Home › Divorce filing costs › Wisconsin

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

Wisconsin publishes its divorce fee down to the cent and down to the component: $184.50 to start a family action with no request for support or maintenance, and $194.50 when support or maintenance is requested. The Wisconsin Court System's official fee chart itemises every dollar of both figures.

Wisconsin divorce fees at a glance

Every line is from the Wisconsin Court System's Circuit Court Fee, Forfeiture, Fine and Surcharge Tables, the judiciary's official chart under Wis. Stat. §814.61(1)(a)–(b): the family-action fee is built from a $75 filing fee, a $68 court support services fee, a $21.50 Justice Information fee and a $20 family court counselling services fee under §767.405, totalling $184.50; requesting support or maintenance adds the $10 fee set by §814.61(13), producing $194.50. Two traps hide in the chart's footnotes. First, electronic filing adds a $35 e-filing fee per party under §801.18(7) in family cases, so a fully e-filed case costs both spouses an extra $35 each unless a fee waiver is granted. Second, the fee is charged to start the action — a spouse who files their own new action under chapter 767 pays the same $184.50, while motions inside an existing family action before judgment are generally no-fee, and post-judgment motions cost $30. The national comparison is on the divorce filing costs hub and the Wisconsin court costs guide.

Residency and the 120-day waiting period

Wisconsin's only ground is that the marriage is irretrievably broken (§767.315). To file, one spouse must have lived in Wisconsin for at least six months immediately before the action begins and in the county of filing for at least 30 days (§767.212). The second clock is statutory patience: the court cannot hold the final hearing until at least 120 days after the summons and petition are served on the respondent (or after a joint petition is filed) under §767.335, except in genuine emergencies. Spouses who file a joint petition pay one filing fee between them and skip service entirely, which — combined with the avoided $35-per-party e-filing duplication and no response fee — makes the joint petition the cheapest structured route in the state. Temporary orders for custody, support or use of the home are available early in the case from the family court commissioner, and requesting them inside the pending action does not start a new filing fee.

How the case runs

1. Confirm residency (six months in Wisconsin, 30 days in the county) and prepare the summons and petition — or a joint petition if you both sign
2. File with the Clerk of Circuit Court in the county where either spouse qualifies $184.50, or $194.50 with a support/maintenance request
3. If filing electronically, budget the per-party e-filing fee $35 per party; serve the respondent personally or by an admitted substitute method
4. Exchange financial disclosures, attend any temporary-order hearing before the family court commissioner, and observe the 120-day statutory waiting period
5. File the marital settlement agreement or try the disputed issues; after judgment, later changes are by post-judgment motion $30

What divorce really costs beyond the clerk

Wisconsin's chart is unusually complete, but three costs still sit outside it. Service of the summons by the county sheriff is charged on the sheriff's own civil process schedule, which the judiciary's fee chart does not set. Mediation of placement disputes — which many counties require before a contested custody trial — is priced by the county programme or the mediator, not by §814.61. And attorney fees, the dominant cost in any contested case, are market-priced and unpublished; this page does not estimate them. One predictable post-divorce cost does appear in the chart: certified copies and record searches carry their own small scheduled fees, and you will likely buy at least one certified copy of the judgment for name, benefits and account changes. For the neighbouring structures, compare Illinois divorce costs and Michigan divorce costs.

Can't afford the fee?

Wisconsin's waiver is the Petition for Waiver of Fees and Costs (form CV-410A) under §814.29: filers who receive means-tested public assistance qualify on proof of benefits, and others are assessed on the income and assets sworn in the petition. A granted waiver also covers the sheriff's service fee — the state legal-help guidance notes the waiver requires the sheriff to serve the papers at no cost — which makes it worth more in Wisconsin than the $184.50 headline suggests. See the fee waiver guide.

Sources: Wisconsin Court System — Circuit Court Fee, Forfeiture, Fine and Surcharge Tables (family action $184.50 = $75 filing + $68 CSS + $21.50 JINFO + $20 FCCS; $194.50 with support/maintenance request incl. $10 under §814.61(13); e-filing $35 per party under §801.18(7); post-judgment motion $30) · Wis. Stat. §§767.212 (residency), 767.315 (irretrievably broken), 767.335 (120-day waiting period), 767.405 (family court counselling services), 814.29 (fee waiver), 814.61 (family action fees). Last verified: October 2026 — confirm current figures with your Clerk of Circuit Court.