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Military Divorce in Florida: Residency, SCRA, and Timing

Reviewed by the Amicably document team · Updated August 7, 2026

Florida does not have a separate legal process for military divorce. The same residency rule, the same forms, and the same 20-day wait apply whether both spouses are civilians or one of you is on active duty. What changes are two things: how residency plays out for someone stationed away from home, and a federal law called the SCRA that protects a service member from a default judgment when they cannot respond to a case at all.

This guide walks through both, plus the practical timing questions that come up when a spouse is deployed or stationed out of state, and where the line sits between a case Amicably can prepare and one that needs a military legal assistance office or a family law attorney instead.

Florida's residency rule for military couples

Florida requires that one of the spouses have resided in the state for the 6 months before the petition is filed. That rule reads the same for a service member as it does for anyone else; the statute does not carve out a different test for military couples. What it does allow is that only one spouse has to meet the 6-month test, so a couple where one spouse is stationed overseas and the other has lived in Florida the whole time is in the same position as any Florida couple.

Residency has to be corroborated, and Florida limits the acceptable proof to a short list. Whichever document you use, its issue date matters: the court's approved form instructions require the license, ID, or voter registration to have been issued at least 6 months before the case is filed, not just held for 6 months.

A spouse stationed at a Florida base who is actually living here for the 6 months before filing can typically meet the residency test the same way any other Florida resident does, by getting a Florida driver license or registering to vote here early enough. Orders can change on short notice, so the practical planning point is to line up the corroborating document as early as possible rather than assuming a base assignment alone settles the question.

What the SCRA actually protects

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is a federal law, not a Florida statute, and it only matters in one specific situation: a spouse who is on active duty and has not responded to the case at all. Before a court can enter a default judgment against a non-responding spouse, the other spouse has to file a sworn statement about the non-responding spouse's military status, and if that spouse is on active duty, the court cannot enter judgment until it appoints an attorney to represent them. A court can also pause the case for at least 90 days on request.

The point people often miss is that the SCRA is an appearance test, not a "military divorces are harder" rule. If the military spouse signs Florida's Answer, Waiver, and Request form admitting the petition and agreeing to the relief requested, that is an appearance, and no military-status affidavit is required at all. The SCRA only becomes a real obstacle when a spouse cannot be reached or will not respond, and at that point the case is no longer a cooperative, uncontested one.

When both spouses agree, the process looks the same

Route-scoped by package: nothing about military status changes which forms a couple needs. That still depends on whether there are minor children, an agreed property split, and which of the three uncontested routes fits: a Simplified Dissolution, an uncontested divorce with no children, or an uncontested divorce with children. A military couple that agrees on everything files the same Marital Settlement Agreement, the same Notice of Social Security Number, and the same petition as any civilian couple on that route.

1. Both spouses sign the short nonlawyer disclosure, then each fills in their own information from wherever they are, including overseas.
2. Amicably merges both sets of answers into one clean set of documents.
3. A specialist reviews everything against the filing county's current requirements.
4. Both spouses complete video notarization; a deployed spouse needs a stable internet connection and a valid photo ID to do this remotely, so confirm this works for their specific location before counting on it.
5. The customer who is filing submits the finished packet through Florida's e-filing portal, guided step by step, and we confirm the court accepted it.

Amicably prepares the complete packet for a flat $99, plus the county's own filing fee of roughly $408, paid to the clerk. The military side of the case is entirely about proving residency and, if it comes up, showing the other spouse appeared; it does not change the price or the forms.

Deployment and the practical timing issues

Deployment does not stop a Florida divorce from moving forward, but it does change what has to happen ahead of time. The two questions worth answering before you file are whether the deployed spouse can realistically review and sign documents on the schedule the case needs, and whether they can complete remote notarization from where they are.

If a deployed spouse genuinely cannot be reached, that is not a timing problem to work around; it changes the case into the non-appearance situation covered above, with the SCRA affidavit and possible stay that come with it. At that point the right next step is a military legal assistance office (available on most installations at no cost) or a family law attorney, not a self-help packet.

A typical timeline when both spouses cooperate

When both spouses can cooperate, a military divorce runs on the same clock as any other uncontested Florida case. Nothing about the SCRA or residency proof adds time once both of those pieces are in place before filing.

1. Before filingLine up the Florida residency document and confirm the deployed or out-of-state spouse can complete video notarization from their location.
2. Day 0The petition is filed. The 20-day waiting period Florida law requires before a final judgment starts running from this date.
3. Within the first weeksThe cooperating spouse signs the Answer, Waiver, and Request form, which counts as their appearance and rules out any SCRA affidavit requirement.
4. Day 20 or laterThe earliest point a final judgment can be entered, subject to the court's own docket and scheduling.
5. Final hearingA short hearing finalizes the case; many counties allow it by video, which is often the easier option when a service member cannot travel.

Nothing here is faster than a civilian uncontested case, and nothing about military status makes it slower on its own. The variable is entirely how quickly the deployed or relocated spouse can complete their part.

Mistakes that slow a military divorce down

Assuming a base assignment alone proves residency. Florida still requires 6 months of actual residence and a document with the right issue date; being stationed here is a strong starting point, not a substitute for the paperwork.

Trying to get a default judgment without the SCRA affidavit. Skipping this step when a spouse has not responded is not a shortcut; the court cannot enter judgment without it if the non-responding spouse turns out to be on active duty.

Assuming remote notarization works everywhere. Internet access, location, and provider coverage vary. Confirm it works for the deployed spouse's actual location before building a filing date around it.

Waiting until the last minute to gather the corroborating document. A driver license or voter registration issued too close to the filing date does not satisfy the 6-month issue-date rule, and there is no way to fix that after the fact except waiting.

Frequently asked questions