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

Reviewed by the Amicably document team · Updated August 31, 2026

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

Where to file in Harris County

Harris County divorces are filed with the Harris County District Clerk, not the county clerk. The District Clerk's Civil Intake counter is at 201 Caroline Street, 1st Floor, Houston, TX 77002, open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Filings can also be mailed to Harris County District Clerk, P.O. Box 4651, Houston, TX 77210-4651, or dropped after hours at the box outside the Civil Courthouse.

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 Harris County civil district court and assigned to one of the county's family district courts, which each run their own scheduling and prove-up practices.

Because Harris 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 intake counter, can move through different scheduling procedures once each lands in front of its assigned court. That is why the forms and the filing counter are countywide, but the prove-up practice further down this page is described as court-dependent rather than as a single Harris County rule.

Filing fees in Harris County

Under the Harris County District Clerk's civil and family fee schedule, updated July 15, 2026, a new divorce case without children runs about $350, and a case with children runs about $365 because of an added domestic relations fee. Citation issuance and service (by certified mail or a constable) are billed separately from the base filing fee. 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 Harris 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 Civil Intake, 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 Harris 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 Harris County

Every Texas divorce, including Harris 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 Civil Intake, by mail, or through eFileTexas.gov, opening the 60-day clock.
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 Harris County court may sign the final decree.
4. Prove-upHarris County's family district courts may finalize an uncontested case by prove-up affidavit or on an alternative uncontested docket rather than requiring a full in-person hearing, though practice varies by court.

Because prove-up practice is set by the individual family district court, 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