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Author: Ilona Melnychuk, attorneyKey points in brief
For many people, a marriage dissolution certificate becomes a symbol of a completed stage and the start of a new life. But in practice a lot of confusion arises around it: some wait in vain for it after a court process, others confuse the certificate with an extract. This article explains in plain words who issues the certificate and when, what serves as the divorce document in each situation, how much it costs, and how to act if the document is lost.
A marriage dissolution certificate is an official document on a special form that confirms the fact of the state registration of the dissolution of a marriage by the civil registry office (DRATS). Its template is approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, and the document itself has its own serial number and registration data. The certificate states the surnames, first names, and patronymics of the former spouses, the date and place of registration of the dissolution, the act record number, and also the surnames that each spouse will bear after the divorce. So the certificate simultaneously records both the fact of the termination of the marriage and the surname you will bear from then on.
The certificate has full legal force: it is accepted by banks, notaries, and social protection authorities, and is also required for remarriage and in many other situations. It is issued on the basis of part 3 of Article 115 of the Family Code of Ukraine, and the key word here is DRATS. A certificate attests only that dissolution of a marriage which was carried out by the state civil registration authority. This is the starting point on which all the further logic depends: when there will be a document, and when it is replaced by another paper.
The certificate is issued by the registry office (DRATS) on the day of the state registration of the dissolution of the marriage, and this happens only in two cases of out-of-court divorce. The first is the dissolution of a marriage on a joint application of spouses who have no shared minor children (Article 106 of the Family Code). The spouses file a joint application, and after one month, if no one has withdrawn it, the registry office registers the divorce and issues each of the former spouses a separate certificate. We examine this route in detail in the material on divorce through the registry office without a court.
The second case is the dissolution of a marriage on the application of only one spouse (Article 107). It is possible in exceptional situations: when the other spouse has been declared by a court to be missing or legally incapable. In such circumstances the registry office registers the divorce on the application of one spouse and also issues a certificate. In both cases the document is obtained directly at the registration authority, and the law deliberately gives the one-month period so that the decision is a considered one. The presence of shared minor children or a dispute automatically moves the case to a court, and there different rules on documents apply.
No, after a divorce in court no separate marriage dissolution certificate is issued. This is the most common misunderstanding: people wait for weeks, thinking that after the court decision they need to go to the registry office for a certificate, although the law does not provide for this. Under Article 115 of the Family Code, a certificate attests only a divorce formalized through the registry office. When a marriage is dissolved by a court, the divorce document is precisely the court decision that has entered into legal force. The court itself sends a copy of the decision to the registry office so that they enter the information into the State Register and put a note in the marriage act record, so there is no need to run around with papers between the court and the registry office.
What does this mean in practice? Your main document is a certified copy of the court decision with a note that it has entered into legal force. It is precisely this that you show to a notary, at a bank, or during a remarriage. And if confirmation specifically from the register is required of you, you order not a certificate but an extract on the dissolution of the marriage. Read more about the court act itself in the article on the court decision on the dissolution of a marriage. It is also worth taking into account a historical nuance: before the reform that came into effect around 2010-2011, court divorces were also registered at the registry office with a certificate. So if you have on hand an old court decision under those rules, the procedure may differ, and it is better to clarify the situation with an attorney.
The main difference is that a certificate is issued once during the registration of the divorce at the registry office, while an extract is a reference from the State Register that can be obtained repeatedly and in practice an unlimited number of times. A certificate is printed on a protected form and attests the very act of registration. An extract is generated from the electronic register on an ordinary sheet, it reflects the current information about the divorce as of the date of issue, and sometimes contains even more data than an old certificate.
For practice the following is important. If you divorced through the registry office, your main document is a certificate, and an extract will be needed rather as additional confirmation. If you divorced through a court, you have no certificate at all, so the role of official confirmation from the register is played precisely by an extract together with the court decision. Which document is needed when, how much an extract costs, and how to order it, we explain in detail in a separate material on an extract on the dissolution of a marriage.
The moment of termination of a marriage depends on the method of divorce and is directly determined by Article 114 of the Family Code. If the marriage is dissolved by the registry office, it is terminated on the day of the state registration of the dissolution, that is, on the day the certificate is issued to you. If the marriage is dissolved by a court, it is terminated on the day the court decision enters into legal force, and not on the day you received a copy of the decision or an extract. The date in the certificate and the date on which the decision enters into force are the legal dates of your divorce.
This difference has quite practical significance. The date of termination of the marriage determines from what moment property acquired by each is no longer considered joint, when a new marriage can be entered into, and from what date important periods are counted. Therefore the date in the certificate or the date on which the court decision enters into force should be recorded and not confused with the date of filing the application or the date of the court hearing. If needed, the exact date can always be confirmed by an extract from the register.
For registering the dissolution of a marriage at the registry office and issuing the certificate, a state duty is paid, and the amounts here are symbolic. For a divorce on a joint application of spouses without children (Article 106), the state duty is 0.5 of the tax-free minimum, that is, about UAH 8.50. For a divorce on the application of one spouse in the cases of Article 107, the state duty is even smaller, about UAH 0.51. The certificate itself is not charged separately: it is issued within this registration procedure, without extra charges for the form.
