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

Entering a divorce case in Vermont's Superior Court costs $295 — but Vermont rewards couples who have already settled. If the complaint is filed with a stipulation for a final order that the court accepts, the entry fee drops to $90 when at least one spouse is a Vermont resident, or $180 when neither is. Both figures are set by the same statute, 32 V.S.A. §1431(b)(2), and published on the Vermont Judiciary's official Fees page, which makes Vermont one of the few states where an uncontested divorce is cheaper at the clerk's window by law, not by local custom.

Vermont divorce fees at a glance

Section 1431 is Vermont's master court-fee statute, and its structure explains the numbers. Subsection (b)(1) sets the general Superior Court entry fee at $295 "in lieu of all other fees not otherwise set forth in this section" — there is no per-motion or per-order stacking on top of it. Subsection (b)(2) then gives divorce its own rule at the same $295, with the stipulation discount built in. The discount is real money — $205 saved for a resident couple who file settled — but it is conditional: the statute provides that if the stipulation is not acceptable to the court, or a matter that was agreed becomes contested, the difference between the reduced fee and the full $295 must be paid before the court issues a final order. Budget for the discount, but know the full fee is the backstop. The national comparison is on the divorce filing costs hub and the wider state picture on the Vermont court costs guide.

The same stipulation logic runs through Vermont family fees

Divorce is not the only family filing priced this way. A parentage or desertion-and-support proceeding costs $120, or $35 with an acceptable stipulation, under §1431(b)(3). A motion or petition to modify or vacate a final order for parental rights and responsibilities, parent-child contact or maintenance costs $120, or $35 with a stipulation, under §1431(b)(4) — and the statute assesses one fee for motions filed by one party at one time, however many are filed together. That pattern matters for planning a Vermont family case end to end: opening a divorce settled ($90), later modifying the parenting order by agreement ($35), or litigating either step instead ($295 / $120) are all priced in advance by the same page of the statute book. Enforcement motions for parental-rights and support orders are priced in the same subsection family; confirm the current line with the clerk, as the Judiciary's Fees page republishes the schedule as amendments take effect.

Residency and the six-month separation ground

Vermont's residency rules operate at both ends of the case. Under 15 V.S.A. §592, a complaint for divorce may be filed when the plaintiff has resided in Vermont for six months before filing — and a final hearing generally requires that a party has resided in the state for one year before the hearing (temporary absence does not automatically break residence, but the clerk and the statute should be checked against your facts). Vermont's no-fault ground, §551, requires that the spouses have lived separate and apart for six consecutive months and that resumption of marital relations is not reasonably probable. Fault grounds also remain available. In practice the residency year, not the clerk's calendar, is what sets the minimum timeline for many Vermont divorces — another reason the stipulation discount exists: a couple that has already lived apart for six months and settled everything is exactly the couple the $90 tier is built for.

How the case runs

1. Prepare the Complaint for Divorce/Legal Separation/Civil Union Dissolution and the required information and confidential-information forms for the Family Division of the Superior Court
2. Decide whether you can file with a stipulation for final order — if so, the entry fee is $90 resident / $180 neither resident; without one it is $295
3. File in the Superior Court unit for your county and arrange service on your spouse (court service is available; service costs are separate from the entry fee)
4. Exchange financial disclosures and, where children are involved, address parental rights and contact at the case-management stage
5. Attend the final hearing; if a stipulated case becomes contested, pay the difference up to the full $295 before the final order issues

What divorce really costs beyond the clerk

Vermont's "in lieu of all other fees" entry structure makes the court side unusually complete: the entry fee is the filing cost, rather than the first of a stack of line items. Beyond it, expect service costs if the court or a sheriff serves the complaint (priced separately from the entry fee), the cost of any private mediation or evaluation you choose, and attorney fees, which are market-priced and normally dominate a contested case. Certified copies of the final order for name, benefits and records changes are small clerk charges outside §1431's entry figure — order them when the decree issues. The honest Vermont budget is therefore: $90 or $295 at the window, plus service, plus whatever professional help your case actually needs. Compare neighbouring structures in Maine divorce costs and Massachusetts divorce costs.

Can't afford the fee?

Vermont publishes an Application to Waive Filing Fees and Service Costs (form 600-00228), which the Judiciary's own divorce checklists name as the route for filers who cannot pay; filing and service fees must be paid on filing unless that application is filed and granted. A judge decides on your financial statement. File it with the complaint — the checklist's instruction assumes the waiver question is settled at the window, not afterwards. The general mechanics are explained in the fee waiver guide.

Sources: 32 V.S.A. §1431 — Supreme Court entry $295 (subsection (a)); general Superior Court entry $295 ((b)(1)); divorce/annulment entry $295, or $90 with stipulation if one or both parties resident / $180 if neither resident, difference payable if the stipulation fails or the case becomes contested ((b)(2)); parentage $120 / $35 with stipulation ((b)(3)); motion to modify parental rights, contact or maintenance $120 / $35 with stipulation ((b)(4)) · Vermont Judiciary — Fees page (vtcourts.gov/fees) republishing the same schedule · 15 V.S.A. §§551 (six-month separation ground), 592 (residency) · Vermont Judiciary Family Division divorce checklist — Application to Waive Filing Fees and Service Costs, form 600-00228. Last verified: October 2026 — confirm current figures with your Superior Court clerk.