The Arizona Divorce Kit
See a different stateArizona
Arizona calls it a “dissolution of marriage,” gives you the forms for free, and then leaves you to figure out the order, the 60-day clock, and the traps that stall a filing for weeks. That’s this.
Put in the day you filed and this page works out every deadline in your case, then hands you a calendar file that reminds you a week before each one and again the day before. It opens in the calendar you already use. Free, no account, nothing stored.
1 · The three routes, and what the rule requires
Arizona has a genuine fast lane most people never hear about — the Summary Consent Decree — and the regular dissolution docket everyone else uses. There is also a separate statutory track for covenant marriages, which the free statewide packets are not written for. Both dissolution routes are bound by the same 60-day floor under A.R.S. § 25-329, so “fast” here means fewer steps and no process server, not a shorter clock.
Before any route is available, A.R.S. § 25-312 requires one spouse to have lived in Arizona for 90 days before filing, or to be an active-duty service member stationed here for 90 or more continuous days. There is no way around it.
Summary Consent Decree
Arizona Judicial Branch statewide packet · 60-day wait under A.R.S. § 25-329
Arizona’s real fast lane. There is no process server; both spouses file together as petitioners, and many counties allow the case to finish without a hearing once the 60-day clock has run.
Available only where all of these are true:
- The marriage is a regular, non-covenant marriage.
- Both spouses agree on everything — dividing property and debts, and, where there are minor children, legal decision-making, parenting time and child support.
- Both spouses sign on as co-petitioners.
- Where there are minor children: at least one attempt at Conciliation Services counseling has been made, or there is a documented reason it would be futile, and the children have lived in Arizona at least 6 months before filing.
The 60-day wait under A.R.S. § 25-329 still applies on this route. Sources are not fully consistent on exactly what date starts that clock for a joint filing where nobody is formally served — confirm with your clerk when you file.
Regular dissolution docket
A.R.S. § 25-312 and following · 60-day wait under A.R.S. § 25-329
The route for every non-covenant case the Summary Consent Decree conditions do not cover.
It does not mean contested. Most regular-docket dissolutions in Arizona are entirely uncontested and self-represented once the paperwork is in. It means the service and 60-day machinery in Section 5 applies in full.
This is the route wherever any of these is true:
- The spouses have not agreed on everything.
- The other spouse will not sign on as a co-petitioner — whether they will cooperate as a respondent or must be served.
A cooperating spouse can often sign a written Acceptance of Service instead of being formally served by a process server — ask the clerk’s office for their local form.
Covenant marriage
A.R.S. § 25-903
A covenant marriage is one where both spouses signed a covenant marriage declaration at the courthouse when they got the license — a small percentage of Arizona marriages.
Arizona’s free statewide petition and Summary Consent Decree packets are written for non-covenant marriages, and the forms in the table below are those packets.
Dissolving a covenant marriage requires proving one of the limited grounds in A.R.S. § 25-903:
- Adultery.
- A felony conviction with imprisonment.
- Abandonment of a year or more.
- Abuse or domestic violence.
- Two years of continuous separation.
- One year following legal separation.
- Habitual substance abuse.
- Mutual agreement.
There is not a single clean statewide form for this. Your county’s self-service center, or an attorney, is where to confirm the right petition for the grounds being alleged before filing.
2 · Every form Arizona publishes for a divorce
The complete list, not a shortlist — because which forms a case needs depends on facts only you and, if you need one, your lawyer can weigh. Each row says which route it belongs to and whether the form is statewide or federal. Every one is free from the Arizona Judicial Branch.
