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The Texas Prove-Up: How an Uncontested Divorce Is Finalized

Reviewed by the Amicably document team · Updated August 25, 2026

In an uncontested Texas divorce, the case does not end with a trial. It ends at a short step called the prove-up, where the petitioner puts the basic facts behind the decree on the record. Depending on the county and the individual court, that can mean signing a sworn affidavit and never stepping into a courtroom, or a brief hearing that takes only a few minutes.

The prove-up cannot happen before the 60-day waiting period runs, and whether it happens by paper or in person is not a single statewide rule. It is set by each court. This guide walks through what the prove-up covers, how the biggest Texas counties handle it, and what gets filed once the judge signs.

What happens at a Texas prove-up

"Prove-up" is a practice term, not a phrase defined in the Family Code. It comes from the general requirement that the petitioner present evidence and testimony supporting the terms of the decree before a judge will sign it. Per the Texas State Law Library's guide to finalizing a divorce, at the prove-up "you appear before the judge and give evidence and testimony as to the terms of your divorce."

What that testimony covers is narrow in an agreed case: that you meet Texas's residency requirement, that the marriage has become insupportable (or another ground applies), that you understand and agree to the terms in the decree, and that the property division and any conservatorship and support terms are the ones you are asking the court to approve. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many Texas courts have accepted a written prove-up affidavit in place of that in-person testimony. The affidavit asks the same questions the judge would otherwise ask out loud, and the petitioner answers them in writing, under oath.

Whether your court will accept an affidavit instead of a hearing, and whether any appearance is required at all, is not the same from courthouse to courthouse. See the county-by-county section below.

What has to be true before you get there

A few things need to be in place before a prove-up can happen. The case needs to be past the mandatory waiting period, the paperwork establishing that the respondent is properly before the court needs to be filed (a waiver of service or an answer, or proof the respondent was served and did not respond), and in an agreed case both spouses need to have signed the decree.

1. Day 0The petition is filed and the 60-day clock starts.
2. Day 60The earliest day Texas law allows a court to sign the divorce, with only two family-violence exceptions.
3. Prove-upThe petitioner files a sworn affidavit, or the parties appear briefly before the judge, depending on the court.
4. Decree signedThe judge signs the final decree and the case is over.

That 60-day floor applies no matter which finalization format a court uses. A court cannot grant the divorce before the 60th day after the petition was filed, and there is no general good-cause or by-agreement way to shorten it.

Affidavit or hearing? It depends on the court

All of the largest Texas counties allow an uncontested divorce to finalize without a full in-person trial, but the mechanism, and whether any appearance is required at all, varies by county and often by the individual court within that county. There is no single statewide "you never go to court" rule. Here is how the practice differs among the state's biggest counties, current as of this writing; confirm with your specific court, since local rules and individual judges' practices can change.

Agreed prove-up vs default prove-up

TexasLawHelp's with-children forms split the prove-up affidavit into two versions, and which one applies depends on how the respondent came into the case.

Only one uncontested form set, "Divorce Set 1" for cases with no children and no real property, was promulgated by the Texas Supreme Court. The with-children prove-up affidavits are published by TexasLawHelp and the Texas Access to Justice Commission, not by the Supreme Court, so avoid describing them as "Supreme Court approved" forms.

The steps from filing to a signed decree

1. Confirm the 60-day waiting period has run and every required signature is on the decree.
2. Prepare the prove-up affidavit, or prepare to answer questions briefly if your court requires an appearance, covering residency, the ground for divorce, and the decree's terms.
3. File the affidavit with the district clerk, or check your court's setting page for a hearing date, time, and whether it is in person or remote.
4. The judge reviews the decree along with the affidavit or the testimony given.
5. The judge signs the final decree, finalizing the divorce.
6. File form VS-165 with the decree so the divorce is reported to Texas Vital Statistics.

After the judge signs

Once the decree is signed, two more things typically happen at or right after the prove-up. First, form VS-165, the Information on Suit Affecting the Family Relationship, gets filed with the decree; it is how the county reports the divorce to Texas Vital Statistics, and it is required whether or not the case involves children. Second, self-represented filers who e-filed their case through the eFileTexas system can generally continue to use it to request certified copies of the signed decree; e-filing is available to self-represented parties but is not required of them under the state's civil procedure rules.

If you filed with children in the case, the decree that comes out of the prove-up is also the order that sets conservatorship, possession and access, and child support going forward. See our guide to how a SAPCR works inside a Texas divorce for how those terms get built before you ever reach the prove-up.

Frequently asked questions