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

Ohio has no statewide divorce filing fee. Each county's clerk of courts sets its own deposit under Ohio Rev. Code §2303.20, so the same complaint costs $275 in Franklin County, $370 without children and $420 with children in Summit County, and $325–$375 in Athens County. Budget the filing deposit plus service — certified mail, sheriff, or publication — before you file.

Ohio divorce fees at a glance

The Franklin County figures are from the Franklin County Clerk of Courts' published Domestic Relations Division fee schedule, which lists a divorce action at $275 and a dissolution at $225 before service. Summit County's clerk publishes a single domestic-relations figure that turns on whether minor children are involved: $370 without children and $420 with children for divorces, annulments and legal separations, and $370 or $400 for a joint dissolution petition. Athens County splits the same way at $325 and $375, and Lake County's deposit schedule lists $306 for a divorce, dissolution or legal separation without children. The spread — roughly $275 to $420 for the identical pleading — is the single most important fact about Ohio divorce costs: your county, not the state, sets your price. Compare the national picture on the divorce filing costs hub, or see how the fee is built into the wider Ohio court costs guide.

Divorce or dissolution: two doors, two prices

Ohio offers two ways to end a marriage, and they are priced differently in most counties. A divorce is a lawsuit: one spouse files a complaint alleging a ground under Ohio Rev. Code §3105.01 — which includes living separate and apart without cohabitation for one year, incompatibility, adultery, gross neglect of duty and other fault grounds — and the other spouse must be served and may contest. A dissolution under §3105.61 is a joint petition filed only after both spouses have signed a complete separation agreement covering property, debt, support and, where relevant, a parenting plan. Because a dissolution arrives at court already settled, clerks price it lower: $225 against $275 in Franklin County, and $300 against $350 on Butler County's current deposit schedule. Neither route is available until at least one spouse has been an Ohio resident for six months and a resident of the filing county for 90 days, under §3105.03.

How the case runs

1. Confirm residency — six months in Ohio, 90 days in the county no court fee
2. File the complaint (or joint dissolution petition) with the clerk of courts, domestic relations division, and pay the county deposit $225–$420 by county and case type
3. Serve your spouse: certified mail, sheriff, personal process server, or — only if the spouse cannot be located after diligent effort — publication $10 certified mail to $475 publication deposit in Franklin County
4. Exchange financial disclosures and, in cases with children, complete the county's required parenting class and child-support worksheet using the Ohio Child Support Calculator.
5. Attend the hearing. An uncontested divorce or a dissolution can be granted at a single hearing; a contested divorce proceeds through negotiation, mediation and, if necessary, trial, with post-decree motions later priced separately — $150 in Franklin County.

What else gets charged

Three add-ons surprise Ohio filers most. First, a counterclaim for divorce, annulment or legal separation costs $43 in Franklin County, so a spouse who answers and counterclaims pays a second, smaller deposit. Second, publication is the expensive fallback: Franklin County requires a $475 deposit against newspaper publication costs, and any excess over the deposit is billed to the case before publication is completed. Third, cases with children carry county-specific extras that are not in the headline deposit in every county — parenting seminars, mediation assessments and guardian ad litem deposits. Butler County, for example, lists a $1,200 guardian ad litem deposit on its schedule. None of these figures includes an attorney; they are clerk and court charges only, and they sit alongside the ordinary civil filing fees if property or support claims are later filed as separate actions.

Can't afford the fee?

Ohio Rev. Code §2323.311 lets a filer who cannot prepay costs file a Financial Disclosure / Fee-Waiver Affidavit (Uniform Domestic Relations Form 20). If the affidavit shows gross income at or below 187.5 percent of the federal poverty guidelines and monthly expenses equal to or exceeding liquid assets, the court must waive prepayment; above that line the judge still has discretion. The waiver covers the clerk's deposit, not a private process server or newspaper charges billed later. The general mechanics are explained in the fee waiver guide. Neighbouring-state comparisons: Pennsylvania divorce costs and Illinois divorce costs.

Sources: Franklin County Clerk of Courts — Domestic Relations Division Fee Schedule (divorce $275; dissolution $225; certified mail $10; sheriff $30; publication deposit $475; counterclaim $43; post-decree motion $150) · Summit County Clerk of Courts — Domestic Relations Division (divorce $370 without children / $420 with children; dissolution $370 / $400) · Athens County Clerk of Courts — Filing Fees (divorce/dissolution $325 without children / $375 with children) · Lake County Clerk of Courts — Deposit/Fee Schedule (divorce/dissolution/legal separation without children $306) · Butler County Clerk of Courts — Court Costs and Deposits (divorce $350; dissolution $300) · Ohio Rev. Code §§2303.20, 2323.311, 3105.01, 3105.03, 3105.61. Last verified: October 2026 — confirm current figures with your county clerk of courts.