How Long Does a Divorce Take in Massachusetts? The 1A and 1B Timelines
Massachusetts family law · Last reviewed October 28, 2026
Massachusetts has no waiting period before you file and no requirement that you live apart. The waiting comes after filing, and it depends on the route:
- 1A joint petition: no minimum wait before the hearing. The judgment nisi enters 30 days after the judge approves your agreement, and becomes absolute 90 days after that: 120 days from approval.
- 1B complaint: the hearing can't come sooner than six months after filing. The judgment nisi enters at the hearing and becomes absolute 90 days later.
- Fault complaint: no six-month rule in the statute, though the court's own page sets the same six-month expectation (see below). The 90-day nisi period applies.
The law sets minimums. How fast your court can schedule a hearing, and whether you settle, decide the rest.
Massachusetts divorce timeline calculator
G.L. c. 208, §§ 1A, 1B and 21 · Mass. R. Dom. Rel. P. 4(j), 6(a) and 12(a) · the earliest dates the law allows, not a prediction of when the court will schedule your hearing
The nisi period
Every Massachusetts divorce judgment starts as a judgment nisi, Latin for "unless." G.L. c. 208, § 21 says:
Judgments of divorce shall in the first instance be judgments nisi, and shall become absolute after the expiration of ninety days from the entry thereof, unless the court within said period, for sufficient cause, upon application of any party to the action, otherwise orders.
During those 90 days you are still married. The judgment becomes absolute on its own; you don't file anything. A defendant or other interested person who objects to the judgment becoming absolute must file a statement of objections, with the specific facts, before the 90 days run out (Mass. R. Dom. Rel. P. 58(c)).
The 1A timeline: count from approval, not from the hearing
Section 1A adds a step the other routes don't have. At or within 30 days after the hearing, the judge approves the agreement. Then, under § 1A, the judgment nisi enters 30 days later "without further action by the parties." The 90-day nisi period starts from that entry.
| Step | Timing | Source |
|---|---|---|
| File the joint petition | Any time; no separation or waiting period | § 1A |
| Hearing | When the court schedules it; joint petitions go on a separate list for a speedy hearing | § 1A |
| Approval | At the hearing, or within 30 days after it | § 1A |
| Judgment nisi | 30 days after approval | § 1A |
| Judgment absolute | 90 days after the nisi enters | § 21 |
The court's own pages describe this in two ways. Its 1A page says you can't remarry "until 120 days from the entry date of the order approving the divorce." Its finalizing page says a 1A divorce isn't final until 120 days "from the date of the judgment." Both mean the same thing once you know the first event is the approval order, not the judgment nisi.
The 1B timeline: six months, then 90 days
Section 1B sets the wait:
No earlier than six months after the filing of the complaint, there shall be a hearing and the court may enter a judgment of divorce nisi if the court finds that there has existed, for the period following the filing of the complaint and up to the date of the hearing, a continuing irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.
| Step | Timing | Source |
|---|---|---|
| File the complaint | Any time | § 1B |
| Serve your spouse | Within 90 days after filing | Rule 4(j) |
| Answer | 20 days after service | Rule 12(a) |
| Financial statements and documents | 45 days after service of the summons | Supplemental Probate and Family Court Rules 401 and 410 |
| Parent education, if custody or parenting time is disputed | Register within 30 calendar days of service | Standing Order 3-23 |
| Hearing and judgment nisi | No earlier than six months after filing | § 1B |
| Judgment absolute | 90 days after the nisi enters | § 21 |
The six months run from the filing of the complaint. If you started with a 1A petition or a fault complaint and later amended it to the 1B ground, the six months still count from the original filing. The statute lets the court waive the six months in one situation only: to hear your 1B complaint together with a fault complaint your spouse has filed. The court's 1B page says a hearing can't take place sooner than six months "Unless the court grants a waiver"; the statute is the narrower rule.
If a 1B case settles and you file the 1A statement and agreement before judgment, the case proceeds under § 1A.
Fault divorces
The fault grounds in § 1 (adultery, desertion for a year, cruel and abusive treatment and others) carry no six-month rule in the statute. In practice the difference is small: the court's fault-divorce page says a hearing can't take place sooner than six months after filing unless the court grants a waiver, and a contested fault case usually takes longer than that anyway. The 90-day nisi period applies to every divorce judgment.
How deadlines are counted
Mass. R. Dom. Rel. P. 6(a) leaves out the day of the event and counts the last day, unless it falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday; then the period runs to the next business day. The calculator counts months with a month-end rule (six months after August 31 is the last day of February) and counts the nisi periods in calendar days. Your court's docket shows the dates that actually entered.
Remarriage
Section 24 is short: "After a judgment of divorce has become absolute, either party may marry again as if the other were dead." There's no extra wait after that, and no remarriage during the nisi period.
Frequently asked questions
What is the fastest way to get divorced in Massachusetts?
A 1A joint petition. There's no six-month wait, so the timeline is the time to get a hearing plus 120 days after the judge approves your agreement.
Why does a 1B divorce take at least nine months?
The hearing can't come sooner than six months after filing, and the judgment nisi then needs 90 days to become absolute. Six months plus 90 days is roughly nine months, and scheduling usually adds more.
Can I speed up the nisi period?
The 90 days are set by statute. The court can act within the period "for sufficient cause" on a party's application, but the court's pages describe the nisi period as automatic, and you shouldn't plan on shortening it.
Am I divorced after the hearing?
Not yet. You stay married until the judgment is absolute: 120 days after approval in a 1A case, or 90 days after the judgment nisi in a 1B or fault case.
Does the court send me anything when the divorce becomes final?
No. The court's finalizing page says you won't receive a decree. Request a certificate of divorce absolute ($20) from the court that granted the divorce. See records.
Do I have to be separated for a year before filing?
No. Massachusetts has no separation period for a no-fault divorce. Desertion for one year is a fault ground, which is a different thing.