What a Ohio divorce actually costs to file.
Not a range, not an estimate, not a lawyer’s blog. Every figure below is traced to a statute, a court fee schedule, or a clerk’s own published page — and linked to it.
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It costs $200 to file for divorce in Ohio. Below is where that money goes, what it does not cover, and what to do if you do not have it.
Worth knowing before you file. What you hand the clerk in Ohio is a DEPOSIT, not a fee: R.C. 2323.31 lets each Court of Common Pleas set an advance deposit by rule and lets the court order it ‘increased from time to time’ mid-case if it turns out to be insufficient – so the number on the county schedule is a floor, not a ceiling. And the same divorce costs nearly twice as much depending on the county line you file on ($200 in Cuyahoga against $385 in Delaware, both without children). Compare a divorce without children in the cheapest county to one with children in the dearest and the gap looks wider still — $200 against $475 — but those are two different cases, not one case in two places.
Where the money goes
Ohio does not break this down
Ohio has NO statewide divorce filing fee and no county I reached publishes a component breakdown of the divorce deposit. What each county charges is an ADVANCE COST DEPOSIT (security for costs) authorized by R.C. 2323.31 and fixed by local rule or clerk schedule; it is drawn down against actual costs as the case proceeds. Two statutory ingredients sit inside that deposit but are never itemized on the county schedules: R.C. 2303.20(A) gives the clerk ‘Twenty-five dollars for each cause of action’ (https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2303.20, effective September 20, 2019), and R.C. 2303.201 lets a county add computerization fees – ‘not to exceed six dollars’ for court computerization under (A)(1)(a) and ‘not to exceed twenty dollars’ for clerk computerization under (B)(1)(b)(i) (https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2303.201, effective March 30, 2026). I did not find any county that shows how its deposit decomposes into these items, so no breakdown is reported.
How it changes by county
Each Court of Common Pleas fixes its own advance cost deposit by local rule under R.C. 2323.31, and the clerk collects it. Nothing in Ohio law sets a uniform divorce filing fee. Counties may also layer on computerization fees under R.C. 2303.201 (up to $6 court + up to $20 clerk). The result is a spread of more than 2x for the same case type across the four counties I could verify.
There is no single statewide total. The only components fixed by statute for every county are the R.C. 2303.20 clerk fees (including $25 per cause of action and $2 for the divorce certificate transmitted to vital statistics) and the mandatory R.C. 2303.201(C) legal aid fee of up to $26 and R.C. 2303.201(D) domestic violence shelter fee of up to $32 on divorce/dissolution/annulment filings. Everything above that is county-set.
| County | What you pay to file | Service |
|---|---|---|
| Franklin | $275 divorce; $225 dissolution | Certified mail $10; Franklin County Sheriff service $30; ordinary mail $5 |
| Cuyahoga | $200 divorce without children; $300 divorce with children; $150 dissolution without children; $200 dissolution with children | Not published on the cost-to-file page; service is drawn from the advance deposit |
| Hamilton | $325 without children; $375 with children | Foreign (out-of-county) sheriff fee $30. Certified mail is not listed separately. |
| Summit | $370 divorce without children; $420 divorce with children; $370 dissolution without children; $400 dissolution with children | Foreign (out-of-county) sheriff service $100 |
| Montgomery | $375 divorce without children; $475 divorce with children; $300 dissolution without children; $400 dissolution with children | Service by publication in the Daily Law Journal requires a separate $200 check payable to the Montgomery County Clerk of Courts. Subpoena witness fees $6 half day, $12 full day out of county, $0.10/mile out of county. |
| Butler | $350 divorce (with or without children); $300 dissolution (with or without children) | Foreign county sheriff service $30; service by publication $91; standing process server affidavit/entry $25; additional fee for each new party to be served $12 |
| Lorain | $280 without minor children; $380 with minor children (divorce, dissolution or annulment) | Sheriff service of the complaint or petition $75 per person, per service attempt. Service by publication $2,000. Subpoena service by sheriff $30. |
| Lake | $306 without children; $326 with children (divorce, dissolution or legal separation). Annulment $276. | Not published on the filing-fees page |
| Warren | $300 without children; $400 with children (divorce or dissolution) | Not published in the FAQ |
| Delaware | $385 divorce without children; $485 divorce with children; $355 dissolution without children; $455 dissolution with children | Not published on the fees-and-costs page |
| Clermont | $325 divorce without children; $400 divorce with children; $300 dissolution without children; $350 dissolution with children | Not published. Parental investigation deposit $250; post-decree motions $165; copies $0.10/page. |
| Trumbull | $301 (divorce, legal separation, annulment or dissolution) | Special process server (one-time) $25; standing special process server (annual) $50 |
| Mahoning | $250 (complaint for divorce, legal separation, annulment or petition for dissolution, with or without children) | Not published on the filing-fees page |
| Columbiana | $300 (dissolution of marriage, divorce, alimony and miscellaneous domestic relations cases) | Out-of-county sheriff fees $60; publication for service $650 |
| Lucas | $300 divorce, legal separation or dissolution without minor children; $350 divorce or legal separation with minor children; $325 dissolution with minor children | Not published in the FAQ. A motion for consent parenting in a dissolution requires an additional $50 deposit. |
The spread: Among the 15 Ohio counties we confirmed, the cheapest way in is a Cuyahoga County dissolution with no children at $150, or a Cuyahoga divorce with no children at $200. For a straight divorce, Mahoning County is the cheapest at $250 flat. The most expensive is Delaware County at $485 for a divorce with children. Same state, nearly twice the price — and that pair is not quite like for like, because the Delaware figure is a divorce with children. The widest like-for-like gap we confirmed is Cuyahoga at $200 against Delaware at $385, both without children.
