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Author: Ilona Melnychuk, attorneyIn Brief
Many people believe that any divorce necessarily means court, stress and months of waiting. In fact, if the spouses have no common minor children and both want to separate, the marriage can be ended quickly and without court, through the DRATS. Below we explain when this path is available, what documents are needed, how much it costs and how long it takes, and what to do if the simple procedure does not suit you.
Divorce through the DRATS is possible if two conditions are simultaneously met: the spouses have no common minor children and both agree to dissolve the marriage. This is provided for by Article 106 of the Family Code of Ukraine. In this case, no one is interested in the reasons for the divorce: the DRATS body does not find out who is at fault and why the couple is separating, but only registers the termination of the marriage by mutual will.
This is specifically about common minor children. If one of the spouses has a child from a previous marriage and the other did not adopt them, this is not an obstacle to divorce through the DRATS. Likewise, the presence of common adult children does not matter: once a child has turned 18, the simple path opens up again.
There is also a separate case where the application is filed by only one of the spouses. Under Article 107 of the Family Code, the DRATS body dissolves the marriage at the application of one person if the other spouse has been declared by a court to be missing or legally incapable. Then the consent of such a person is not required, but the relevant court decision will be needed.
The main difference is that the DRATS does not consider a dispute, but only records the agreed decision of the spouses. This is an administrative procedure: there is no claim, hearings, evidence or meetings with a judge. That is exactly why divorce through the DRATS is called the simplest and fastest.
Court is needed when the simple procedure is unavailable: there are common minor children or one of the spouses does not agree to divorce. In these cases, the law requires that the matter be decided precisely by a court, which will take into account the interests of the child and may grant the spouses time for reconciliation. We tell more about the court path in the material on the divorce procedure in Ukraine.
When both conditions are met, the DRATS is almost always more advantageous than court for several reasons at once. First, it is fast: one month versus several months of court proceedings. Second, it is inexpensive: the state duty is symbolic, and you can do entirely without an attorney. Third, it is calm: there are no hearings, no public airing of the relationship, and no need to prove your position. For a couple that has made the decision together, this is the least painful way to end the marriage and move on.
The basic package of documents is simple and usually does not require lengthy preparation. For a divorce by joint application you will need:
The form of the joint application has been approved, and it can be filled out directly at the DRATS body. If one of the spouses cannot personally come to file the application for a valid reason, they can draw up a separate application, but their signature on it must be notarized or equivalent to notarized. For the case under Article 107, a court decision declaring the other spouse missing or legally incapable is additionally required. We have gathered the full list in the material on the documents for divorce.
The procedure itself costs a symbolic amount. The state duty for registering the dissolution of a marriage is 0.5 of the tax-free minimum income of citizens, that is, about UAH 8.50, to which a small administrative fee may be added. That is, the official payment for divorce through the DRATS is less than ten hryvnias.
Additional costs do not always arise and depend on the situation: notarization of the application if someone cannot come in person, translation of documents in the presence of a foreign element, or a consultation with an attorney in more complex cases. But the registration of the dissolution itself does not require significant funds.
As for the term, the DRATS body draws up the record of the dissolution of the marriage one month from the day the application is filed. This month is provided for by law deliberately: it gives the spouses time to finally weigh the decision. If the application is withdrawn within the month, the dissolution is not registered and the marriage remains valid. But if the decision is unchanged, after the month has passed the spouses are issued a certificate of dissolution of the marriage, and from that moment the marriage is considered terminated.
The whole procedure consists of a few simple steps.
Step 1. Check whether this path suits you. Make sure that you have no common minor children and that both agree to divorce. If at least one condition is not met, prepare for the court procedure.
Step 2. Prepare the documents. Passports, the marriage certificate and a completed joint application. The application can be drawn up directly at the DRATS body.
Step 3. Apply to the DRATS. The application is filed to the body at the place of residence of one of the spouses or at the place of registration of the marriage. Both spouses sign the joint application.
Step 4. Pay the state duty and wait the established month. During this period the application can be withdrawn if desired.
Step 5. Obtain the certificate. After a month the spouses come to the DRATS, the employee registers the dissolution of the marriage and issues the certificate of dissolution. At this point the marriage is officially terminated.
If the spouses have common minor children, divorce through the DRATS is impossible even with the full consent of both. Such a marriage is dissolved through the court. This is done to protect the interests of the child: the court checks that the child’s rights are not violated and, if necessary, resolves related issues.
At the same time, the presence of children does not turn the divorce into a long conflict. If the parents have agreed, they can determine with whom the children will live and how their maintenance will be organized, and the court will take this into account. Issues of the recovery of alimony and, if necessary, the division of common property are resolved separately. It is important that the dissolution of the marriage does not depend on a property dispute: you can first get divorced and divide the property later.
As of 2026, a separate online divorce service in the Diia app is still being prepared for launch. According to statements by the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the technical part was planned to be completed during 2026, after which the service will undergo testing. The conditions for online divorce will be the same as for the DRATS: the absence of common minor children, mutual consent, and the absence of a property dispute.
