How to File for Divorce in Riverside County Without a Lawyer: Every Step From the Petition to the Judgment

The Judicial Council describes four phases: start the case, share financial information, make decisions, and finalize¹². Neither spouse needs the other’s agreement to get a divorce¹.

Residency

A judgment of dissolution may not be entered unless one spouse has lived in California for six months and in the county where the case is filed for three months before the petition is filed (Family Code section 2320)². Only one spouse needs to meet the rule². A same-sex marriage entered in California where neither spouse lives in a place that will dissolve it has an exception, and the case is filed in the county where the marriage took place². Registered California domestic partners are not held to the usual residency rules¹.

The Judicial Council’s guide tells people who do not qualify yet to wait, or to start with a legal separation and switch to a divorce later¹³.

The ground

The petition states one of two grounds: irreconcilable differences, or permanent legal incapacity to make decisions (Family Code section 2310)¹⁴. The Judicial Council puts it plainly: “You can get divorced for any reason”¹.

The courthouse

The Family Law page lists four family law courthouses: the Riverside Family Law Courthouse, Blythe, the Larson Justice Center in Indio and the Menifee Justice Center³. Local Rule 5101 says where to file is set by the court’s Administrative Order, Where to File Family Law Documents⁴. The court’s list and the rule are covered on which courthouse takes your family law case. The order in force since July 8, 2024 assigns every city and zip code in the county to one of the four: the western cities to Riverside, the mid-county from Hemet to Temecula to Menifee, the Coachella Valley to Indio, and Blythe to Blythe³⁷. The full lists are on which courthouse takes your family law case; where the two parties live in different regions, the court’s page says to ask the clerk’s office, at (951) 777-3147¹⁵.

The court’s FAQ gives the minimum paperwork for a divorce, legal separation or nullity: the Summons (FL-110), the Petition (FL-100), the Riverside Declaration of Residence (RI-FL036) and, if there are children under 18, the UCCJEA declaration (FL-105)⁵. Every form in the order a case uses it, with links, is on Riverside County divorce forms in order.

Self Help Legal Services offers digital form packets with an online cover sheet that fills in contact information. The court says “Filling in the coversheet only partially completes your forms,” so the packet is saved first¹⁶.

Good to know The summons carries standard restraining orders that bind the petitioner on filing and the respondent on service. They bar either spouse from removing the children from California without consent, changing insurance, transferring or concealing property outside the usual course of business, and making extraordinary expenditures without five business days’ notice⁹.

Riverside’s packet gives four ways to file: at the clerk’s window, in the drop box, by mail (with a self-addressed stamped envelope), or online through eSubmit. In person or by mail, bring the original and at least one copy (maximum two)¹⁸. The in-person and drop-box cut-off is 4:00 p.m., and a document received through eSubmit on a court day counts as filed that day¹⁹. The steps are on eSubmit and remote hearings in Riverside family law.

The fee for the petition is $450 as of January 1, 2026, and the response costs the same⁷. A fee waiver is requested on form FW-001 and filed with the papers or by itself⁸.

The clerk stamps the forms, assigns a case number and keeps the originals²⁰. Under Local Rule 5145 a new case is assigned to one judicial officer, and the petitioner receives a Notice of Case Assignment at filing and a Family Law Case Management Order, both of which are served on the respondent with the petition⁴.

Someone 18 or older who is not a party must deliver the papers; the petitioner cannot serve them personally¹⁰. The server completes the proof of service (FL-115), the petitioner files it, and the court “won’t proceed” until it is filed¹⁰. The Riverside flow chart (revised November 10, 2020) puts service within 60 days of filing, and the packet says to wait 30 days after service²¹¹⁸.

The four methods the Judicial Council describes (personal, substituted, mail with an acknowledgment, and publication with the judge’s permission) are on serving divorce papers in Riverside County.

Each spouse serves a preliminary declaration of disclosure within 60 days of filing the petition or the response, and files proof of service but not the disclosure itself (Family Code section 2104)¹¹. The flow chart lists the schedule of assets and debts (FL-142), the income and expense declaration (FL-150) and the declaration regarding service (FL-141)²¹. The forms and the final disclosure are on the divorce disclosure forms.

The respondent has 30 days after service to file a written Response (FL-120)⁵. The court’s FAQ lists four choices: do nothing, do nothing because of a notarized written agreement, file a Response and reach an agreement, or file a Response that disagrees⁵. The rest is on served with divorce papers in Riverside County.