The Cusp is not a law firm and cannot tell you which forms are right for your case. Everything here is general information about how Arizona handles divorce, and every form below is published free by Arizona itself — you do not have to buy anything from anyone to get them. If your situation is not straightforward, a consultation with a Arizona family lawyer costs far less than fixing a filing that went wrong.
| Form | What it is | Route | Scope | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DRDSC10F | Notice of Intent to File Consent Decree | Summary Consent Decree | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRDSC10I | Instructions: Notice of Intent to File Consent Decree | Summary Consent Decree | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRDSC11F | Petition and Response for Summary Consent Decree | Summary Consent Decree | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DR71F | Consent Decree for Dissolution of Marriage | Summary Consent Decree | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DR71I | Instructions: How to Fill Out the Consent Decree | Summary Consent Decree | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRS81I | Instructions: Child Support Order — where there are minor children | Summary Consent Decree | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| FEDIWOI | Income Withholding — Instructions, where support is ordered | Summary Consent Decree | Federal/Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRDA10F | Petition for Dissolution of a Non-Covenant Marriage — without Minor Children | Regular dissolution | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRDC15F | Petition for Dissolution of a Non-Covenant Marriage — with Minor Children | Regular dissolution | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DR11F | Summons | Regular dissolution | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DR14F | Preliminary Injunction | Regular dissolution | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRRPA10F | Request for Protected Address (if applicable) | Regular dissolution | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DR12F | Order and Notice to Attend Parent Education/Information Program Class — where there are minor children | Regular dissolution | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRCVG12H | Parenting Plan Information — where there are minor children | Regular dissolution | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRDA31F | Response to Petition, without Minor Children (the responding spouse files it) | Regular dissolution | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRDC31F | Response to Petition, with Minor Children (the responding spouse files it) | Regular dissolution | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRAD10F | Alternative Dispute Resolution Statement to the Court | Regular dissolution | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRS88F | Current Employer (or Other Payor) Information Form | Regular dissolution | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRD61F | Application and Affidavit for Default — where the other spouse does not respond | Regular dissolution | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRD68F | Motion and Affidavit for Default Decree Without Hearing | Regular dissolution | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRTP52F | Motion to Set Trial Date and Certificate of Readiness | Regular dissolution | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRDA81F | Decree of Dissolution of a Non-Covenant Marriage — without Minor Children | Regular dissolution | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRDC81F | Decree of Dissolution of a Non-Covenant Marriage — with Minor Children | Regular dissolution | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRSDS10F-A | Family Court / Sensitive Data Cover Sheet — the version used where there are no minor children | All | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRSDS10F-C | Family Court / Sensitive Data Cover Sheet — the version used where there are minor children | All | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRD16F | Notice of Your Rights About Health Insurance Coverage | All | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DR16F | Notice Regarding Creditors | All | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRCVG13F | Affidavit Regarding Minor Children — where there are minor children | All | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRCVG11F | Parenting Plan — where there are minor children | All | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| DRS81F | Child Support Order — where there are minor children | All | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| AOCDR97FORM19F | Joint Legal Decision-Making Education Order — where there are minor children | All | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| AOCDR97FORM20F | Sole Legal Decision-Making Education Order — where there are minor children | All | Statewide | Download ↓ |
| FEDIWOF | Income Withholding Order for Support (IWO), where support is ordered | All | Federal/Statewide | Download ↓ |
| AOCDFGF1F | Application for Deferral or Waiver of Court Fees or Costs, if needed | All | Statewide | Download ↓ |
Every one of these is free. Download fresh each time — form revisions change, and your county may have its own preferred version (see Section 3). Full catalog: azcourts.gov/selfservicecenter.
3 · Getting the forms and filling them in
Nobody explains this part, so here it is. Every Arizona form on this list is free, most are fillable, and self-represented filing is completely normal — Arizona’s court system is unusually good at supporting it.
You may e-file, but you do not have to Your choice
- Portal
- eFileAZ (statewide superior court portal); AZTurboCourt (guided-forms filing)
- Paper
- Still accepted — you can file over the counter.
- What it costs
- $6.50 for all documents submitted in a new case submission; $6.50 for each lead document submitted in a post-initiation submission; $3.80 if the filer elects to use electronic service, card surcharge A non-refundable 3% processing fee
- Account
- Yes, a free account is required if the self-represented party chooses to e-file. No registration fee is published.
