Is the court fee ever cheaper?

Yes. The Help with Fees scheme can reduce or remove the court fee depending on your income, savings and benefits. You apply for it through GOV.UK before or when you submit your application.

Do both people have to pay?

The court fee of £628 is charged once per application. CalmSplit charges £159 per person, so a couple who both want their own guided account and pack pay £318 in total.

Can I reuse the figures on this page?

Yes. The data is free to quote or republish with a link back to this page as the source. Journalists and researchers are welcome to get in touch for the underlying breakdown.

Data - Q3 2026 edition - England & Wales

The CalmSplit Divorce Cost Index

A single, dated reference for what divorce actually costs in England and Wales: the fees you must pay to the court, the fees that only apply in certain situations, and what each service route adds on top. Every figure is sourced and free to quote.

Last updated 13 August 2026. Government figures checked against GOV.UK.

Total cost by route, including the court fee

Figures are per person and include the £628 HMCTS application fee. They exclude the optional consent order and child arrangements fees below.

Do it yourself on GOV.UK

£628

You complete the online application and every follow-up step unaided.

Basis: No service fee. You still pay the HMCTS court fee.
Who it suits: Confident applicants with a simple, fully agreed separation and no financial order needed.

CalmSplit guided application

£787

Guided questions, checked answers and a ready-to-submit application pack.

Basis: CalmSplit's published price, per person, one-off.
Who it suits: People who want structure and a checked pack without paying solicitor hourly rates.

High-street solicitor

£2,128 - £5,628

A regulated solicitor handles correspondence and filing on your behalf.

Basis: Indicative planning range per person for a straightforward uncontested divorce, based on commonly published fixed-fee and hourly-rate quotes. Not a survey; individual quotes vary widely by firm, region and complexity.
Who it suits: Contested cases, complex finances, safety concerns, or anyone who wants legal advice on their position.

Calculate your own total See what CalmSplit includes for £159

Fees paid to the court (HMCTS)

These are government fees. They are paid directly to HMCTS and are the same whichever service you use.

HMCTS fees for divorce, financial consent orders and child arrangements applications in England and Wales
Application	Fee	When it applies	Source
Divorce or dissolution application	£628	Paid once per application, whether you apply on your own or jointly.	GOV.UK
Financial consent order application	£53	Only if you ask the court to seal a financial agreement.	GOV.UK
Child arrangements order (Form C100)	£263	Only if you apply to court about arrangements for children.	GOV.UK

Help with Fees

Depending on income, savings and benefits, the court fee can be reduced or waived in full.

GOV.UK - Get help paying court fees

Methodology

We publish our method so anyone can check or challenge the numbers.

Government fees are taken directly from GOV.UK and stored in a single configuration file, so every page on this site quotes the same number.
CalmSplit's own price is our published one-off fee per person. There is no subscription and no hidden extra.
The solicitor column is an indicative planning range, not a survey of firms. It reflects the spread of fixed-fee and hourly-rate quotes commonly published for a straightforward uncontested divorce, and excludes court fees.
Court fees are always paid directly to HMCTS, never to CalmSplit.
Figures are re-checked against GOV.UK on a rolling basis; the date at the top of this page is the last check.

Cite or republish this data

Journalists, bloggers, brokers, advisers and mediators are free to reproduce this table with attribution and a link to this page. If you need the underlying breakdown, a regional angle or a comment from our team, contact us and we will help.

Suggested citation

CalmSplit Divorce Cost Index (Q3 2026), CalmSplit, last updated 13 August 2026. Available at: https://calmsplit.co.uk/uk-divorce-cost-index

Press and data enquiries

Common questions

The unavoidable cost is the HMCTS application fee of £628, paid to the court. On top of that you pay nothing if you apply entirely on your own, £159 per person for a guided CalmSplit application, or commonly £1,500 to £5,000 per person if a solicitor handles it for you.

Divorce data and tools

Free, sourced references for England and Wales. Part of the CalmSplit Divorce Data & Tools hub.