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Divorce in Dallas County, Texas: Forms, Fees, and Where to File

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

A Dallas County divorce is filed at the District Clerk's Civil File Desk in downtown Dallas, by mail, or electronically through eFileTexas.gov. This guide covers current Dallas County filing fees, which forms your case needs, and how an uncontested Dallas County divorce actually gets finalized.

Where to file in Dallas County

Dallas County divorces are filed with the Dallas County District Clerk, not the county clerk. The Civil File Desk is at the George L. Allen, Sr. Courts Building, 600 Commerce Street, Suite 103, Dallas, TX 75202, and takes cash, check, money order, or card at the counter. Filings can also be mailed to the same address, or submitted electronically through eFileTexas.gov.

Texas courts use the statewide eFileTexas.gov system for electronic filing. Attorneys are required to e-file; a self-represented filer may e-file through eFileTexas.gov but is generally not required to. Whichever method you use, the case is opened with a Dallas County civil district court and assigned to one of the county's family district courts, which each set their own scheduling and prove-up practices.

Because Dallas County has multiple family district courts, the specific court assigned to your case matters more than the county name on its own. Two divorces filed the same week, at the same file desk, can move through different scheduling procedures once each lands in front of its assigned court. That is why the filing fees and the file desk are countywide, but the prove-up practice further down this page is described as court-dependent rather than as a single Dallas County rule.

Filing fees in Dallas County

Under the Dallas County District Clerk's family filing fee schedule currently posted for the county's family district courts, a divorce with no children costs $297 and a divorce with children costs $348. Citation issuance is billed separately from the base filing fee, and so is service, whether by certified mail or by a constable. Fee schedules change, so confirm the current amount with the District Clerk before you file.

A filer who cannot afford these costs can ask the court to waive them by filing a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs instead of paying at intake.

Forms you need

Which packet applies depends on whether the marriage involves children and real property. A case with no children and no real property uses Divorce Set 1, the forms the Texas Supreme Court promulgated for that specific situation. A case with children uses a different packet published by TexasLawHelp and the Texas Access to Justice Commission, not the Supreme Court, and includes the Original Petition for Divorce, a waiver of service or answer, the final decree, and a prove-up affidavit.

See Texas divorce forms, every official set explained for how Set 1 compares to the with-children packets in detail.

A case that involves children is also, procedurally, a suit affecting the parent-child relationship, so the decree has to address conservatorship and possession and access alongside the divorce itself. Filling out the with-children packet correctly means the decree carries both the divorce and those conservatorship terms in one document, rather than leaving them for a separate filing.

How to file, step by step

1. Confirm residency: either spouse must have lived in Texas for the preceding 6 months and in Dallas County for the preceding 90 days.
2. Complete the petition and the packet that matches your case (Set 1, or the with-children packet plus form VS-165 if there are children).
3. File at the Civil File Desk, by mail, or through eFileTexas.gov, and pay the filing fee or file a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs.
4. Have the other spouse sign a notarized waiver of service after the petition is filed, or arrange formal service.
5. Wait out the statutory period; a Dallas County court cannot sign the decree before day 60.
6. Complete the prove-up in whatever form your assigned family district court uses, whether that is an affidavit, an uncontested docket setting, or a scheduled hearing.

The 60-day timeline in Dallas County

Every Texas divorce, including Dallas County's, is bound by the same statutory floor: a court may not grant the divorce before the 60th day after filing, and that clock starts at filing, not at service. See how to file for divorce in Texas for how the waiting period works statewide.

1. Day 0Petition is filed at the Civil File Desk, by mail, or through eFileTexas.gov, opening the 60-day clock and the standing order.
2. Day 0-60The other spouse signs a waiver of service, or is formally served, and any remaining forms are completed.
3. Day 60Earliest date a Dallas County court may sign the final decree.
4. Prove-upThe 301st Family District Court publishes an official Sample Prove-Up Affidavit for Agreed Divorce, and some Dallas County judges accept it in place of live testimony; others, especially with children involved, still require short testimony.

Because prove-up practice is set by the individual family district court and judge, not a single countywide rule, confirm the current procedure with your assigned court before assuming your case can finish without an appearance.

Frequently asked questions