- Worth knowing
- Arizona draws the attorney/pro se line explicitly in the code itself — the single clearest sentence of any state in this batch. A self-represented divorce filer may e-file through eFileAZ or AZTurboCourt but is never required to, and may file at the clerk's counter. The e-filing application fees ($6.50/$3.80 + 3%) are separate from the statutory filing fee.
Step one — download them free, and check your county
The statewide catalog lives at the Arizona Judicial Branch Self-Service Center:
azcourts.gov/selfservicecenter — Family Law Forms
Arizona’s own site says its statewide forms “may be accepted by courts statewide,” which is a softer promise than a guarantee. Maricopa, Pima, Pinal, Mohave, Yavapai, Coconino, Gila, Navajo, and Yuma counties all maintain their own local self-help packets and law library resource centers, and some clerks prefer their county’s version even when the content is nearly identical. If you’re not filing in Maricopa, search “[your county] superior court law library forms” before you assume the statewide PDF is what your clerk wants.
Step two — fill them in on screen
Arizona’s family law forms are fillable Word documents distributed through the court’s SharePoint library — open them in Microsoft Word (or Word Online, free with a Microsoft account) or Google Docs, type directly into the fields, and print or upload the finished document. Type everything; write “N/A” where something doesn’t apply rather than leaving a line blank.
This is Arizona’s real fast lane — no process server, no formal service deadline math, both spouses file together, and you can often finish without a hearing. It’s built for full agreement only (see Section 1). AZTurboCourt, the state’s guided e-filing tool, can also walk you through document assembly and e-filing in participating counties — azcourts.gov/efilinginformation/AZTurboCourt — though it isn’t available for every case type in every county, so confirm it covers yours first.
Step three — the Preliminary Injunction is not optional paperwork
Every dissolution petition in Arizona comes bundled with Form DR14F, the Preliminary Injunction. Unlike most court orders, this one takes legal effect automatically — see the trap in Section 5. There’s no signature ceremony required for it to bind you; filing the petition does it.
Step four — file them, in person or online
Arizona doesn’t have one single statewide e-filing portal open to every self-represented filer the way Florida does — AZTurboCourt covers many counties and case types but not all of them uniformly. Paper filing at the Clerk of the Superior Court in your county is always available and, if AZTurboCourt doesn’t yet support your case type in your county, is often the simpler route. Bring your forms, valid photo ID, and the filing fee (see Section 7) or a completed fee waiver application.
If your spouse is cooperative, ask the clerk’s office about signing a written Acceptance of Service instead of being formally served — Arizona’s civil procedure rules (Rule 4.1) allow it, and it’s common practice, but the exact local form and process differ enough by county that it’s genuinely a “check with your clerk” item rather than a single statewide PDF.
4 · Your deadlines, calculated
Almost everything in an Arizona dissolution counts from service of the petition (or your spouse’s acceptance of it) — not from the day you filed. Put in your dates and we’ll turn every rule into an actual date on your calendar — then add the whole thing to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Outlook in one click.
5 · The order it actually happens in
6 · Arizona’s trap: the injunction you never see anyone sign
Most restraining orders require a judge’s signature before they’re enforceable. Arizona’s dissolution Preliminary Injunction (A.R.S. § 25-315, Form DR14F) is different: it takes effect against the petitioner the moment the petition is filed, and against the respondent on service or actual notice — whichever comes first. Nobody has to sign it in the moment; filing does it.
It bars either of you from transferring, hiding, or disposing of community or joint property outside “the usual course of business or the necessities of life” without written consent or a court order, from harassing or disturbing the peace of the other spouse or the children, from removing the children from Arizona, and from canceling or removing the other spouse or children from any existing insurance coverage — all automatically, all before anyone’s had a hearing. People routinely violate it without realizing it applies yet — moving money between accounts, changing a beneficiary, or taking a planned out-of-state trip with the kids the week after filing are the most common ways this turns into a contempt problem instead of a formality.
Arizona is one of a handful of true community property states — under A.R.S. § 25-211, nearly everything either of you acquired during the marriage belongs to the “community,” not to either spouse individually. But A.R.S. § 25-318 directs courts to divide that property equitably, though not necessarily in kind — meaning fairly, not a mechanical 50/50 split of every asset. If you’re used to how other states frame this, don’t assume the math is as simple as “cut everything in half.”
