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

Filing a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage in Missouri costs $144.50 in Jackson County (Kansas City), with a further $46 if the Jackson County deputy serves the papers, and $132.50 in Cass County. Missouri has no statewide divorce fee — each circuit court publishes its own deposit schedule — but the state's large metro circuits cluster in a narrow band well below the national mid-range.

Missouri divorce fees at a glance

The Jackson County figures come from the 16th Judicial Circuit's own Fees and Filing Deposits schedule, which lists domestic actions — dissolution, paternity, grandparent visitation and family access motions — at a flat $144.50 and warns that the deposit does not include service: add $46 per defendant if the Jackson County deputy serves, with no circuit fee for a special process server (the server's own charge is separate and market-set). Cass County's Circuit Clerk schedule, effective September 24, 2025, prices dissolution at $132.50 whether or not children are involved — a reminder that even the with-children uplift many states charge is a local choice in Missouri, not a state rule. St. Louis County's own instructions for self-represented filers put its filing fee at $145. The full national picture is on the divorce filing costs hub; the wider state picture is on the Missouri court costs guide.

Residency, grounds and the 30-day floor

Missouri residency is set by §452.305, RSMo: one spouse must have lived in Missouri for the 90 days immediately before filing (military presence in the state counts), and the petition is filed in that spouse's county of residence. Missouri dissolution is no-fault in structure: the court must find the marriage irretrievably broken, and where the other spouse denies it, §452.305 lists the findings — including living separate and apart for 12 months by agreement or 24 months otherwise — that support the finding anyway. Section 452.320 adds the timing floor: no judgment of dissolution may be entered until at least 30 days after the petition is filed. Unlike several neighbouring states, Missouri does not add a separate longer wait for cases with children; children instead add paperwork — a parenting plan and the Form 14 child support calculation directed by Rule 88.01 and §452.340 — rather than days.

How the case runs

1. Complete the Petition for Dissolution, the Statement of Income and Expenses, and the Statement of Property and Debt; add a parenting plan and Form 14 worksheet if you have children
2. File with the Circuit Clerk in your county of residence, in person or through Missouri's e-filing system, and pay the filing deposit $144.50 in Jackson County $132.50 in Cass County
3. Serve your spouse — by the county deputy or sheriff for the scheduled fee $46 per defendant in Jackson County, by a special process server, or by your spouse's signed acknowledgment of service
4. Exchange the required financial statements; contested cases are typically referred to mediation before trial
5. After the 30-day statutory floor, attend the hearing (many agreed cases are submitted on the papers), obtain the judgment, and order certified copies for records changes

What divorce really costs beyond the clerk

Two features of the Missouri schedules deserve emphasis. First, the filing deposit is exactly that — a deposit against costs — and circuits reconcile it against the charges the case actually generates, so heavy motion practice can produce a balance due at judgment. Second, service is never inside the deposit: the $46 Jackson County deputy fee is published, but a special process server sets a market price that no schedule controls, and this page does not estimate it. Parenting classes where a circuit orders them, mediation, custody evaluations and attorney fees are all provider- or market-priced. What is predictable is the entry price itself — $132.50 to $145 across the three published metro schedules on this page — and the fact that Missouri does not charge extra at the window because children are involved. Compare the flat-fee structure nearby in Illinois divorce costs and the county-built totals in Wisconsin divorce costs.

Can't afford the fee?

Missouri courts allow a filer who cannot pay to ask to proceed as a poor person — in forma pauperis — by filing a motion and affidavit in support of the request with the petition, setting out income, assets and obligations. The judge decides on the papers; a granted request waives the filing deposit, though later costs can still be taxed in the judgment. Ask the Circuit Clerk for your circuit's current form rather than drafting your own — the wording circuits expect varies. The general mechanics are explained in the fee waiver guide.

Sources: 16th Judicial Circuit (Jackson County) — Fees and Filing Deposits schedule (dissolution of marriage $144.50; Jackson County deputy civil process service $46 per defendant; alias summons $46) · Cass County Circuit Clerk — Court Costs schedule effective September 24, 2025 (dissolution with or without children $132.50; legal separation/annulment $132.50; motion to modify $132.50) · St. Louis County Circuit Court — Information on Dissolution of Marriage for Self-Representing (Pro Se) Parties (filing fee $145) · §§452.305 (90-day residency; irretrievably broken), 452.320 (30-day judgment floor), 452.340 and Rule 88.01 (Form 14), RSMo. Last verified: October 2026 — confirm current figures with your circuit clerk.