Ohio divorce filing fees by county.
What the clerk of courts lists to file for divorce or dissolution in Cuyahoga, Hamilton, Summit, Montgomery, Lucas, Butler and 11 other Ohio counties, read from each county’s own published schedule and linked to it.
Each Ohio county publishes its own schedule, so the county where you file changes the number. Ohio also distinguishes a divorce from a dissolution, and most of these schedules list a different amount for each, and for cases with or without children. Across the 17 counties below, the lowest divorce figure we read is $200 (Cuyahoga, no children) and the highest is $550 (Hancock). Several schedules describe the amount as a deposit toward costs, so the figure shown is what the source lists, not a final price.
Filing fee by county
| County | Fee as printed | What it covers | Source and date on it | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butler | Divorce $350; dissolution $300 | Deposit for each domestic relations action. Divorce complaints, counter complaints and cross complaints: $350 with children, $350 without. Dissolutions: $300 with children, $300 without. | Butler County Clerk of Courts court costs and depositsPrinted “New Costs Below Effective 8/17/2026” | 17 October 2026 |
| Clermont | Divorce $325 without children, $400 with; dissolution $300 without children, $350 with | Divorce, legal separation and annulment: $400 with children, $325 without. Dissolution: $350 with children, $300 without. | Clermont County Common Pleas Clerk of Courts, Domestic RelationsNo date printed on the page | 17 October 2026 |
| Columbiana | $300 | Dissolution of marriage, divorce, alimony and miscellaneous domestic relations cases, listed as one amount under the clerk’s advance deposit for security for costs | Columbiana County Clerk of Courts Common Pleas court legal feesPage prints “Effective date: June 1, 2022” above the schedule and “EFFECTIVE July 1, 2025” under the Security for Costs heading | 17 October 2026 |
| Cuyahoga | Divorce $200 without children, $300 with; dissolution $150 without children, $200 with | Filing fees listed on the Domestic Relations Court cost-to-file page. The page says an advance deposit toward court costs is required when a case is first filed. | Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court, Cost to FileNo date printed on the page | 17 October 2026 |
| Delaware | Divorce $385 without children, $485 with; dissolution $355 without children, $455 with | Legal Division fees, listed under “Revised Code Section 2303.20” | Delaware County Clerk of Courts fees and costsPrinted “Effective January 2, 2026” | 17 October 2026 |
| Franklin | Divorce $275; dissolution $225 | Basic filings, with service of process cost not included: action for divorce $275.00 and action for dissolution $225.00. Legal separation and annulment are $200.00 each, and counterclaims for divorce, annulment or legal separation are $43.00. The page prints no separate amount for children. Service of process as printed: certified mail $10.00, registered mail $27.00, Franklin County Sheriff service $30.00, ordinary mail $5.00, process server $4.00, foreign sheriff $75.00, service by publication $475.00 (a deposit). | Franklin County Clerk of Courts, Domestic Relations Division Fee ScheduleNo effective date printed on the page | 17 October 2026 |
| Hamilton | $325 without children; $375 with children | Domestic Relations Division, “Divorce, Dissolution” without children and with children | Hamilton County Clerk of Courts, Domestic Relations feesPage says the schedule is “as of January 1st, 2016” | 17 October 2026 |
| Hancock | Divorce $550; dissolution $450 | Domestic Relations filing fees paid at the Clerk of Courts office | Hancock County Domestic Relations CostsPrinted “effective as of July 1, 2025 but subject to change” | 17 October 2026 |
| Lake | $326 with children; $306 without children | Divorce, dissolution or legal separation, as listed under “What are the filing fees for Domestic Relations Court?” | Lake County Domestic Relations Court filing feesNo effective date printed on the page | 17 October 2026 |
| Lorain | $280 with no minor children; $380 with minor children | Complaint or petition for divorce, dissolution or annulment. The schedule says the deposit “may include some or all of” Family Court Services, Legal Aid, Domestic Violence Shelters, Clerk Computerization, Computerized Legal Research, Interpreter and Case Management funds. | Lorain County Clerk of Common Pleas Court deposit and fee schedule (PDF)Printed “EFFECTIVE 7/1/2022” | 17 October 2026 |
| Lucas | $300 divorce, legal separation or dissolution; with minor children, divorce $350 and dissolution $325 | Filing fee as stated in the Clerk of Courts Domestic Relations FAQ. The FAQ says other fees are “quite possibly” involved and points to the local rules. | Lucas County Clerk of Courts, Domestic Relations FAQNo date printed on the page | 17 October 2026 |
| Mahoning | $250 | Complaint for divorce, legal separation or annulment, or petition for dissolution of marriage, with or without children | Mahoning County Domestic Relations Court filing feesPrinted “Effective May 22, 2015” | 17 October 2026 |
| Montgomery | Divorce $375 without children, $475 with; dissolution $300 without children, $400 with | Common Pleas Court Domestic Relations filing costs: complaint for divorce and petition for dissolution | Montgomery County Clerk of Courts filing costs and feesNo date printed for these fees | 17 October 2026 |
