Answered by Our Attorneys

Can You File for Divorce Online in New York? DIY, “Free” and Court-Packet Divorce, Explained Honestly

By Pieter G. Weinrieb, Esq. · Admitted NY 2005 · 42-hour certified family and divorce mediator · Published September 24, 2026

The short answer

Partly. New York lets you file the papers electronically through the court system’s NYSCEF portal, and the uncontested divorce forms are free on the court website, so a do-it-yourself divorce is possible for a couple with a complete agreement. There is no fully online divorce: the summons still has to be personally delivered to your spouse, several documents must be signed before a notary, the court fees of about $335 still apply unless you qualify for a waiver, and a judge in Erie County still reviews and signs the judgment, which takes 60 to 90 days. The “online divorce” companies you see advertised fill in those same free forms for a fee. They are not lawyers and cannot fix an agreement that is wrong.

What “Online” Actually Means in New York

New York’s courts run an electronic filing system called NYSCEF. In Erie County, new divorce cases are filed through it. A person without a lawyer may use it too, after registering as an unrepresented litigant, or may file the same papers on paper at the county clerk’s office at 25 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo. That is the entire online part: uploading documents instead of carrying them in.

Everything else happens in the physical world. The summons must be personally delivered to your spouse by someone other than you (DRL §232), within 120 days of filing. The affidavits in the package are sworn statements and must be notarized. If there are children, the child support worksheet has to be completed with real income figures. And the judge does not review anything on a screen while you wait; the file goes into a queue and comes back signed, or comes back with a deficiency letter, two to three months later. Our page on the uncontested timeline walks through each stage.

Free Forms, Paid Court Fees

People searching for “how to get divorce papers in NY” are often surprised that there is nothing to buy. The Unified Court System publishes the full uncontested divorce packet, the UD-series forms, for free: the summons, verified complaint, affidavit of service, affidavit of plaintiff, affidavit of defendant (UD-7), child support worksheet, note of issue, findings of fact, judgment of divorce, and the rest. It also offers a guided DIY form program that fills the packet from your answers, limited to couples with no children under 21. If you have children, you use the same packet by hand.

What is not free is the court. An index number costs $210, the request for judicial intervention $95, and the note of issue $30, about $335 in all. A process server in Erie County is typically another $50 to $150. If you cannot afford the fees, New York allows an application for “poor person” relief under CPLR §1101, which waives the filing fees if the court finds you qualify; the application is a sworn statement of your income, assets, and expenses. That is the only sense in which a New York divorce can be free.

What the “$299 Online Divorce” Companies Do

They ask you the same questions the court’s free DIY program asks, put the answers into the same free forms, and send you a packet to print, sign, notarize, serve, and file yourself. Some will file it for you. None of them are law firms, none may give you legal advice, and their terms of service say so in the small print. For a couple with no children, no house, no retirement accounts to divide, and no support, the product is a form-filling service and it can work. Whether it is worth $139 or $499 when the forms themselves cost nothing is a fair question.

Where it goes wrong is the agreement. The forms are the easy part. The document that determines the rest of your financial life is the settlement agreement, and no questionnaire drafts one well. I see the results of these agreements in my office years later: a pension divided in a sentence with no QDRO, so the plan never paid; a maintenance waiver without the language New York requires, so it did not hold; a child support figure that ignored the CSSA worksheet, so the court sent the package back twice; a house awarded to one spouse with no deadline to refinance the other off the mortgage. Each of those costs far more to repair than a lawyer would have cost to prevent.

When DIY Is Reasonable

A short marriage, no children under 21, no real property, no retirement accounts or business, both spouses employed and self-supporting, and a genuine agreement about the little there is to divide. In that case the court’s own free DIY program is the right tool, and the honest advice from a divorce lawyer is that you may not need one. Read the instructions twice, get everything notarized, and budget for the deficiency letter you will probably receive on the first try.

When It Is Not

Children under 21, because the child support worksheet and the parenting plan have to be right and the court will not sign an agreement that deviates from the guideline without the required recitals. A house, because the deed, the mortgage, and the equity each need their own paragraph. Any retirement account, because dividing a 401(k) or a pension requires a separate court order (a QDRO) that the form packet does not include. A spouse who earns much more or much less than you, because a maintenance waiver that is not drafted correctly is not a waiver. Any spouse who cannot be found, or who says they agree and then does not sign. And any situation where you are not certain the other person is telling you the truth about money.

The middle path many Western New York couples take is mediation: one neutral attorney-mediator helps you reach the agreement, the agreement is drafted by someone who does this every week, and the same package goes to the court. Our page on what divorce mediation costs puts planning figures on it. For an uncontested divorce handled start to finish by an attorney, the cost estimator gives a range.

An Erie County Note

The clerk’s office will sell you an index number and take your papers. It will not check them, and neither will NYSCEF. The first person who reads your package for content is the judge’s chambers, 60 to 90 days after you file the note of issue, and if something is missing you learn it then. If you are going the DIY route, the single best investment is an hour with a lawyer before you file, to read the agreement and the worksheet. That consultation with us is free.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you file for divorce online in New York?

You can file electronically through the court's NYSCEF system, including in Erie County, and the uncontested divorce forms are free. There is no fully online divorce: the summons must be personally delivered to your spouse, the affidavits must be notarized, the court fees of about $335 apply unless waived, and a judge reviews and signs the judgment, which takes about 60 to 90 days.

How do I get divorce papers in New York?

Download them. The New York Unified Court System publishes the complete uncontested divorce packet (the UD-series forms) for free, along with a guided DIY form program for couples with no children under 21. The county clerk sells only the index number; it does not sell or prepare forms.

How do I file for divorce in NY for free?

The forms are already free. To avoid the court fees, apply for poor person relief under CPLR §1101 with a sworn statement of your income, assets and expenses. If the court grants it, the index number, RJI and note of issue fees (about $335) are waived. Process service and notary costs are separate.

Are online divorce services legitimate in New York?

They are form-filling services, not law firms. They complete the same free court forms from your answers and cannot give legal advice. For a short marriage with no children, property, or retirement accounts they may be adequate. They cannot draft a settlement agreement that will hold up where a house, a pension, maintenance, or children are involved.

What does an online divorce cost in New York?

The court fees are the same whether you file yourself, use an online service, or hire a lawyer: about $335 for the index number, RJI and note of issue, plus $50 to $150 for a process server. Online services charge a fee on top of that for filling in free forms. An attorney-handled uncontested divorce or a mediated divorce costs more, and includes a drafted settlement agreement.

Can I do my own divorce in NY if we have children?

You can, using the full court packet rather than the DIY program, which is limited to couples with no children under 21. The child support worksheet must follow the CSSA, and any agreement to pay less than the guideline amount must state the guideline figure and the reasons for deviating, or the court will reject it. This is the point at which most self-represented packages are returned.

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About the author

Pieter G. Weinrieb, Esq. has practiced divorce and family law in Western New York for more than 20 years. Admitted to the New York State Bar in 2005, he holds a J.D. from Pace Law School and an M.A. in Humanities from SUNY Buffalo, is a 42-hour certified family and divorce mediator, and serves on the Attorney for the Child panels in Erie and Niagara Counties. He founded Weinrieb Law in Williamsville in 2011. Read his full bio.