A Florida divorce has two separate costs: the court’s filing fee, which is $408 — set by Florida statute and the same in every county, and whatever you pay to get your documents prepared. Those are different things, and any honest quote separates them.
The court filing fee — paid to the clerk, not to us
Every Florida divorce carries a filing fee set by the county clerk, generally in the $408 range. It is paid directly to the court. No document service, mediator or attorney can waive it, and you should be suspicious of anyone whose “all-in” price quietly includes it without saying so.
If you genuinely cannot afford the fee, Florida has an Application for Determination of Civil Indigent Status which the clerk can consider.
What preparing the documents costs
This is where the range is enormous, because it depends entirely on how much disagreement there is.
If you agree: a flat fee
An agreed divorce is a paperwork exercise, and it can be priced as one. Our flat fees:
- $399 — Do It Yourself (DIY): we prepare every required document, you file them yourself.
- $798 — Uncontested with no shared property or minor children, prepared and filed for you.
- $998 — Uncontested with shared property but no minor children.
- $1,999 — Uncontested with children and property, including the parenting plan.
Court fees are on top, paid to the clerk. See exactly what is included in each.
If you disagree: hourly billing
Contested divorces are billed by the hour by attorneys, and the total depends on how long the fight lasts — which neither side controls. This is the single biggest reason Florida divorces become expensive: not the filing fee, but months of hourly billing on both sides.
Mediation exists precisely to shorten that. A certified mediator is neutral and works with both of you at once, so you are paying one person to reach agreement rather than two to argue.
Costs people forget to budget for
- Service of process — if your spouse will not sign a waiver, a sheriff or private process server charges a fee to serve them.
- Publication — if your spouse genuinely cannot be found, Florida requires notice by publication in a newspaper, which the paper charges for. See missing spouse divorce.
- Parenting course — Florida requires parents to complete an approved parent education course, which has its own fee.
- Certified copies of the final judgment, which you will need for changing names and records.
So what will yours cost?
If you and your spouse agree, a Florida divorce realistically costs the filing fee plus a flat service fee — often well under $1,000 all in for a simple case. If you do not agree, the number depends on how quickly you reach agreement, which is the strongest financial argument there is for trying mediation first.
Divorcenters is a document-preparation and certified-mediation service, not a law firm, and cannot give legal advice about your finances.
