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

Filing a Petition for Divorce in Delaware costs $165 in every county, plus a mandatory $10 court security assessment on the filing, for a minimum out-of-pocket total of $175. Delaware divorce is heard in a single statewide Family Court, and the fees are printed in the court's own Schedule of Assessed Costs, so the price is the same in Wilmington, Dover and Georgetown. The trap in Delaware is not the petition fee but the add-ons: every extra matter you ask the court to decide — property division, alimony, approval of a separation agreement — costs another $90 per matter.

Delaware divorce fees at a glance

Every figure in the table comes from the Family Court of the State of Delaware's Schedule of Assessed Costs, the fee schedule the Delaware Courts publish for Family Court filings. Note how Delaware structures the price differently from most states on this site: the $165 petition fee buys the divorce itself — the decree ending the marriage — while the financial questions are priced separately as ancillary matters at $90 each. A petitioner who asks for a divorce only pays $175 all-in at the window. A petitioner who also asks the court to divide property and award alimony pays $175 plus $180, or $355, before service. The national comparison is on the divorce filing costs hub and the wider state picture on the Delaware court costs guide.

Ancillary matters: where the Delaware bill grows

Delaware's two-stage structure follows from how its divorce statute works. Under 13 Del. C. §1505 the only ground the court recognises is that the marriage is irretrievably broken, characterised as voluntary separation, separation caused by misconduct, separation caused by mental illness, or incompatibility. The decree itself can be entered once the statutory separation is shown; the money questions — division of marital property under §1513 and alimony under §1512 — are retained by the court as ancillary matters and are only decided if a party asks for them and pays the $90 fee for each. Couples who have already divided everything in a signed separation agreement often still file that agreement as an ancillary matter so the court can approve and enforce it, which is one $90 fee rather than two. If nobody requests an ancillary matter within the time the court allows after the decree, the right to ask can be lost, so the $90 decision at filing is a real one: skipping the fee saves money today but can close the door on a property claim later.

Residency, separation and the 20-day answer

Under 13 Del. C. §1504, at least one spouse must have lived in Delaware — or been stationed there in the armed forces — for six consecutive months before the petition is filed. Delaware also builds a separation period into the decree itself: for a no-fault case based on voluntary separation, the parties must have lived separate and apart for six months before the court can grant the divorce, although Delaware counts spouses as separated even under one roof if they no longer share a bedroom or sexual relations. The petition is Family Court Form 442 (Petition for Divorce/Annulment), filed with the Vital Statistics Sheet, Form 441. After service, the responding spouse generally has 20 days to answer if served in Delaware. Filing is done at the Family Court in any county — paperwork is transferred to the county with jurisdiction — and most civil filings can also be submitted by email under the court's Civil Filing by Email procedure.

How the case runs

1. Complete the Petition for Divorce/Annulment (Form 442) and Vital Statistics Sheet (Form 441), and file them with the Family Court clerk, paying the petition fee and security assessment $175
2. Decide which ancillary matters, if any, to request in the petition, and pay for each one $90 each
3. Serve your spouse by an approved method and file proof of service; your spouse generally has 20 days to answer
4. Exchange the financial disclosures the Family Court requires, and attend mediation or a hearing on any contested ancillary matter
5. After the separation period and any ancillary rulings, the court enters the divorce decree; order certified copies for records changes $4 / page

What divorce really costs beyond the clerk

The Schedule of Assessed Costs prices the court's own work; it does not price getting the papers to your spouse or getting help with the case. Service by a sheriff or an approved special process server is charged by the server and is not set in the schedule, so this page does not price it — ask the Family Court Resource Center or the server for the current rate. Mediation, where the parties use it for a contested ancillary matter, is priced by the mediator. Attorney fees are market-priced and are normally the largest cost in a contested Delaware divorce. The clerk-side figures you can predict exactly are the ones in the schedule: $165 plus $10 to file, $90 for each ancillary matter, $90 for a Rule 60(b) motion, $110 for de novo review of a commissioner's decision, $1 per page for ordinary copies and $4 per page for certified copies. Compare neighbouring structures in Maryland divorce costs and New Jersey divorce costs.

Can't afford the fee?

Delaware Family Court allows a filer who cannot pay to apply to proceed in forma pauperis, supported by a sworn affidavit of indigency (Family Court Form 257) disclosing income, benefits, assets, debts and monthly expenses, with proof of income attached. The application is decided on the papers; an incomplete affidavit or missing income proof is a common reason for delay, and the court's divorce guidance warns filers to complete it fully the first time. File the application with the petition rather than after it. The general mechanics are explained in the fee waiver guide.

Sources: Family Court of the State of Delaware, Schedule of Assessed Costs (Delaware Courts, courts.delaware.gov) — Petition for Divorce $165; court security assessment $10 on each initial filing; ancillary matters $90 each; Rule 60(b) motions $90; de novo review $110; copies $1 per page; certified copies $4 per page · 13 Del. C. §§1504 (six-month residency), 1505 (irretrievable breakdown), 1512–1513 (alimony and property division as ancillary matters) · Delaware Courts, Family Court How to File and Divorce/Annulment instruction materials (Forms 441, 442 and 257). Last verified: October 2026 — confirm current figures with the Family Court clerk.