How long do I have to wait to apply for my Decree Absolute?

If you are the Petitioner in Divorce Proceedings (the person who applied for the divorce) you cannot apply for Decree Absolute until 6 weeks and 1 day have passed from the date of your Decree Nisi.

In exceptional circumstances an application may be made to expedite (speed up) the end of the divorce and reduce the time between Decree Nisi and Decree Absolute. An example of when such an application can be made would be where one of the parties is dying and needs to ensure their affairs are in order. These applications are more likely to be approved where the other party agrees. 

If you are the Respondent in the Divorce (your spouse started the proceedings) you cannot apply for Decree Absolute until the three months after the earliest date on which the Petitioner could have applied. Simply put this is, 4 and a half months after the Decree Nisi. 

An application by a Respondent for Decree Absolute will incur an additional Court fee and in most cases there will be a short hearing to consider the application. 

Unless there a real need for the marriage to be brought to an end quickly and the Petitioner is unreasonably refusing to apply for Decree Absolute, it is usually therefore the case that the Respondent will wait for the Petitioner to apply for Decree Absolute.

If you would like any further information or advice in relation to divorce proceedings, our specialist family lawyers are happy to help. Our lawyers have offices based in Wolverhampton and Cradley Heath and provide assistance to clients across the West Midlands including: Stourbridge, Kidderminster, Birmingham, Dudley and Walsall. For all new enquiries, please call 01384 410 410, alternatively you can complete our online enquiry form and a member of our team will be in contact.