7 · What this costs
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Filing fee, statewide base (A.R.S. § 12-284) | $261 |
| Filing fee, actual total — Maricopa County | $376 |
| Filing fee, actual total — Pima County (eff. 6/1/2026) | $436 |
| Filing fee, actual total — Pinal County (eff. 12/28/2024) | $321 |
| Response/initial appearance, statewide base | $172 |
| Sheriff service of process, Maricopa (base + mileage + notary, $200 deposit) | ~$25–60 |
| Parent education class, per parent (if children) | $25–45 |
| Typical all-in, doing it yourselves, uncontested | $300–500 |
A.R.S. § 12-284 sets a statewide base, but county Boards of Supervisors are separately authorized (A.R.S. § 11-251.08) to add local surcharges on top — law library funding, conciliation court, document storage. That’s the real reason Maricopa, Pima, and Pinal each land on a different final number for what is nominally “the same” filing fee. Your county’s clerk of court website will have the current combined figure; the numbers above were current as of the effective dates listed.
File the statewide Application for Deferral or Waiver of Court Fees or Costs (Form AOCDFGF1F). Receiving SSI generally qualifies you for a full waiver; income between roughly 150%–225% of the federal poverty level, or receipt of TANF, SNAP, or legal-aid assistance, generally qualifies you for a deferral. A second form, the Supplemental Application (AOCDFGF9F), is required once your decree is entered — this is a genuine two-step process, not a one-time filing.
8 · The rejection-proofing checklist
These are the specific things that stall Arizona filings or draw a judge’s questions at the decree stage.
Forms people forget
Before you file
Arizona’s free self-service petition and Summary Consent Decree forms are written for non-covenant marriages. If yours is a covenant marriage, dissolution is limited to the specific grounds in A.R.S. § 25-903 — adultery, a felony conviction with imprisonment, abandonment for a year or more, abuse or domestic violence, two years of continuous separation, one year post-legal-separation, habitual substance abuse, or mutual agreement of both spouses. There isn’t a clean statewide covenant-marriage petition form to point you to, and getting the grounds wrong is not a paperwork fix — talk to an attorney or your county’s self-service center staff before you file.
What this is. A guide to Arizona’s own process, built from Arizona Revised Statutes Title 25 (including §§ 25-211, 25-312, 25-315, 25-318, 25-329, 25-352, and 25-901 through 25-903), and the official forms and instructions published by the Arizona Judicial Branch Self-Service Center at azcourts.gov and by the Maricopa County Law Library Resource Center. The forms themselves are free and this kit links you to them rather than reselling them.
What this is not. The Cusp is not a law firm and does not practice law. Nothing here is legal advice, and nothing here tells you which choice is right for your particular situation — only what Arizona requires of each path. If your case involves contested legal decision-making, a business, hidden assets, domestic violence, a covenant marriage, or a spouse with a lawyer, talk to an attorney; many offer free consultations, and one hour of advice is cheaper than a filing that stalls for weeks. Court staff, including self-service center staff, can point you to the right form but cannot tell you which one to choose.
Confirm current numbers with your clerk. Filing fees, class costs, and sheriff service rates are set locally and change periodically. Where this kit could not verify an exact county-level figure or local procedure with confidence, it says so or points you to your county’s clerk of court rather than guessing.
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Everything we have written about Arizona specifically. Every figure on these pages is quoted from Arizona’s own statute or its courts’ own published schedule, and carries the date we last checked it.
The most expensive mistakes in a divorce are made in the year after it, by people who thought the case was over. After the divorce is the checklist for that year — the health-coverage clock, the retirement order a decree cannot replace, and the beneficiary form that outranks your will.
Filing is one household becoming two, and the second one starts empty. The two-household list is what to send the people who keep asking how they can help — the second of everything, and the half of it that costs nothing. Some people call it a divorce registry.