After 30 days with no Response, the petitioner can ask for a default. A default does not end the case, and the judge still has to sign a judgment²².

The Riverside FAQ says that if a Response is filed, “the parties must either enter into an agreement, or they must go to a settlement conference and then trial”⁵. Details are on finishing a divorce in Riverside County and the mandatory settlement conference.

A signed Judgment (FL-180) states the exact date the marriage ends, and the clerk mails a Notice of Entry of Judgment (FL-190)²²⁵. The Judicial Council says the court’s review of the papers “can take several weeks or even months”²⁵.

Sources disagree Family Code section 2339 counts the six months from service of the summons and petition or the respondent’s appearance, whichever comes first⁶. The Judicial Council’s default page says “6 months from the date you were first served”²². The Riverside FAQ says the soonest single date is six months and one day after service on the respondent, and that a divorce “does not happen automatically”⁵. A joint petition counts from filing, as does a summary dissolution²⁶²⁷. Use the trigger for the path being followed.

How long the whole case takes is on how long a divorce takes in Riverside County; the court publishes no figure for how long judgment review takes at Riverside.

Legal separation

The spouses stay married, and the court divides property and debts and makes support, custody and visitation orders²⁸. The forms and steps are the same, with the legal separation box checked on the petition. There is no six-month wait, and only one spouse has to live in California, with no time requirement²⁸. Neither spouse can marry or register a new domestic partnership while legally separated²⁹. A legal separation can usually be changed to a divorce before it becomes final; the Judicial Council’s legal separation page explains how.

Nullity (annulment)

A judge finds the marriage was never legally valid. There are at least eight legal reasons, among them bigamy, being under 18 and fraud; a very short marriage is not a reason³⁰. Both spouses must appear before a judge even if they agree. One spouse must live in California when filing, but there is no six-month residency rule and no six-month waiting period. Property and support are available only to a putative spouse, one who believed in good faith the marriage was legal³⁰. The Judicial Council’s annulment page has the grounds.

Summary dissolution

A simpler joint process for short marriages with little property. The conditions on the booklet FL-810 (revised April 28, 2025) include¹⁷:

• five years or less between the marriage and the date of separation;
• no children born to the two of them, none adopted, and neither spouse pregnant;
• neither spouse owns any part of land or buildings, apart from a residential lease that ends within a year with no purchase option;
• community debts of $7,000 or less, and community property and each spouse’s separate property not worth more than $57,000 (cars not counted);
• a signed agreement dividing assets and debts.

Family Code section 2400 says these dollar figures are adjusted in odd-numbered years and published by the Judicial Council, and the current ones are on the booklet¹⁸. The Judicial Council’s qualification page words the debt and property limits as “less than”³⁶. The spouses file the joint petition (FL-800) together, the judgment (FL-825) carries an effective date six months after filing, and either spouse can revoke with FL-830 before then; no court appearance is needed¹⁷²⁷. The Judicial Council’s guide gives the fee as “$435 to $450”, the statewide schedule lists $435 and the Riverside schedule has no separate line for it, so the clerk can say what applies²⁷³¹⁷. Registered domestic partners who qualify can instead end the partnership through the Secretary of State with no filing fee¹⁷. The booklet and the guide are at the Judicial Council’s summary dissolution page.

The joint petition (new for 2026)

Starting January 1, 2026, both spouses can file one petition together on FL-700, with the joint summons FL-710 and FL-105 if there are children²⁶³². It assumes agreement on all final terms by the end; otherwise the case converts to a regular one with an amended petition or response²⁶³³. Financial disclosures are due within 60 days, a joint petition cannot be used to ask for temporary orders, either spouse can revoke it before judgment with FL-720, and the earliest divorce is six months and one day after filing²⁶³². A spouse who wants a Request for Order must first file an amended petition or response (Family Code section 2342.5(e))³³.

Sources disagree The statewide schedule lists the joint petition at $870, and the Judicial Council’s joint-petition page gives the same figure³¹²⁶. The Riverside schedule has no separate joint-petition line; its first-paper row reads “including a joint petition” at $450⁷. The court has not published which figure its clerks collect. Ask the clerk before filing. The Judicial Council’s joint petition page tells filers to ask how the court handles a case where only one spouse qualifies for a fee waiver²⁶.