From paper to digital: bringing more peace of mind to separating couples
Source: gov.uk (2025-03-24)

Getting divorced is a significant life event that affects thousands of people each year in England and Wales.

Until 2018, the process was entirely paper-based, meaning:

mistakes were commonly made when completing lengthy, jargon-heavy forms

delays caused by needing to return high numbers of applications due to errors

slow notifications to the applicant or legal professional that an application had been received

hours spent by our people opening post, creating paper case files, tracking down missing forms and taking payments over the telephone

environmental impacts and cost to the taxpayer associated with printing, posting and transporting paper

The service needed modernisation to better serve both the public and legal professionals during what is often an emotionally challenging time.

Benefits of the digital service

Our modernised divorce service has revolutionised the application process, delivering significant improvements. Since 2019, over 511,000 applications have been made digitally by people getting divorced, meaning:

internal management information shows that calls from court users are being answered in less than a minute

they’ve been better supported through being able to access information about help with fees during the application process

improved clarity and assurance by being able to track and manage multiple processes in their case through one integrated service

data and sensitive information is protected through more robust privacy protections

reduced environmental impact by minimising paper usage

Our digital transformation

The transformation journey began in 2016 with comprehensive user research to understand the challenges faced by divorcing couples, legal professionals, and court staff.

Our transformed service offers:

24/7 access to applications

the option to save and return, allowing people to take a break or find documents without losing progress on their application

real-time application status tracking

clear, step-by-step guidance to minimise mistakes

the ability to make a joint application under the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020

integrated financial remedy process for legal professionals to help couples agree how to manage finances

the ability to share work across teams for legal firms

streamlined payment options

Our digital approach is working - we’ve seen digital uptake soar from 22% in 2020 to 94% in 2024.

Responding to new laws

Since the original online divorce service launched to the public in 2018 we’ve responded quickly to wider changes. We relaunched the service in 2022 following the implementation of the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act.

The service now enables joint applications for divorce, helping to reduce acrimony amongst separating couples. When planning these changes we worked with people using the service, listening to their feedback at every step to ensure the new service worked smoothly for the people that needed it.

Feedback from members of the public and legal professionals shows how the service has improved:

Crispin, Service user

The overall experience was pretty smooth… everything worked as it should do. It felt like one of the more positive parts of the divorce.

Karen Dovaston, Solicitor

On the solicitor side, it’s efficiency. I can log in and see all my cases and see exactly what’s going on with them. It’s really efficient in terms of being able to update your clients as to what’s going on and where things are. You can download documents very easily, making your applications easily and quickly.

The knock-on effect for me and for my clients is I have a fixed fee for a divorce. I’m happy with it and it means that I can pass all those savings on to my client because I’m not then spending all the time that I would have been spending drafting paper documents, keying in information in paper documents, because the digital system just pulls it all through.

Arwel’s story

When Arwel and his wife Caroline decided to divorce, he wasn’t sure how to get the process underway and felt daunted. A colleague had been through the process and told him that it wasn’t as complicated as it used to be and that applying online was easy. Arwel did some research and decided to apply online. He wasn’t sure what to expect but with the online divorce service he was able to fit submitting and monitoring his application around his busy shift working pattern.

Arwel found using the online service surprisingly easy, there were links to useful guidance and when he needed to track down information he could save his application and return to it when he was ready. Because of his work rota Arwel found the option to check online much easier than calling a helpline. It meant he didn’t need to find somewhere private in his busy office and he could check at a time that suited him.

Overall, the digital divorce service gave Arwel peace of mind that his application was progressing. The law relating to divorce meant the process took a long time, but the service made it clear how far he’d progressed which allowed him to focus on the future.

Working Together

We’ve worked closely with:

our divorce stakeholder group, comprising of divorce professionals across England and Wales

the judiciary

our Courts and Tribunals Service Centre in Stoke to support our users

Getting Support

We’ve created a comprehensive support system to ensure no one is left behind. This includes:

a free digital support service through the We Are Group for applicants in England and Wales

modernised paper forms with simplified language and clearer instructions

dedicated support on the phone or by webchat through our Court and Tribunal Service Centre

Future Plans

We’re continuing to improve the service for all applicants and their advisers. In the future we’ll:

offer online applications for interim orders (to make a general application as part of a divorce, dissolution or separation)

enable applicants to see where they are in the 20-week statutory waiting period

further enhance our notification system

introduce digital document upload capability

streamline processing of complex cases

continue to improve guidance for choosing the right application type, based on an applicant’s personal circumstances

Stay Updated

For up-to-date guidance on applying for a divorce, visit: Get a divorce: step-by-step (https://www.gov.uk/get-a-divorce)

Legal professionals applying for divorce on behalf of clients, visit: MyHMCTS: How to apply for a divorce of dissolution (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/myhmcts-how-to-apply-online-for-a-divorce-or-dissolution)

For help with completing online divorce forms, visit: We Are Group digital support service (https://www.wearegroup.com/hmcts-user)

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