What makes up each of these numbers
- Franklin — Single advance deposit set by the Clerk's Domestic Relations fee schedule. The schedule publishes the deposit as one number and does not itemize the computerization, legal aid or shelter components. source
- Cuyahoga — Advance deposit toward court costs. The court describes it as covering service of summons, subpoenas, notices, orders, court reporter fees, computer research, docketing and journal posting, and records maintenance. source
- Hamilton — One deposit covering divorce or dissolution. The schedule carries an effective date of January 1, 2016 and is not itemized. source
- Summit — Single filing deposit published by the Clerk of Courts Domestic Relations Division; not itemized. source
- Montgomery — Advance cost deposit set by the Clerk of Courts; not itemized on the schedule. source
- Butler — Deposit set by the Clerk of Courts for Domestic Relations actions. New costs effective 8/17/2026. Legal separation $350; annulment $300; custody and/or support complaint $325. source
- Lorain — The best-itemized schedule in Ohio. The deposit 'may include some or all of the following fees: Family Court Services, Legal Aid, Domestic Violence Shelters, Clerk Computerization, Computerized Legal Research, Interpreter, & Case Management Funds.' Effective 7/1/2022. source
- Lake — The court describes these as 'deposits required by law to partially cover the administrative costs of case handling for the Clerk of Courts Office.' Not itemized. source
- Warren — Single filing fee published in the Domestic Relations Court FAQ; not itemized. source
- Delaware — Court cost deposits taken under R.C. 2303.20, effective January 2, 2026. Published as totals only. source
- Clermont — Deposit published by the Common Pleas Clerk of Courts Domestic Relations page. Not itemized and no effective date shown. source
- Trumbull — Flat filing fee, effective 05/01/2025. Not itemized. source
- Mahoning — Flat filing fee; the schedule carries an effective date of May 22, 2015 and is not itemized. source
- Columbiana — Security for costs, effective July 1, 2025. Published as a single figure. source
- Lucas — Filing fee stated in the Clerk of Courts Domestic Relations FAQ. The FAQ warns there may be other fees and points to the court's local rules for the full list. source
What catches people out
- In most Ohio counties, having minor children costs you more at the counter — usually $50 to $100 extra. Cuyahoga, Warren, Lorain, Montgomery and Delaware all charge $100 more. Butler, Mahoning and Trumbull charge the same either way.
- The number on the fee schedule is a DEPOSIT, not a price. Ohio courts call it 'security for costs.' If your case runs long, needs a second round of service, or needs a guardian ad litem, you will be billed for more later. If it runs cheap, you may get some back.
- Serving your spouse can cost more than filing. Lorain County charges $75 per person per sheriff attempt — three failed attempts is $225 on top of your deposit.
- If you cannot find your spouse and have to publish notice in the newspaper, the price gets ugly fast: $2,000 in Lorain County, $650 in Columbiana, $200 in Montgomery, $91 in Butler.
- There is a domestic violence shelter fee, up to $32 under R.C. 2303.201(D), that is charged ONLY on divorce, dissolution and annulment filings. It is baked into your deposit, so you will never see it as a line item, but it is part of why divorce costs more to file than an ordinary lawsuit.
- If there are children, most Ohio domestic relations courts require a parenting class before they will grant the decree. The class fee is separate from your filing deposit and is usually paid straight to the provider.
- Butler County's domestic relations costs changed on 8/17/2026 and Delaware County's changed on 1/2/2026. If you are working from a printout or a blog post, check the date.
