouse’s foreign residential address for the purpose of serving the divorce application.

If you do not know the address, it is possible to appoint an international trace agent/process server to find out where your spouse currently lives.  The cost and time varies from country to country although we have a list of approved process servers and can discuss this with you should the issue arise.

Yes, provided your spouse is habitually resident or domiciled in England and Wales.

Yes you can provided you have not resumed your relationship.  Sometimes people live within the same house but have divided the property into 2 separate households and do not share washing, cooking, etc..  In this case, we often need additional details of how you are ‘living apart’ within the same house.  We have known occasions where a judge has requested a simple sketched map of who lives where in the house and how it has been divided up!

Ideally, yes.  It is possible to start divorce proceedings without an agreement on living arrangements for the children, however, this can lead to arguments as the divorce progresses. 

Yes, however, if you have chosen one of our managed divorces with a clean break or consent order, we cannot draft the order until both of you are in full agreement.

The court will always expect you to make an effort to locate your spouse before starting divorce proceedings.  Sometimes, this may involve some social media digging or contacting your spouse’s family or friends to obtain an address.  We appreciate that this is not always possible so you may need to appoint a ‘no trace, no fee’ process server to locate your spouse.

If you have exhausted every avenue trying to locate your spouse, we can apply to the court on your behalf and ask them to dispense with service.  Please note that this is an additional application for which we charge £150.

Please contact our customer services team if you have not received your confirmation email and welcome pack within 2 hours of payment.

We are not a law firm nor are we regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).  The solicitors that we employ are not required to have professional indemnity insurance that meets the SRA’s minimum terms and conditions.  They are, however, authorised and regulated by the SRA in their personal capacity.