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How Much Does a Divorce Cost in Texas? Every Fee, Itemized

Reviewed by the Amicably document team · Updated August 3, 2026

Every Texas divorce carries one unavoidable cost: the court filing fee, paid to the district clerk in the county where you file. Everything past that number depends on choices you make, whether your spouse signs a waiver or has to be formally served, and whether your case stays agreed or turns into something a lawyer needs to handle.

This guide itemizes what a Texas divorce actually costs, county by county for the filing fee, plus the service costs, the fee-waiver option, and the smaller expenses people forget to budget for.

What a Texas divorce costs, at a glance

Two costs apply to nearly every Texas divorce, agreed or not: the court's filing fee, and either a service fee or nothing at all if your spouse cooperates. Past that, the total is driven entirely by how much disagreement exists between you and your spouse, not by which forms you use.

The court filing fee, county by county

Filing fees are set by each county's district clerk, not by the state, and they change. Treat the figures below as a starting point to verify with your own county rather than a fixed statewide price.

The pattern across the counties that publish a fee schedule is a base filing fee around $350, with a somewhat higher figure for cases involving children because of an added domestic relations charge. Every county sets and changes its own number, so the district clerk for the county where you will actually file is the only source that matters at the moment you file.

Service or a waiver: the second unavoidable cost

After filing, your spouse has to be formally notified of the suit, one way or another. Which path you take changes this line item from a few dollars to nearly a hundred.

1. Agreed cases usually use a waiver of service. The respondent signs a waiver after the petition is filed, sworn before a notary who is not an attorney in the suit. A digitized signature does not satisfy this. Beyond the notary's fee, there is no court cost for a waiver.
2. Contested or uncooperative cases need formal service. The clerk issues a citation, generally a small fee, and a constable or private process server delivers it to your spouse. Combined, formal service typically lands in the high double digits.
3. Either way, the clock does not move. Service method affects cost, not the waiting period: Texas courts may not grant a divorce before the 60th day after filing, counted from the filing date itself.

For the full filing sequence, including where the waiver fits, see our guide to how to file for divorce in Texas.

Can't afford it? The fee-waiver option

Texas has a formal route for filers who genuinely cannot afford the court costs: a sworn Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs, filed along with the petition. It is not a request for leniency, it is a sworn statement of your financial circumstances, and a judge or clerk reviews it. If it is granted, the filing fee and related court costs are waived. If a party challenges it, the court can hold a hearing on the statement.

What changes the total: forms, a service, or a lawyer

The court costs above are the same no matter who prepares your paperwork. What changes is what you pay for preparation itself, and that split into three real options.

None of these choices change the court's own costs above. They change only who does the work of filling in and checking your documents, and whether anyone can advise you about your specific situation, which only a licensed Texas attorney can do.

Costs people forget to budget for

These are small individually, but they show up after people assume the filing fee was the whole bill.

• Notary fees for the waiver of service and any other sworn document in your packet.
• Certified copies of the Final Decree of Divorce, which you will need for a name change, benefits paperwork, or a new marriage license, ordered from the district clerk after the case closes.
• Name-change follow-through: a restored name goes in the decree itself at no extra court cost, but updating a driver's license, Social Security card, and passport carries each agency's own fee.
• Reporting to Vital Statistics: every Texas divorce decree, with or without children, is accompanied by form VS-165, filed with the decree at no separate charge.

When you actually pay, start to finish

1. Day 0You file the Original Petition for Divorce and pay the district clerk's filing fee, unless a fee waiver was granted.
2. Days 1 to 7Your spouse either signs a notarized waiver of service, or is formally served, which is where the citation and service fees fall.
3. Day 60The earliest a Texas court may grant the divorce, counted from the filing date. This is a floor, not a fee: no payment moves this date earlier.
4. Day 60 onwardThe prove-up. Some counties accept an affidavit with no court cost beyond what you have already paid; others hold an appearance. Check with the county where you filed.
5. After the decreeCertified copies, name-change paperwork, and any other follow-through costs land here.

Frequently asked questions