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How much does it cost to file for divorce in Arizona?

Filing a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage in Arizona costs $376 in Maricopa County — the same with or without children — and the responding spouse pays $287 to file a response. The totals stack a statewide base fee set in A.R.S. §12-284 on county surcharges, which is why smaller counties charge less for the identical petition.

Arizona divorce fees at a glance

The Maricopa County figures come from the Clerk of the Superior Court's published Family Court filing fee chart, which itemises the petition at a $176 state base under A.R.S. §12-284 and the Administrative Code of Judicial Administration §3-404, plus storage, court education/mediation, trial, maintenance, automation, management, domestic-relations and case-management fund charges that bring the total to $376. Cochise County's clerk schedule, built on the same state base with lower county add-ons, totals $311 — a $65 spread for the same legal document. Because every county stacks its own surcharges on the state base, there is no single Arizona divorce fee; the honest answer is the range between the rural schedules and Maricopa's $376, and the only figure that matters is the one on your own county clerk's current chart. The national picture is on the divorce filing costs hub and the county-by-county detail on the Arizona court costs guide.

The summary consent decree discount

Arizona rewards couples who arrive already agreed. Under A.R.S. §25-314.01 and Superior Court Administrative Order 2024-130, spouses who file jointly for a summary consent decree pay a combined fee instead of two full fees: the petition portion is $188 and the response portion is $143.50 in Maricopa County — $331.50 combined, against $663 if the same couple filed a contested petition and a response separately. The route is only available where both spouses sign, both agree the marriage is irretrievably broken, and every issue — property, debts, and, where there are children, legal decision-making, parenting time and support — is settled in the decree itself. If the judge rejects the summary package, the case converts to an ordinary dissolution and the ordinary fee structure applies to later filings. For couples who qualify, it is the single largest clerk-fee saving in Arizona family court, larger than any difference between counties.

Residency, grounds and the 60-day clock

Arizona is a pure no-fault state with a covenant-marriage exception. For an ordinary marriage the only ground is that the marriage is irretrievably broken (A.R.S. §25-312), and one spouse must have been domiciled in Arizona — or stationed in Arizona on military orders — for at least 90 days before the petition is filed. The court cannot enter a decree until at least 60 days have passed after the petition and summons are served on the respondent (or service is waived or completed by publication), so even a fully agreed Maricopa divorce that uses the summary route runs on a two-month minimum clock. The respondent has 20 days to respond if served inside Arizona and 30 days if served outside it. Covenant marriages — a small minority entered with premarital counselling and a signed declaration — are different: dissolution requires one of the fault-style grounds listed in §25-903, and couples in covenant marriages should expect a contested, slower case. Filing also triggers a preliminary injunction that freezes both spouses' ability to hide or transfer community property or drop the other from insurance, and it takes effect against the respondent the moment they are served.

How the case runs

1. Complete the petition packet for your county (with-children and without-children packets differ) and file it with the Clerk of the Superior Court $376 in Maricopa County
2. Serve the respondent by process server, sheriff, or acceptance of service; the 60-day statutory clock runs from completed service
3. Respondent files a response or appearance if they contest any term $287 in Maricopa County
4. If you both agree on everything, convert to or file directly for a summary consent decree and pay the reduced combined fee instead
5. Wait out the 60-day period, submit the consent decree (or attend any required hearing), and obtain certified copies of the signed decree from the clerk

What divorce really costs beyond the clerk

The $376 buys the case, not the outcome. Service by a private process server is a market price paid to the server, not the court, and the clerk's chart does not set it. Cases with children add mandatory parent-education programming in most counties, charged separately from the filing fee. Mediation ordered by the court, parenting conferences and custody evaluations are priced by the provider or the court's contracted programme, not by the §12-284 schedule, so this page does not estimate them. Attorney fees are likewise market-priced and are normally the largest cost in a contested Arizona divorce; no official schedule publishes them. Two clerk-side costs are predictable, though: the $287 response fee whenever the respondent formally appears, and per-copy charges for certified copies of the decree, which you will need for name changes, benefits and remarriage. Compare the flat-fee states nearby in California divorce costs and Texas divorce costs.

Can't afford the fee?

Arizona separates deferral from waiver. On the Application for Deferral or Waiver of Court Fees and Costs, a filer who receives Supplemental Security Income qualifies for a full waiver; filers receiving other public assistance generally qualify for a deferral, which postpones the fee or puts it on a payment plan rather than erasing it, and a judge can defer, waive or set payments for other filers who show financial hardship. Apply before or at filing — the clerk will not simply skip the fee at the window. The general mechanics are explained in the fee waiver guide.

Sources: Maricopa County Clerk of the Superior Court — Superior Court Family Court Filing Fees chart (petition for dissolution $376 with or without children; response $287; summary consent decree petition portion $188 / response portion $143.50) · Cochise County Clerk of Court Fee Schedule (dissolution $311) · A.R.S. §§12-284, 25-312 (irretrievably broken; 90-day domicile), 25-314.01 (summary consent decree), 25-329 (60-day waiting period), 25-903 (covenant marriage grounds) · Arizona Judicial Branch — Fee Waivers and Deferrals guidance. Last verified: October 2026 — confirm current figures with your county clerk.