Until the service officially starts working, the application is filed in person to the DRATS body. But if it is a matter of a court divorce, for example when there are children, documents can be filed remotely through the Electronic Court system. We advise relying on official announcements about the launch of online divorce, rather than on unofficial promises, since the start date may change.
Several common situations have their own nuances. If one of the spouses is a serviceperson, divorce is possible, but the procedure has peculiarities during martial law; we have analyzed them in the material on divorce during the war.
If the other spouse is serving a sentence, this is a separate case with its own rules; the details are in the article on dissolution of a marriage with a convicted person. Finally, after a divorce the question of the surname often arises: whether to return the pre-marriage one and how to formalize it. We have written about this separately, in the material on choosing a surname after divorce.
The joint application for dissolution of a marriage contains basic information about the spouses and about the marriage being dissolved. It indicates the surnames, first names and patronymics of both, the date and place of registration of the marriage, the details of the marriage certificate, as well as confirmation that there are no common minor children and that both agree to divorce. Separately, each spouse indicates which surname they want to have after the divorce: to keep the one acquired in the marriage or to return the pre-marriage one. That is why the question of the surname is worth thinking over in advance, before filing the application, so as not to formalize the change separately.
The most common mistake is expecting that the marriage will dissolve on its own after filing the application. In fact, after a month you need to come to the DRATS again to register the dissolution and obtain the certificate. If this is not done, the record will not be drawn up, and formally the couple will remain married.
The second mistake is trying to divorce through the DRATS when there are common minor children. Even if both agree, the DRATS body has no right to register such a divorce, and time will be wasted. The third mistake is the confidence that online divorce in Diia is already fully operational: as of 2026 the service is still being launched, so it is worth checking the current status. Finally, some believe that divorce automatically divides property or establishes alimony. This is not so: the DRATS only terminates the marriage, while property and parental issues are resolved separately, by agreement or in court.
Divorce through the DRATS mostly does not require an attorney: the procedure is simple and clear. But there are situations where a specialist’s consultation saves time and nerves. These are cases when one of the spouses is abroad and the documents need to be drawn up correctly, when the marriage has a foreign element, when the divorce takes place under Article 107 due to being missing or legally incapable, or when a future dispute over property or children is hidden behind an outward consent. In such cases it is better to agree on a strategy in advance, so that a simple divorce does not grow into a lengthy conflict. Lexon’s attorneys help both with the registration of the dissolution and with related issues of alimony and the division of property, including online throughout Ukraine.
The marriage is considered terminated from the day of the state registration of the dissolution. From that moment the former spouses no longer have marital rights and obligations for the future, and each can remarry. Property acquired during the marriage remains common until it is divided, so if there are common assets it is worth not postponing the division for long. If someone returns the pre-marriage surname, after obtaining the certificate they need to replace the documents where the surname is indicated: first of all the passport. These steps no longer concern the divorce itself, but they are worth remembering in order to complete the process without postponed issues.
No. During a divorce through the DRATS the reasons are not found out and there is no requirement to explain them. The mutual consent of spouses who have no common minor children is sufficient. This is a fundamental difference from some court cases, where the motives may matter.
During the month, while the waiting period lasts, the application can be withdrawn. If one of the spouses has changed their mind, the dissolution is not registered and the marriage remains valid. This is the very point of the one-month period: it protects against hasty decisions.
Yes, but both must appear in person, or the absent spouse draws up a separate application with a notarized signature. If the person is abroad, the signature can be certified at a consular institution of Ukraine. In complex cases it is worth consulting an attorney in advance to draw up the documents correctly.
No. The DRATS body only registers the termination of the marriage and does not resolve property issues. The division of property and the recovery of alimony are formalized separately, by agreement or through the court. At the same time, the dissolution of the marriage does not depend on whether the property is divided or not.
The one-month period is established by law, and it cannot be shortened: it is a guarantee of a considered decision. If after the month has passed the spouses did not appear for registration, the DRATS body may extend the period, but by no more than three months from the day the application is filed.
No, the surname does not change automatically. The spouse who changed their surname during the marriage has the right, after the divorce, to return the pre-marriage one, but this is formalized separately.
Yes. The application for dissolution of a marriage is filed to the DRATS body at the place of residence of one of the spouses or at the place of state registration of the marriage. You can choose the body that is more convenient for you from these options.
The certificate of dissolution of the marriage is an official document that confirms the termination of the marriage. It will be needed for remarriage, for changing documents in connection with a change of surname, and in other life situations where you need to confirm your marital status.
The same marriage cannot be restored again: it is terminated. But the former spouses can at any time register a new marriage between themselves on general grounds. But if the application was withdrawn before the month passed, the marriage was not dissolved at all and remained valid, so there is nothing to restore.
Ilona MelnychukAttorney, the “Lexon” legal companySpecializes in family, civil and commercial cases. Over 15 years of practice: representing clients’ interests in courts and negotiations.The “Lexon” attorney secured the complete cancellation of a resolution imposing a fine under part 2 of Article 122 of the Code of Ukraine on
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