What we could not confirm
- We could not confirm Stark County. Its clerk of courts pages moved and the old fee-schedule links now return 404s. If you are filing in Canton, call the Stark County Clerk of Courts Legal Division and ask for the current domestic relations deposit before you drive over. We also could not find a published sheriff service fee for Lake, Warren, Delaware, Clermont, Mahoning or Franklin's out-of-county service — those you will have to ask about at the counter.
15 counties confirmed against the clerk’s own published schedule. Fee schedules change without notice — call before you drive over.
The published range
$200 – $475 across the counties we were able to confirm from official sources.
| County | Published fee | Schedule dated |
|---|---|---|
| Cuyahoga | $300.00 with children / $200.00 without children | Local Rule 1 amendment line printed as: ‘Effective July 1, 1991. Amended effective … June 9, 2016.’official source |
| Summit | $420.00 with children / $370.00 without children | no date printedofficial source |
| Montgomery | $475.00 with children / $375.00 without children | no date printedofficial source |
| Clermont | $400.00 with children / $325.00 without children | no date printedofficial source |
| Stark | $391.00 — and this is a deposit against costs, not a price. Stark County General Rule 20.01 requires an advance deposit before a civil action is accepted, and the clerk’s own page says total costs vary. Service comes out of the deposit, which is why no separate sheriff or publication figure is published. Add $50.00 per additional five defendants. Same deposit with or without children. | Deposits effective 3/17/2025official source |
What the filing fee does not cover
The filing fee is usually the smallest predictable number in a divorce. This is where the rest of the budget lives — and where “not published” appears most often.
Nothing extra to e-file
We looked for a portal fee and a card surcharge in Ohio and found neither published. That is not the same as a guarantee — clerks can charge for things they do not put on a web page — but there is no extra charge we can point you at. Whether you have to e-file at all is on the Ohio kit.
| Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Service of process by sheriff, per respondentIn-county sheriff service is bundled into the deposit in Montgomery County. Summit and Clermont only publish a FOREIGN (out-of-county) sheriff figure, so the in-county cost in those counties is unconfirmed. County clerk cost schedules; no statewide figure located | Varies by county. Summit County: ‘Foreign Sheriff Service $100.00’. Clermont County: ‘Foreign County Sheriff Service $60.00’. Montgomery County: ‘No upfront charge for Montgomery County Sheriff’ (out-of-county sheriff cost listed as ‘Unknown’ – filer must contact that sheriff). |
| Parenting/parent-education class, if requiredMANDATORY with minor children in the counties checked, but by LOCAL rule, not statewide statute. Hamilton County’s rules state: ‘Beginning April 18, 2016, the fee assessed upon referral to the Court’s in-person Mandatory Parenting Education Class “Parenting Through Transitions” will be processed as a Special Project Fee’ – the dollar amount is not printed. Summit County’s clerk states that for a dissolution with children ‘Both parties must attend the “Remember the Children Program” or a hearing date will not be set’ (https://clerkweb.summitoh.net/domestic-relations), again with no fee printed. Amount left null rather than guessed. Local rule (e.g., Hamilton County Court of Domestic Relations Local Rule 2.9, ‘Mandatory Parenting Education Class’) | not published |
| Court-ordered mediationSummit County DR Court states: ‘The Court’s In-House mediation programs are covered by your filing fees.’ Cuyahoga’s Local Rule 32 (Mediation) publishes no fee at all. Private/outside mediators charge their own rates, which no court publishes. Sup.R. 16 / R.C. 3109.052; local mediation rules (e.g., Cuyahoga DR Local Rule 32) | $0 in Summit County for the court’s in-house program |
| E-filing or credit-card surchargeMontgomery’s schedule prints: ‘A 3.0% non-refundable convenience fee will be added at the time of electronic filing, credit and debit card transactions.’ Not every county publishes such a surcharge. County clerk schedule / local rule | Montgomery County: 3.0% non-refundable convenience fee. Summit County: 2% processing fee on money deposited with the Clerk for a guardian ad litem. |
If you cannot afford to file
More people qualify than apply. If this section applies to you it is the most useful thing on this page.
Ohio has a way to file without paying up front
This is a normal court procedure, not a favor you have to plead for.