| Stark | Divorce $391; dissolution $371 | Family Court Division deposits: complaint for divorces and annulments (up to 4 defendants) $391; dissolutions $371. The page calls these “minimum deposits” and says total costs vary from case to case. It prints no separate amount for children. | Stark County Clerk of Courts Legal Division, deposits and feesPrinted “Deposits Effective 3/17/2025” | 17 October 2026 |
| Summit | Divorce $370 without children, $420 with; dissolution $370 without children, $400 with | Domestic Relations Division cost to file a divorce or a dissolution | Summit County Clerk of Courts, Domestic Relations feesNo date printed for these fees | 17 October 2026 |
| Trumbull | $301 | Complaints including divorce, legal separation and annulment; petitions for dissolution of marriage (each listed at $301) | Trumbull County Domestic Relations Court feesPrinted “Domestic Court Fees Effective 05/01/2025” | 17 October 2026 |
| Warren | Divorce $300 without children, $400 with; dissolution $300 without children, $400 with | Filing fee for a dissolution or a divorce, as stated in the Domestic Relations Court FAQ | Warren County Domestic Relations Court FAQNo date printed on the page | 17 October 2026 |
Each figure was read from the linked county document on 17 October 2026. Counties are listed alphabetically. This is not a ranking by population. Hamilton and Mahoning were re-checked against the clerks’ own fee pages on 29 October 2026 and still list the amounts shown, under the old effective dates noted above.
How to read this table
- Fee as printed is what the county’s own page or schedule lists to open a divorce or dissolution case. It is not the cost of a divorce. Serving the papers, any required parenting class, and lawyers are separate. The Ohio divorce costs page covers those.
- Divorce versus dissolution. A dissolution is a case both spouses agree to; a divorce is not. Some counties list one amount for both (Columbiana, Mahoning, Trumbull) and some list different amounts. We copy what each source prints and do not combine figures.
- With or without children. Where a source prints different amounts for cases with and without children, both are shown. Stark prints no such split.
- Check the date. Several pages print an old effective date (Hamilton 2016, Mahoning 2015, Lorain 2022) and several print none (Clermont, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Lake, Lucas, Montgomery, Summit, Warren). A county may have changed its amount since its page was last updated. Confirm the current amount with the clerk before you pay.
- Cost waiver. If you cannot afford the deposit you can ask the court to waive it. What the local rules say is below, and the Ohio divorce costs page has more.
If you cannot afford the filing fee
Ohio courts can accept an affidavit of indigence (a poverty affidavit) in place of the filing fee or deposit. Mahoning County’s Domestic Relations local rules say so directly: Rule 2.02 allows an affidavit of indigence “in lieu of filing fees or security deposits,” and Rule 8.05(D) says one seeking a waiver of the deposit is first submitted to the court for approval. The court can later order payment if your finances change. We have read only Mahoning’s rules, so do not assume the same process applies in another county. Ask that county’s clerk or the court’s self-help office which form it uses.
Who pays the rest of the costs
Mahoning Local Rule 2.03 says that, unless the court orders otherwise, the balance of costs is divided equally between the spouses after deposits are applied. Rule 2.04 lets the court have the clerk charge additional fees when a divorce complaint is filed. Both are reasons the number in the table can understate what a case costs. Other counties have their own local rules, and we have not read them.
Source: Mahoning County Domestic Relations Court Local Rules of Court (PDF), read 29 October 2026.Counties not yet checked
We have not yet confirmed the divorce or dissolution filing fee for the other 71 Ohio counties, so we show no figure for them and do not estimate one. Check the county clerk of courts’ own site: Adams, Allen, Ashland, Ashtabula, Athens, Auglaize, Belmont, Brown, Carroll, Champaign, Clark, Clinton, Coshocton, Crawford, Darke, Defiance, Erie, Fairfield, Fayette, Fulton, Gallia, Geauga, Greene, Guernsey, Hardin, Harrison, Henry, Highland, Hocking, Holmes, Huron, Jackson, Jefferson, Knox, Lawrence, Licking, Logan, Madison, Marion, Medina, Meigs, Mercer, Miami, Monroe, Morgan, Morrow, Muskingum, Noble, Ottawa, Paulding, Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Portage, Preble, Putnam, Richland, Ross, Sandusky, Scioto, Seneca, Shelby, Tuscarawas, Union, Van Wert, Vinton, Washington, Wayne, Williams, Wood, Wyandot.
The full cost of an Ohio divorce
Where the money goes, what the fee does not cover, and the cost waiver.
How the other 49 states compare
Our study of divorce filing fees across all 50 states.
Not legal advice. The Cusp is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. Court fees change and clerks update their schedules; confirm the amount with the clerk of courts in the county where you will file, and talk to a licensed Ohio attorney about your own situation. Corrections: thecusp.app/corrections.