As for timeframes: as a general rule, the registry office registers the divorce and issues the certificate one month after the day the joint application is filed. The law deliberately allows this month so that the decision is a considered one and the spouses have time to change their minds. On the day of registration the certificate is obtained in person. If the divorce goes through a court, the main costs are not the duty for the certificate, but the court fee for the claim, which in 2026 is about UAH 1,331; when filing the claim electronically, a discount applies as a general rule. Remember that after a court you receive not a certificate, but a decision and, if needed, an extract.
If the marriage dissolution certificate is lost, damaged, or destroyed, a repeat certificate is issued instead, which in everyday speech is often called a duplicate. It has the same legal force as the original and contains a mark of repeat issuance. Each of those who dissolved this marriage has the right to obtain it. The administrative fee for a repeat certificate is small, about UAH 0.51, and the application is considered approximately within three working days.
You can order a repeat certificate in several ways: online through the Diia portal with delivery by Ukrposhta or courier, in person at any registry office branch regardless of where the divorce was registered, or through a diplomatic mission or consulate of Ukraine if you are abroad. Note: online ordering of documents through Diia is a working service, and it should not be confused with the pilot online divorce in Diia, which as of 2026 is still only being launched and is not available to everyone. And if the divorce was through a court and you never had a certificate, there is nothing to restore: you need a repeat copy of the court decision or an extract from the register.
Yes, a repeat certificate may be temporarily refused if the act record of the dissolution of the marriage is absent from the State Register or cannot be found right away. This most often happens with old divorces, when the record was made in paper books before the electronic register was created. Then the registry office first finds and enters the data from the archive, and only after that issues the document, so the process may take longer than the standard three working days. A refusal is also possible if the applicant has not confirmed their identity or their right to the document, or if the act record is kept in a temporarily occupied territory or in a combat zone.
And if the act record has been lost or destroyed for good, for example together with the archive, it is restored. Restoration of the act record of the dissolution of a marriage is carried out on application to the registry office, and in disputed cases through a court. This is a more complex and longer procedure, and it is precisely here that the help of an attorney, who will gather evidence and prepare documents for restoring the record, most often comes in handy. So you should not delay restoring the document: the earlier you start, the easier it usually is to find the necessary information.
The certificate states the surname that each spouse chose in connection with the divorce, and this is directly provided for by Article 113 of the Family Code. The spouse who changed their surname during the marriage has the right after the divorce to keep it or to return their pre-marriage one. This decision is recorded during the registration of the divorce at the registry office, and it goes into the certificate. We examine all the details, timeframes, and documents in the article on choosing a surname after a divorce.
If you are returning your pre-marriage surname, after receiving the certificate you will have to replace your passport and other documents in which the surname appears: the foreign passport, driver’s license, bank cards, and so on. The marriage dissolution certificate will be the basis for such a replacement. So do not rush to hide the document far away: it will be needed not only as proof of the divorce, but also to update your personal data in various institutions.
For a Ukrainian divorce document to be valid abroad, it usually needs to be legalized, most often by affixing an apostille. An apostille confirms the authenticity of the document for countries that are parties to the Hague Convention. An apostille is affixed to a marriage dissolution certificate by the justice authorities, and to a court divorce decision by the Ministry of Justice. Often, together with the apostille, a notarized translation into the language of the destination country is also needed. We describe this procedure step by step in the material on apostilling a court divorce decision.
If you live outside Ukraine, the certificate, the extract, and repeat documents can all be ordered through consular institutions, and part of the services through Diia. Situations where one of the spouses is abroad have their own specifics, so we recommend familiarizing yourself in advance with how to get divorced from abroad, in order to obtain the necessary documents without unnecessary trips and loss of time.
Nowhere: after a court divorce a certificate is not issued. Your document is the court decision that has entered into legal force, and if you need confirmation from the register you order an extract on the dissolution of the marriage at the registry office or through Diia.
The original certificate is issued at the registry office during the registration of the divorce, so it cannot be obtained entirely online. But a repeat certificate (a duplicate) can be ordered online through the Diia portal with delivery by mail or courier.
The administrative fee for a repeat certificate is small, about UAH 0.51. Delivery may be charged additionally if you order the document online with sending by mail or courier.
A certificate is issued once during the registration of the divorce at the registry office on a protected form. An extract is a reference from the State Register that can be ordered repeatedly and without limit; after a court divorce it is precisely the extract that plays the role of official confirmation from the register.
Yes, divorce documents issued earlier remain valid. But if the document is damaged, of an outdated type, or is not accepted, you can order a repeat certificate or an extract with up-to-date data.
Nothing to worry about: each of the former spouses has the right to independently obtain their own repeat certificate at the registry office or through Diia. There is no need to depend on another person’s copy.
Yes, to register a new marriage you need to confirm that the previous one has been terminated. If you divorced through the registry office, the confirmation is the certificate; if through a court, the court decision that has entered into legal force, or an extract from the register.
As a general rule, the application is considered approximately within three working days. But if the act record is kept in another region or the document is ordered from abroad, the period may be longer.
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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