Divorce in Colorado, start to finish

Colorado gives everyone the same single Petition form — with children or without, agreed or not. What actually forks a case is whether the other spouse signs on as a co-petitioner or comes into the case as a respondent. That fork changes the paperwork, the costs, and — this is the part people miss — when the 91-day waiting period actually starts.

C.R.S. § 14-10-106(1)(a)(I) requires one spouse to have been domiciled in Colorado for 91 days before filing. There is no way around it. Where there are children there is a second, separate residency clock for them: 182 days of Colorado residence, or since birth if the child is under six months, before the state can decide custody under the UCCJEA. That clock does not move because the spouses are co-petitioning.

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 carries the revision date clerks check. Every one is free from the Colorado Judicial Branch.

Every one of these is free. Download fresh each time — clerks reject superseded revisions, and saved copies go stale. Full catalog: coloradojudicial.gov/self-help-forms.

Colorado’s self-help packet is unusually good as these things go — one plain-language Petition covers every fact pattern, and the instruction sheets (JDF 1010, JDF 1099, JDF 1104) are genuinely written for non-lawyers, in icon-driven one-pagers, statewide. That doesn’t mean it’s simple. It means the traps are procedural, not paperwork.

Almost everything in a Colorado dissolution counts from one of two dates: the day you file, and the day the court gets jurisdiction over your spouse — which is the day you file together as co-petitioners, the day your spouse signs a Waiver of Service, or the day they’re personally served. Put those in and we’ll turn every rule into an actual date — then add the whole thing to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Outlook in one click.

This is the part that’s genuinely worth paying attention to. Colorado’s own self-help guide states the waiting period plainly — but the mechanics of when it actually starts catch self-represented filers constantly.

Due within 42 days of filing or receiving the Petition, under C.R.C.P. 16.2(e)(7). Documents go to your spouse; only the Certificate of Compliance (JDF 1104) itself and your Sworn Financial Statement (JDF 1111) get filed with the court.

What this is. A guide to Colorado’s own process, built from the Colorado Revised Statutes (Title 14, Article 10 — including §§ 14-10-106, 14-10-107, and 14-10-108), Colorado Rule of Civil Procedure 16.2, and the official JDF forms and instruction sheets published by the Colorado Judicial Branch at coloradojudicial.gov. The forms themselves are free and this guide 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 Colorado requires of each path. If your case involves contested custody, a business, hidden assets, domestic violence, or a spouse with a lawyer, talk to an attorney; many offer free consultations, and one hour of advice is cheaper than a case that stalls on a jurisdiction date nobody tracked. Court staff, including the clerk who processes your fee waiver, are not permitted to give legal advice.

Confirm current numbers with the clerk. Filing fees, form revisions, and the child support calculator are periodically updated by the legislature or the Judicial Branch — Colorado retired its paper child support worksheets statewide in 2025 with no notice beyond the form itself. Where this guide could not verify an exact figure, link, or deadline interpretation with confidence, it says so or points you to coloradojudicial.gov rather than guessing.