Mutual consent divorce in France: the no-court divorce, step by step
An amicable divorce is settled between the spouses and their lawyers, then filed with a notary.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy
Divorce by mutual consent, often called an amicable divorce, lets spouses who agree on everything divorce without going before a judge. Each has their own lawyer; together they draft an agreement covering where the children live, child support, any compensatory payment and the division of property. Each spouse receives the draft by registered letter and has a 15-day cooling-off period before they can sign. The lawyers then send the agreement to a notary within 7 days, and the notary files it within 15 days: the divorce takes effect on that date. At the tightest, 37 days separate sending the draft from the filing. The filing costs €49.44 including VAT; add both lawyers’ fees and, if property is divided, a duty of 1.10 % on the net assets. The notary does not check whether the deal is fair, so each lawyer’s job is to protect their own client.
Mutual consent divorce: minimum time and fees
Divorce effective at the earliest after
82 days
| Cooling-off period after receiving the draft | 15 days |
| Sending to the notary, then filing | 7 + 15 days at most |
| Regulated fees (filing + partition duty) | €1,699 |
The six steps of a no-court divorce
| Step | What happens | Time limit |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Choosing lawyers | one lawyer per spouse, fee agreement | varies |
| 2. Drafting the agreement | children, support, compensatory payment, property, name | usually a few weeks |
| 3. Sending the draft | registered letter to each spouse | 15-day cooling-off |
| 4. Signing | both spouses and both lawyers together, three originals | after the cooling-off |
| 5. Filing with a notary | check of mandatory clauses and time limit, filing among the notary’s records | 7 days to send, 15 to file |
| 6. Civil status | note in the margin of marriage and birth certificates | after filing |
The notary does not judge the content of the agreement: they check the mandatory clauses and that the cooling-off period was respected, then give it a certain date and enforceability. They issue the former spouses a certificate of filing, used to have the divorce noted on civil status records and to set up the CAF’s child support payment service.
What the agreement must settle
Everything that flows from the divorce must be decided: parental authority and the children’s residence, child support, visiting rights, any compensatory payment, who keeps the home and the division of assets, and how costs are shared. If the spouses own real estate, the statement of liquidation is drawn up by a notary before signing and annexed to the agreement. An incomplete agreement cannot be filed, and an unbalanced one is exposed to an action for nullity.
A realistic timetable
The calculator’s 37 days are a legal floor. The real length depends mostly on negotiation and on the liquidation: with no real estate and agreement already reached, a few weeks is enough; with a house to allocate and a soulte to fund, you wait for the valuation, the bank’s agreement and the notary’s statement of liquidation. The page on how long a divorce takes compares every procedure.
The cost
Filing with the notary costs €49.44 including VAT, or €41.20 before VAT. The 1.10 % partition duty applies to the net assets divided. Both lawyers’ fees are unregulated. If the agreement says nothing, costs are split in half; the cost of divorce page details each item and legal aid. Once filed, the agreement is enforceable like a judgment: unpaid support or compensatory payment can be recovered by seizure without going back to court. Child support set in the agreement can also be paid through the CAF’s intermediation service, which collects it from the paying parent and passes it on the next day.