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Author: Ilona Melnychuk, attorneyKey points in brief
A correctly assembled package of documents significantly speeds up a divorce, since it is precisely because of an incomplete or outdated list that a court most often leaves the application without progress, and the registry office refuses to accept it. Below are comprehensive lists of documents for all four lawful routes of terminating a marriage as of 2026, as well as the current amounts of the state duty and the court fee. This is a practical guide for self-preparation that will help you not miss anything.
The list of documents is determined by two factors: the authority that dissolves the marriage and the ground for applying. The legislation of Ukraine provides for four lawful routes, and each has its own set of papers.
Despite the differences, in most cases there is a common core of documents: the applicant’s passport and taxpayer record card registration number, as well as the marriage certificate. Then to this core is added what the specific route requires: the children’s birth certificates, the agreement about the children, a copy of the court decision, or a receipt for the fee. That is precisely why it is important first to correctly determine your situation, so as not to collect unnecessary papers and not to be refused because of a lack of the required documents.
That is, first determine your route, and then the list of documents will become obvious. A step-by-step overview of both options with the timeframes is given by the article The Divorce Procedure in Ukraine.
For a divorce through the registry office on a joint application of the spouses, four documents are enough, and the whole procedure takes one month. This route is available only if the couple has no shared minor children and both agree to divorce.
You can file the documents with any registry office branch regardless of where the marriage was registered. If one spouse cannot come in person, their signature on the application is certified by a notary, after which the other files the documents themselves. The one-month period is given to the spouses for final reflection, and during it the application can be withdrawn. For more on this option, read the material Divorce Through the Registry Office Without a Court in 2026.
On the application of only one spouse, the registry office dissolves a marriage in two cases: when the other has been declared missing or legally incapable by a court. Important: a conviction to imprisonment is no longer an independent ground for the registry office (this rule was removed back in 2010), so a divorce from a convicted person is formalized through a court.
The marriage in this case is dissolved regardless of the presence of a property dispute between the spouses. And when the other simply objects to the divorce or is unavailable, you will have to act by claim, which is discussed in the article Dissolution of a Marriage on the Application of One Spouse.
When the spouses have shared minor children but both agree to divorce, the marriage is dissolved by a court on a joint application in the procedure of separate proceedings. This is a faster and more peaceful option than a claim, but it requires an agreement about the children.
The court makes a decision no earlier than one month after the day the application is filed; until this period expires the application can be withdrawn. Note: separate proceedings do not resolve disputes, so if a conflict about the children arises between the spouses, the court leaves the application without consideration and suggests applying by claim. The peaceful route is described in detail in the material Divorce by Mutual Consent.
When one spouse is against the divorce, evades it, or there are disputes about the children or property, the marriage is dissolved in claim proceedings, and it all begins with a statement of claim. Each spouse has the right to file a claim.
In the claim itself it is important to briefly set out when and where the marriage was registered, whether there are minor children, from what time life together ceased, and why further preservation of the marriage is impossible. The court may grant the parties a period for reconciliation of up to six months if it sees a possibility of preserving the family (Article 111). On how to correctly draw up a claim, determine jurisdiction, and file it online, read the step-by-step guide How to File a Statement of Claim for the Dissolution of a Marriage.
The state payments for a divorce in 2026 are not high and depend on the authority and the route. Here are the current reference points.
When filing a claim through the Electronic Court system with an electronic signature, as a general rule a reducing coefficient of 0.8 applies, so the fee comes out to about UAH 1,065. You can pay it at a bank, through a terminal, or online, and the receipt (including an electronic one) is attached to the application; the payment details of the specific court are published on its official page. The state duty for registration at the registry office is likewise paid in advance, and the receipt is attached to the application. Notarial actions and an attorney’s services are paid for separately. If together with the divorce you make a demand for the division of property, a separate fee of 1 percent of the value of the claim is paid for it.
The same as for an ordinary divorce: there are no additional restrictions or bans. Previously, parts 2-4 of Article 110 of the Family Code prohibited filing a claim for divorce during the wife’s pregnancy and for one year after the child’s birth, but these restrictions were abolished by Law No. 4073-IX, which entered into force on 19 December 2024.
So, as of 2026, you can file the documents on general grounds by any of the routes indicated above. Pregnancy or the child’s age affect not the list of documents, but the related matters, in particular support for the wife and determining whom the child will live with. The specifics of such cases are examined in the material Divorce During Pregnancy.
Yes: if together with the divorce you are resolving matters of property, child support, or dealing with a foreign element, the basic package is expanded. Here is what is most often added.
These directions are conducted by separate demands, so the package of documents is worth forming with an attorney, so as not to pay an unnecessary fee and not to have the application left without progress.
For the first meeting it is worth bringing documents that give the attorney a full picture, even if some of them will be needed later. This saves time and allows you to immediately choose the right divorce route.
Even an approximate list of property and data about the respondent will help the attorney assess the timeframes, cost, and risks even before forming the final package of documents.
To avoid the application being left without progress, pay attention to copies, the fee details, jurisdiction, and the validity of the documents. These are the four most frequent causes of delays.
A lost marriage certificate is not an obstacle: a repeat certificate or an extract from the State Register of Civil Status Acts is issued by the registry office branch on application, and it is added to the package. If a document is drawn up in a foreign language, a notarized translation into Ukrainian is added to it.
Apply to any registry office branch with an application for the repeat issuance of the certificate or an extract from the State Register of Civil Status Acts. This is a paid but fast service, after which the document is added to the divorce package.
Partly. A claim can be filed through the Electronic Court system with an electronic signature, while a full-fledged divorce without a court in the Diia app, as of 2026, is still at the pilot stage and is not available to everyone. To file through the Electronic Court, a registered electronic account and a qualified electronic signature are needed, and all documents are uploaded in scanned form. So for now cases with children or disputes are still resolved through a court, not instantly online in the app.
Mostly no. Ordinary copies are enough for a court, and you show the originals at the hearing. Notarial certification is obligatory only for individual documents, for example an agreement on the amount of child support or a signature on an application to the registry office when one spouse does not appear in person.
The receipt is valid within the calendar year and provided that the amount paid corresponds to the current rate. If the fee was paid at last year’s amount, you need to pay the difference, otherwise the court will leave the application without progress.
No. The obligatory documents regarding children concern only shared minors. If all the children have turned 18, a divorce is possible through the registry office on a joint application, and birth certificates are not needed.
Exempt from the fee are, in particular, claimants in claims for the recovery of child support. If together with the divorce you make a demand for child support, the fee is not paid for this part. Certain categories of persons also have exemptions, in particular persons with first- and second-group disability in defined cases. The full list of exemptions is defined by the Law of Ukraine On the Court Fee, so before paying it is worth checking whether you belong to the exempt.
As a general rule, the paid court fee is returned in cases directly provided for by law, for example when the application is returned or the opening of proceedings is refused. But if the proceedings have already been opened and the parties have reconciled, the fee is usually not returned.
After the court decision has entered into legal force, you apply for the certificate to the registry office branch with a passport and a copy of the court decision. A marriage dissolution certificate is issued on a separate application, and it is precisely this that officially confirms your new civil status.
Ilona MelnychukAttorney, Lexon law firmSpecializes in family, civil, and commercial cases. Over 15 years of practice: representing clients’ interests in courts and negotiations.Author: Ilona Melnychuk, attorney In Brief You can dissolve a marriage through the registry office (DRATS, the body for the state registration of civil status
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