Uncontested Divorce in Texas: Agreed Divorce, Waiver of Service and Default

Most Texas divorces end without a trial. Either the spouses agree, or one of them never responds. Texas has no special "summary" divorce and no joint petition: every divorce starts with one spouse filing an Original Petition. What makes a case uncontested is what happens next.

Which path fits your case?

The agreed divorce

This is the most common route when spouses agree on everything.

1. One spouse files the Original Petition for Divorce in the county where either spouse has lived for the last 90 days (and in Texas for six months).
2. The other spouse signs a Waiver of Service after the petition is filed. Family Code § 6.4035(a) allows a party to waive service "after the suit is filed by filing with the clerk of the court in which the suit is filed the waiver of the party acknowledging receipt of a copy of the filed petition." The waiver must be sworn before a notary who isn't a lawyer in the case, and since December 4, 2025, it can be signed with a digitized signature.
3. The spouses sign an agreed Final Decree of Divorce that divides property and debts and, if there are children, sets conservatorship, possession and support.
4. After the 60-day waiting period, the petitioner presents the decree to the judge, usually at a short hearing called a prove-up.

Under § 6.710, if a spouse waived service, the clerk mails that spouse notice when the decree is signed.

The prove-up

Even when both spouses have signed the decree, the petitioner usually has to "prove up" the divorce: testify briefly, under oath, to the residency facts, the ground for divorce and the terms of the decree. Some courts allow this by affidavit instead. TexasLawHelp.org's guide notes: "Some judges allow the use of an affidavit to satisfy the prove-up requirements in an agreed divorce." Ask your court clerk or local self-help center what your judge requires.

If your spouse won't respond: default

Your spouse can't stop a Texas divorce by ignoring it.

1. Serve your spouse. A sheriff, constable or certified process server delivers the citation and petition, or it goes by certified mail. If that fails, a court can allow substituted service, including by email or social media, under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 106. If your spouse can't be found, the court can allow service by publication.
2. Wait for the answer deadline. A served spouse must answer by 10:00 a.m. on the Monday after 20 days have passed since service (Rule 99(b)).
3. Make sure the return of service has been on file ten days. Under Rule 107(h), no default judgment can be granted until proof of service has been on file with the clerk for ten days, not counting the day it was filed or the day of judgment.
4. Prove your case. Here Texas differs from ordinary lawsuits. Family Code § 6.701:

In a suit for divorce, the petition may not be taken as confessed if the respondent does not file an answer.

That means you still have to present evidence at a hearing, even though your spouse isn't there. You'll also need a certificate of your spouse's last known mailing address (Rule 239a) and a declaration about their military status, which federal law requires before any default.

A default judgment can be set aside if the other spouse moves quickly. If service was by publication, a spouse who didn't appear has up to two years to seek a new trial (Rule 329).

Settling a contested case: mediated agreements

Many cases start out contested and end up agreed, often at mediation. A Texas mediated settlement agreement is unusually strong. Family Code § 6.602(b):

(b) A mediated settlement agreement is binding on the parties if the agreement: (1) provides, in a prominently displayed statement that is in boldfaced type or capital letters or underlined, that the agreement is not subject to revocation; (2) is signed by each party to the agreement; and (3) is signed by the party's attorney, if any, who is present at the time the agreement is signed.

Once signed, "a party is entitled to judgment on the mediated settlement agreement notwithstanding Rule 11, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, or another rule of law" (§ 6.602(c)). Second thoughts the next morning won't undo it. A party who has been the victim of family violence can object to being sent to mediation (§ 6.602(d)).

An agreement reached without mediation works differently. A written agreement dividing property "may be revised or repudiated before rendition of the divorce" unless it's binding under another rule of law (§ 7.006(a)).

How long an uncontested Texas divorce takes

The legal minimum is 60 days from filing (Family Code § 6.702). An agreed divorce can often be finished soon after that, depending on how quickly the court sets prove-up hearings. A default takes longer, because service, the answer deadline and the ten-day rule all have to run first. See how long a Texas divorce takes for the calculator.

Where these sections live

• Family Code § 6.4035 — Waiver of service
• Family Code § 6.602 — Mediated settlement agreements
• Family Code § 6.701 — No default on the petition alone
• Tex. R. Civ. P. 99 — Answer deadline
• Tex. R. Civ. P. 106 — Methods of service
• Tex. R. Civ. P. 107 — Return of service
• Tex. R. Civ. P. 239 — Default judgment
• Tex. R. Civ. P. 239a — Last known address