Home › Divorce filing costs › Minnesota

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

Filing a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage in Minnesota carries a $340 statutory court administrator fee under Minn. Stat. §357.021, subdivision 2 — and the responding spouse pays the same $340 on a first paper. State surcharges and a county law library fee are collected on top of the statutory figure, so the amount taken at the filing window is higher than $340 and varies slightly by county; the Minnesota Judicial Branch publishes each county's total on its Court Fees page.

Minnesota divorce fees at a glance

Item	Cost
Dissolution — first paper, petitioner (Minn. Stat. §357.021, subd. 2(1))	$340
Dissolution — first paper, respondent (Minn. Stat. §357.021, subd. 2(1))	$340
General civil first paper, for comparison (Minn. Stat. §357.021, subd. 2(1))	$310
Motion or response to a motion in a family case (Minn. Stat. §357.021, subd. 2(4))	$100
Certified copy of an instrument (Minn. Stat. §357.021, subd. 2(2))	$14
Jury trial demand (Minn. Stat. §357.021, subd. 2(1))	$100

Minnesota is one of the states that prices divorce above the ordinary civil rate — $340 against $310 — and prices both sides symmetrically, so a fully contested dissolution starts at $680 in statutory first-paper fees before surcharges. The statute also makes the first-paper fee the full trial fee: it includes entry of judgment and does not grow if the case is tried rather than settled. The national comparison is on the divorce filing costs hub and the state overview on the Minnesota court costs guide.

Why the window total is more than $340

The $340 is the court administrator fee fixed by §357.021. Minnesota layers legislatively authorised surcharges onto district court filings and counties may add a law library fee, which is why attorney guides quoting an all-in figure land higher and why the Judicial Branch maintains a county-by-county fee lookup rather than one statewide total. This page publishes the statutory anchor and says plainly that the collected total is higher — check your county's line on the Judicial Branch Court Fees page before you write the cheque, because filing in Hennepin and filing in a rural county do not cost exactly the same.

Grounds, residency and the joint-petition shortcut

Minnesota is no-fault: Minn. Stat. §518.06 requires only an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. Under §518.07, a petitioner must have lived in Minnesota (or been a member of the armed forces stationed here) for at least 180 days before filing. Spouses who agree on everything and meet the statutory conditions may file a joint petition under §518.191, which streamlines the case and can be granted without a hearing; couples with children or substantial assets usually proceed on the ordinary summons-and-petition track with parenting and support resolved under chapters 518 and 518A.

Complete the Petition for Dissolution (or a joint petition if you qualify and agree) and the summons; add parenting and support worksheets if you have minor children
File with the court administrator in your county and pay the statutory fee plus surcharges $340 statutory, §357.021
Serve your spouse personally or obtain a signed acknowledgment of service; the respondent's first paper carries the same fee $340
Work through financial disclosure, any temporary-relief motion $100 motion fee, mediation or early neutral evaluation where your district uses it
Finalise by stipulated judgment or trial, and order certified copies of the decree $14 certified copy

What divorce really costs beyond the clerk

The clerk-side extras are the $100 motion fee and $14 certified copies. Everything else that moves the total is market-priced: process service, mediation and early neutral evaluation sessions, custody evaluation where ordered, and attorney fees — in the Twin Cities metro those rates run materially higher than in greater Minnesota, and no official schedule publishes them, so none is quoted here. Compare the neighbouring structures in Wisconsin divorce costs and Iowa court costs.

Can't afford the fee?

Minnesota's in forma pauperis statute, Minn. Stat. §563.01, lets a judge waive fees for a filer whose income and assets show an inability to pay. Apply at filing with the IFP affidavit for your district; the court reviews income, expenses and public-benefit status, and approval also covers later fees in the same case unless the court orders otherwise. The general mechanics are explained in the fee waiver guide.

Sources: Minn. Stat. §357.021, subd. 2 (2025) — dissolution first paper $340, general civil $310, family motion $100, certified copy $14, jury demand $100 · Minn. Stat. §518.06 (irretrievable breakdown), §518.07 (180-day residency), §518.191 (joint petition) · Minn. Stat. §563.01 (in forma pauperis) · Minnesota Judicial Branch — Court Fees page (county totals including surcharges and law library fees). Last verified: October 2026 — confirm the all-in county total with your court administrator.