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

Filing for divorce in Maine costs $120 — the District Court entry fee for a family matter action under the Maine Judicial Branch's statewide Court Fees Schedule, Administrative Order JB-05-26 (A. 3-26), effective March 9, 2026. Maine prices divorce at the low end of the national range, and the same order prices almost everything around it: a $5 sealed summons form, $160 for the first two mediation sessions, an $80 post-judgment motion fee, and a $10 abstract of your divorce decree when it is over.

Maine divorce fees at a glance

All of these figures are from one document — the Maine Supreme Judicial Court's Administrative Order JB-05-26 (A. 3-26), the Revised Court Fees Schedule that governs every court in the Maine state system — so they apply identically from Kittery to Fort Kent. Section I.A.3.k sets "Entry of a Family Matter Action" at $120; that single line covers a divorce complaint (Form FM-025) whether or not minor children are involved, and the schedule's own footnote confirms the category also covers grandparents' visitation petitions and other family actions. There is no separate higher tier for a contested case, and no county add-on: Maine's fee system is genuinely statewide in a way many states' systems are not. The national comparison is on the divorce filing costs hub and the wider state picture on the Maine court costs guide.

Mediation is built into the Maine process

Maine routes most contested family matters through its CADRES mediation programme, and the fee schedule prices it directly: initial mediation in a pre-judgment Family Division matter costs $160 for two sessions under Section 5.a of the order — in practice $80 per party for the pair of sessions. Additional sessions are another $160 (Section 5.c). That published figure is a useful reality check against states where mediation is an unpriced private cost: in Maine you can budget it to the dollar before you file. The same order prices the common follow-up filings. A motion for post-judgment relief under Maine Rule of Civil Procedure 120 — the vehicle for modifying or enforcing a divorce judgment — costs $80 (Section I.A.3.y), and the order notes that when that fee applies it includes a $20 mediation fee. Motions or stipulations that only modify or enforce a child support order are expressly exempt from that fee.

Residency, grounds and where you file

Maine divorce is filed in the Family Division of the District Court for the county where either party lives. Under 19-A M.R.S. §901, the plaintiff must meet one of the statute's residency paths — most commonly, having lived in Maine in good faith for the six months before filing (being married in Maine, or the defendant residing in Maine, are among the alternatives the statute recognises). The no-fault ground is irreconcilable marital differences under §902; fault grounds also remain in the statute. The Family Matter Summons and Preliminary Injunction (Form FM-050) issues with the complaint and automatically restrains both spouses from transferring or hiding property once served — which is why the $5 sealed-summons line in the table is a real, if small, part of the filing cost. Service itself is charged by the sheriff or other server you use; the Judicial Branch schedule does not set that price, so this page does not invent one.

How the case runs

1. Get the divorce forms packet — Complaint for Divorce (FM-025) and Family Matter Summons and Preliminary Injunction (FM-050) — and buy the signed summons form from the clerk $5
2. File in the District Court Family Division in your county and pay the family matter entry fee $120
3. Serve your spouse by an authorised method and file proof of service
4. Attend mediation of any contested issues under the CADRES programme $160 for two sessions
5. Attend the hearing, receive the divorce judgment, and order the records you will need — abstract of decree $10, short-form certificate $5, copies $2 / $1 per page

What divorce really costs beyond the clerk

Maine's published schedule makes the court side of a divorce unusually predictable: $125 gets the case open with its summons, and the state's own mediation is a fixed $160 for two sessions. Outside the schedule, the variable costs are service (priced by the server), any private mediator or evaluator you choose beyond the court programme, and attorney fees, which are market-priced and normally the largest cost in a contested case. Two end-of-case figures from the same order are worth knowing: an attested copy of a document costs $5 per document plus copy charges, and a record check costs $20 — small numbers that come up when you update identification, benefits and accounts after the judgment. The same fee order prices Maine's other family filings used elsewhere on this site, including a Maine eviction (forcible entry and detainer) at $100 and a petition for adoption of a minor at $65. Compare neighbouring structures in Connecticut divorce costs and Massachusetts divorce costs.

Can't afford the fee?

Maine lets a low-income filer ask to proceed without payment of fees by filing an Application to Proceed Without Payment of Fees with an Indigency Affidavit, published by the Judicial Branch. The judge reviews the affidavit; filers receiving means-tested benefits such as TANF, SSI or general assistance are the clearest qualifiers. Ask at filing — the $120 entry fee and the mediation fee are both the kind of costs the waiver application is designed to cover. The general mechanics are explained in the fee waiver guide.

Sources: Maine Supreme Judicial Court Administrative Order JB-05-26 (A. 3-26), Revised Court Fees Schedule, effective March 9, 2026 — family matter entry $120 (§I.A.3.k); summons/form with seal $5 (§C.1); initial pre-judgment family mediation $160 for two sessions (§5.a), additional sessions $160 (§5.c); Rule 120 post-judgment relief motion $80 (§I.A.3.y); abstract of divorce decree $10 (§F.2); short-form certificate of judgment of divorce $5 (§F.1); copies $2 first page / $1 subsequent (§E.3); civil appeal $175 (§6.a–b); FED entry $100 (§I.A.3.m); adoption of minor petition $65 (§I.A.3.ii) · 19-A M.R.S. §§901 (residency), 902 (grounds) · Maine Judicial Branch — Application to Proceed Without Payment of Fees and Indigency Affidavit. Last verified: October 2026 — confirm current figures with your District Court clerk.