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Key points in brief
Many people think that any divorce is necessarily a court, nerves, and months of waiting. In fact, if the spouses have no shared minor children and both want to part, the marriage can be terminated quickly and without a court, through the registry office. Below we explain when this route is available, which 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 registry office is possible if two conditions are met at once: the spouses have no shared minor children and both agree to dissolve the marriage. This is provided for by Article 106 of the Family Code of Ukraine. In that case the reasons for the divorce interest no one: the registry office does not clarify who is at fault and why the couple is parting, but only registers the termination of the marriage by their joint expression of will.
This concerns specifically shared minor children. If one spouse has a child from a previous marriage whom the other did not adopt, this is not an obstacle to divorce through the registry office. Likewise, the presence of shared adult children does not matter: when a child has turned 18, the simple route opens again.
There is also a separate case when the application is filed by only one spouse. Under Article 107 of the Family Code, the registry office dissolves a marriage on the application of one person if the other spouse has been declared missing or legally incapable by a court. Then the consent of such a person is not needed, but the corresponding court decision will be required.
The main difference is that the registry office 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 precisely why divorce through the registry office is called the simplest and fastest.
A court is needed when the simple procedure is unavailable: there are shared minor children or one of the spouses does not agree to divorce. In these cases the law requires that the question be decided precisely by a court, which will take the child’s interests into account and may grant the spouses time for reconciliation. We tell about the judicial route in more detail in the material on the divorce procedure in Ukraine.
When both conditions are met, the registry office is almost always more advantageous than a court for several reasons at once. First, it is fast: one month versus several months of court consideration. Second, it is inexpensive: the state duty is symbolic, and you can well do without an attorney. Third, it is calm: there are no hearings, no public clarification of the relationship, and no need to prove your position. For a couple that 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 on a joint application you will need:
The form of the joint application is approved, and it can be filled out directly at the registry office. If one spouse cannot come in person to file the application for a valid reason, they can draw up a separate application, but their signature on it must be notarized or equated to a notarial one. For the case under Article 107, a court decision declaring the other spouse missing or legally incapable is additionally needed. We have gathered the full list in the material on documents for a 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 of citizens’ incomes, that is, about UAH 8.50, to which a small administrative fee may be added. That is, the official payment for a divorce through the registry office is less than ten hryvnias.
Additional expenses do not always arise and depend on the situation: notarial certification of the application if someone cannot come in person, translation of documents if there is 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 timeframe, the registry office draws up the act record of the dissolution of the marriage one month after the day the application is filed. This month is provided 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 in force. But if the decision is unchanged, after the month elapses the spouses are issued a marriage dissolution certificate, and from this moment the marriage is considered terminated.
The whole procedure consists of a few simple steps.
Step 1. Check whether this route suits you. Make sure that you have no shared minor children and both agree to divorce. If at least one condition is not met, prepare for the judicial procedure.
Step 2. Prepare the documents. Passports, the marriage certificate, and a completed joint application. The application can be drawn up directly at the registry office.
Step 3. Apply to the registry office. The application is filed with the authority 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. Receive the certificate. After a month the spouses appear at the registry office, an employee registers the dissolution of the marriage and issues a dissolution certificate. At this point the marriage is officially terminated.
If the spouses have shared minor children, divorce through the registry office is impossible even with the full consent of both. Such a marriage is dissolved through a court. This is done to protect the child’s interests: the court checks that the child’s rights are not violated and, if needed, resolves the related matters.
At the same time, the presence of children does not make a divorce a long conflict. If the parents have agreed, they can determine whom the children will live with and how their support will be organized, and the court will take this into account. The matters of recovering child support and, if needed, dividing joint property are resolved separately. It is important that the dissolution of the marriage does not depend on a property dispute: you can first divorce, 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 an online divorce will be the same as for the registry office: no shared minor children, mutual consent, and no property dispute.
Until the service has officially started working, the application is filed in person at the registry office. And if it is a matter of a court divorce, for example when there are children, the documents can be filed remotely through the Electronic Court system. We recommend relying on official announcements about the launch of online divorce, and not on unofficial promises, since the start date may change.
A few common situations have their own nuances. If one spouse is a serviceperson, divorce is possible, but the procedure has specifics during martial law; we examined 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 dissolving 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 this. We wrote about this separately, in the material on choosing a surname after a divorce.
The joint application for the dissolution of a marriage contains basic information about the spouses and about the marriage being dissolved. It states the surnames, first names, and patronymics of both, the date and place of registration of the marriage, the details of the marriage certificate, and also confirmation that there are no shared minor children and 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 precisely why the surname question is worth thinking through in advance, before filing the application, so as not to formalize the change separately.
The most frequent mistake is expecting that the marriage will dissolve by itself after the application is filed. In fact, after a month you need to appear at the registry office again to register the dissolution and receive the certificate. If this is not done, the act record will not be drawn up, and formally the couple will remain married.
The second mistake is an attempt to divorce through the registry office when there are shared minor children. Even if both agree, the registry office has no right to register such a divorce, and time will be wasted. The third mistake is the belief that online divorce in Diia already works fully: as of 2026 the service is still being launched, so it is worth checking the current status. Finally, some think that a divorce automatically divides property or establishes child support. This is not so: the registry office only terminates the marriage, while property and parental matters are resolved separately, by agreement or in a court.
Divorce through the registry office mostly does not require an attorney: the procedure is simple and clear. But there are situations when 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 because of a missing status or legal incapacity, or when a future dispute about property or children is hidden behind 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 attorneys help both with the registration of the dissolution and with related matters of child support and the division of property, including online throughout Ukraine.
A marriage is considered terminated from the day of the state registration of the dissolution. From this moment the former spouses no longer have marital rights and obligations for the future, and each may remarry. Property acquired in the marriage remains joint until it is divided, so if there are shared assets it is worth not putting off the division for long. If someone returns their pre-marriage surname, after receiving the certificate they need to replace documents that state the surname: 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 pending matters.
No. In a divorce through the registry office the reasons are not clarified and there is no requirement to explain them. The joint consent of spouses who have no shared minor children is enough. 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 changes their mind, the dissolution is not registered and the marriage remains in force. This is precisely the point of the one-month period: it protects against hasty decisions.
Yes, but either 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 registry office only registers the termination of the marriage and does not resolve property matters. The division of property and the recovery of child support are formalized separately, by agreement or through a 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 set by law, and it cannot be shortened: it is a guarantee of a considered decision. If, after the month elapses, the spouses have not appeared for registration, the registry office may extend the period, but not more than to 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 the dissolution of a marriage is filed with the registry office at the place of residence of one of the spouses or at the place of the state registration of the marriage. You can choose the more convenient authority of these options.
A marriage dissolution certificate is an official document confirming the termination of the marriage. It will be needed for a 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. And if the application was withdrawn before the month elapsed, the marriage was not dissolved at all and remained in force, so there is nothing to restore.
This material is of an informational nature as of July 2026 and is not legal advice. Family legislation and practice may change, and the details depend on the specific situation. To get an answer specifically for your case, seek a consultation with an attorney.
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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