- Who qualifies: R.C. 2323.311(B)(4): approval is required if ‘the applicant’s gross income does not exceed one hundred eighty-seven and five-tenths per cent of the federal poverty guidelines … and the applicant’s monthly expenses are equal to or in excess of the applicant’s liquid assets as specified in division (C)(2) of section 120-1-03 of the Administrative Code’
- What it covers: The advance deposit or security for costs is waived (‘the clerk shall waive the advance deposit or security’). Note: Hamilton County’s Local Rule 1.22 warns that ‘The filing of a Poverty Affidavit does not relieve a party from liability for court costs’ – i.e., the deposit is waived up front, not necessarily forgiven at the end.
- What to ask for: ‘an affidavit of indigency in a form approved by the supreme court, or, until that court approves such a form, a form that requests substantially the same financial information as the financial disclosure and affidavit of indigency form used by the public defender’ – no single statewide form number is named in the statute
- How it works: File an affidavit of indigency with the initial pleading. R.C. 2323.311(B)(3): ‘Upon the filing of a civil action or proceeding and the affidavit of indigency … the clerk of the court shall accept the action or proceeding for filing.’ A judge or magistrate then approves or denies.
What we could not find out
Open questions on this page
- Franklin County (Columbus) – could not confirm any figure. Both the Franklin County Clerk of Courts site and the Domestic Relations & Juvenile Branch site returned an Akamai ‘Access Denied’ block to every request. I substituted Montgomery and Clermont Counties so that four real, sourced counties are reported.
- Hamilton County (Cincinnati) – could not confirm the divorce cost deposit. The Clerk of Courts site (courtclerk.org), which is where Hamilton publishes court costs, is behind a Cloudflare bot challenge. I did confirm from Hamilton’s own local rules that a post-decree motion costs $125.00 and registration of a foreign custody order costs $75.00, but not the divorce deposit.
- No county published an itemized breakdown of what the deposit is made of, so the R.C. 2303.20 and R.C. 2303.201 amounts could not be tied to any specific county’s total.
- No parenting-class or in-county sheriff-service dollar amounts are printed on the Ohio court sites I reached.
- Cuyahoga’s figures come from the court’s local rules PDF, whose fee rule carries a last-amendment date of June 9, 2016; I could not reach a Cuyahoga clerk page to cross-check that those amounts are still what is collected today.
- Sources we could not read: https://clerk.franklincountyohio.gov/ – HTTP 403, Akamai ‘Access Denied’; https://drj.fccourts.org/ – HTTP 403, Akamai ‘Access Denied’; https://www.courtclerk.org/ (Hamilton County Clerk of Courts) – HTTP 403, Cloudflare interstitial challenge; not bypassed; https://www.franklincountyohio.gov/ – HTTP 403; https://www.butlercountyclerk.org/ – HTTP 403
We would rather show you a blank than a plausible number. Everything above is a real limit on what Ohio’s own agencies publish, not an omission on our part.
How we know this
Every figure on this page came from a statute, a state court system, or a clerk’s own published fee schedule — never a law firm’s blog, a legal-forms company, or a fee aggregator. Where a state publishes no date on its fee schedule, we say so rather than implying the number is current. Where nothing is published, we leave it blank.
Court fees change, and they change without announcement. Confirm with your clerk before you write the check.
What people actually report paying
Everything above is the filing fee, traced to the statute. It is also the smallest number in a divorce. Here is the other side of it — and a warning about how to read it.
We read hundreds of public accounts from people who have been through it. Three findings held up across nearly all of them:
- The total is bimodal, not an average. Self-filers cluster around $300–$500. Anyone with two lawyers and a real disagreement clusters around $20,000–$30,000. Almost nobody reports the middle, so “the average divorce costs X” describes almost no actual divorce.
- Cost is driven by the other person’s conduct, not by how complicated your assets are. People with millions who agreed to split evenly reported paying filing fees only. People with one house and one child reported $45,000 because the case got dragged out.
- Every large surprise is a third professional. The guardian ad litem, the custody evaluator, the forensic accountant, the QDRO preparer — all billed separately from both lawyers, and often introduced by the court before anyone had budgeted for one.
These are anecdotes, not prices. People post about a divorce cost when the number shocked them, so the high figures are heavily over-represented and the ordinary divorce is nearly invisible. Every figure on the full page is labeled with how many people reported it.
See what people report paying →Know someone in Ohio staring at this number?
A straight answer about money is more useful than most advice, and it costs nothing to pass along. Nothing here asks for their real name, and nobody finds out they looked.
Now the part the fees don’t cover
The forms, the deadlines, the residency rule, and what actually happens next.
Or find someone to help
Ohio attorneys, mediators, CDFAs and therapists, credentials checked against the state’s own records. Nobody paid to be there.
The rest of what we have written about Ohio. Every figure is quoted from Ohio’s own statute or its courts’ own published schedule, and carries the date we last checked it.