Simplified Divorce in Scotland

You will only be eligible if there are no outstanding financial matters to resolve between you and your spouse/civil partner (or if you have already entered into a Separation Agreement covering these) and there are no children of the marriage or civil partnership under the age of 16.

You need to have been separated for at least one full year, in which case your spouse/civil partner will have to sign the form to provide their consent.  Or, you can wait until you have been separated for at least two full years, at which point their consent will not be needed.

You will also need to establish jurisdiction to apply for a divorce or dissolution under Scots Law (see ‘How do I establish jurisdiction?’ below) before you can use this procedure and, importantly, this procedure cannot be used if your spouse/civil partner suffers from a mental disorder, which would prevent them from understanding or giving consent to the divorce application. In such a case you would need to use the ordinary divorce procedure.

There are additional requirements relating to residence (known as establishing jurisdiction) which you will need to meet to apply for a divorce or dissolution using the simplified procedure. These are different depending on whether you are raising the application in the Sheriff Court or Court of Session.  In both cases, you need to be able to say that:

• You and your spouse/civil partner are habitually resident in Scotland, and/or
• You and your spouse/civil partner were both last habitually resident together in Scotland and one of you still resides there, and/or
• Your spouse/civil partner is habitually resident in Scotland, and/or
• You are habitually resident in Scotland having resided there for at least one year immediately before this application is made, and/or
• You are habitually resident in Scotland and have resided there for at least six months immediately before this application is made and you are domiciled in Scotland, and/or
• You and your spouse/civil partner are domiciled in Scotland

If none of the above apply to you then you can still apply for simplified divorce or dissolution if either you or your spouse/civil partner are domiciled in Scotland.

If you are applying for simplified divorce or dissolution in the Sheriff Court, one of the following must also apply to you:

• You have lived at your current address for at least 40 days before the date of signing the application, or
• Your spouse/civil partner has lived at their current address for at least 40 days before the date of you signing the application, or
• Either you or your spouse/civil partner have no known residence in Scotland, but did live at the address shown for at least 40 days, ending not more than 40 days before the date of you signing the application

If you meet the criteria to apply for a divorce or dissolution using the simplified procedure, you then need to decide if you would prefer to instruct a Solicitor or whether you will make the application yourself.  If you intend to do it yourself then:

• Download the correct simplified procedure form from the Scottish Courts’ website or get a hard copy of the form from your local Sheriff Court
• Complete the form, following the guidance notes carefully
• Arrange to have the form notarised by a Notary Public (many solicitors are also Notaries Public), Commissioner for Oaths or Justice of the Peace, who may charge a fee for doing so.
• Take the form, your original marriage or civil partnership certificate and the court fee to your local Sheriff Court for them to process it

If you need advice on divorce or dissolution, then you should contact a Solicitor who specialises in Family Law.  If you need guidance on completing the simplified procedure form, then your local Sheriff Clerk’s office (located within the Sheriff Court) should be able to help you.