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An uncontested divorce in Texas is one where both spouses agree on every term before the decree is signed: how property and debt are divided, what happens with the children if there are any, and whether either side owes support. Agreeing does not create a separate legal track. The case still files on the same forms, still runs the same 60 day wait, and still ends at the same kind of hearing as any other divorce. What changes is that nobody is fighting over the outcome, so the paperwork moves in a different order and the wait becomes preparation time instead of a standoff.
This guide walks through what actually makes a case stay agreed, from the ground you file on through the notarized waiver, the waiting period, and the finish. For the full mechanics of opening a case, start with how to file for divorce in Texas; if you are still deciding whether to handle it yourselves, see DIY versus an online service versus a lawyer.
Texas law does not define an "uncontested" or "agreed" divorce as a separate case type. Every divorce, whether the spouses agree on everything or fight over every line, files the same petition, sits in front of the same district court, and follows the same statutory clock. "Uncontested" is a practice term for a case where the respondent does not dispute the ground, the property division, or, if there are children, the conservatorship, possession and access, and support terms. When nothing is disputed, there is nothing for a judge to resolve at trial, so the case can move straight from filing to a short finishing hearing.
That distinction matters because it changes what work has to happen, not what forms exist. The same Original Petition, the same official form packets, and the same court handle an agreed case and a contested one; a walkthrough of those forms is in the guide to filing for divorce in Texas step by step. What an agreed case skips is everything that follows a dispute: motions, discovery, temporary-orders hearings, and a trial setting.
A case stays agreed only as long as both spouses keep agreeing, in writing, on every term that ends up in the decree. The line between an agreed case and a contested one is not the presence of children or property; plenty of agreed cases have both. The line is whether anyone is disputing the terms.
Both spouses agree on dividing the community estate, on conservatorship and possession and access if there are children, and on any support amount, before the decree is signed. Neither side disputes residency or the ground for the divorce.
One spouse disputes an asset, wants a different possession schedule, disagrees about support, will not sign the decree, or cannot be located to confirm agreement at all. The case then needs the motions and hearings a trial track requires.
Agreement has to survive all the way to signature. A case that looks agreed at filing but stalls when one spouse balks at the decree has not stayed uncontested; it has become a contested case that happens to have started cooperatively.
Texas allows a no-fault ground and several fault grounds. Agreed cases almost always use the no-fault ground, because it requires no proof of wrongdoing by either spouse.
| Ground | What it requires | Used in agreed cases? |
|---|---|---|
| Insupportability | The marriage has become insupportable because of discord that destroys its legitimate ends, with no reasonable expectation of reconciliation. No fault has to be proven. | Yes, almost always |
| Fault grounds (cruelty, adultery, felony conviction, abandonment, living apart three or more years, confinement in a mental hospital) | Specific wrongdoing has to be proven against one spouse. | Rarely; these belong to contested cases |
Before any ground matters, the case has to be filed in the right place. Either spouse, not necessarily the one filing, must have lived in Texas for the preceding six months and in the filing county for the preceding 90 days. Only one of you has to meet that test.
In a contested case, the Final Decree of Divorce is often the last document written, produced after hearings settle the disputed points. In an agreed case it can be one of the first things both spouses finish together, since there is nothing left for a court to decide once it is signed. That reordering is the practical heart of an uncontested case.
Every step in that list also happens in a contested case; an agreed case simply does them without the motions and hearings that resolve a dispute. If there are children, the decree also carries the conservatorship, possession and access, and support terms as part of the same document, not a separate proceeding.
Formal service exists so a respondent gets official notice of the case, but an agreed respondent usually does not need to be served at all. Instead, the respondent signs a waiver acknowledging the petition, and no constable or process server is involved.
The waiver has strict rules that trip up self-represented filers. It must be signed after the petition is filed; one signed even a day earlier is invalid and has to be redone. It must be sworn before a notary who is not an attorney in the case. And a digitized signature is not allowed on it, so this one document has to be signed in ink. A respondent who would rather skip the notary can file an uncontested Answer instead, which does not require notarization but still confirms the case is agreed.
Agreeing on everything does not buy a faster clock. A Texas court cannot grant any divorce, agreed or contested, before the 60th day after the petition was filed, and the 60 days run from the filing date, not from the date the waiver was signed or service was completed. The only exceptions are two narrow family-violence circumstances: a family-violence conviction or deferred adjudication against the respondent, or an active protective or emergency-protection order. There is no general good-cause waiver and no way to shorten the period simply because both spouses agree.
For an agreed case, the wait is preparation time rather than a delay caused by disagreement. Spouses use it to finish signing the decree, gather account statements and titles the decree will reference, and find out how their county schedules the finish.
An uncontested case ends at a prove-up: a short presentation of the evidence supporting the decree, rather than a trial where a judge weighs competing positions. Whether that means walking into a courtroom or simply filing a sworn affidavit depends on the county, and it is worth checking early rather than assuming either way.
Some counties make the finish especially light for agreed cases. Denton and Collin publish rules letting a case prove up by affidavit submission with no appearance at all. Harris and Dallas offer an official affidavit path or an uncontested docket alongside a live setting. Tarrant, Bexar, and Travis tend to keep some appearance or walk-up-docket element, so do not assume a no-appearance finish there without checking with the district clerk first. There is no single statewide answer; it is a county by county practice.
Cases most often slip from agreed to contested over specifics nobody nailed down early: an account or a piece of property one spouse did not know about, a possession and access schedule that sounds fine in the abstract but falls apart once someone has to live with it, or a support number one side accepts and the other does not. Any of those can stall a decree that both spouses thought was settled.
A single sticking point does not have to blow up the whole case. Many courts let spouses narrow a dispute to that one issue, work it out through mediation or a short hearing, and keep the rest of the decree on the terms already agreed. That is a different situation from a case that was contested from the start, and it usually resolves faster. If a dispute looks likely to need real negotiation, or the estate includes real property, retirement accounts, or a business, it is worth comparing doing it yourself against an online service or a lawyer before deciding how to proceed. The cost difference between staying agreed and going to trial over disputed terms is covered in what a Texas divorce actually costs.
Not because the wait itself is shorter. Every Texas divorce, agreed or not, waits the same 60 days from filing before a judge may sign it. An agreed case is usually faster overall only because there is no discovery, no temporary-orders fight, and no trial setting after that clock runs.
It depends on the county. Denton and Collin accept a prove-up affidavit by submission with no appearance. Harris and Dallas offer an official affidavit path or an uncontested docket. Tarrant, Bexar, and Travis tend to keep some appearance or walk-up-docket element. Ask your district clerk before assuming either way.
The case does not automatically become fully contested. Many Texas courts let spouses narrow the dispute to that one issue, resolve it through mediation or a short hearing, and keep the rest of the decree on the agreed terms already worked out.
Not as a legal requirement for a self-represented, agreed case with a simple estate. Real property, retirement accounts, a business, or any disagreement about terms are reasons to get advice before you file.
No. Agreement does not shorten the waiting period. The only exceptions are two narrow family-violence circumstances, and there is no general good-cause or by-agreement waiver of the 60 days.
Texas family-law statutes, chapter 6 (grounds, residency, waiting period, waiver of service)
Texas Rules of Civil Procedure (acceptance and waiver of service)
Texas State Law Library: Finalizing Your Divorce
TexasLawHelp: free uncontested divorce toolkits