This page contains links to Instructions, forms for Civil Information Sheet, Petition for Divorce, Voluntary Entry of Appearance, Request for Service Form, Summons, Domestic Relations Affidavit, Child Support Worksheet, Parenting Plan, Kansas Payment Center Information Sheet, Vital Statistics Form, Notice of Final Hearing and Decree of Divorce, and is for use in divorces where the filing person and spouse have children of their relationship together. The divorce decree packet is done separately at www.kansaslegalservices.org/FreeLegalForms.
There are also links to forms to use a publication service.
Read these directions carefully and completely. When completing forms, type or print neatly.
These instructions were prepared by the Kansas Judicial Council and updated in July, 2023.
These forms are basic forms for simple divorces. They do not deal with every situation. If your divorce is complicated, using legal forms without an attorney’s help can harm your legal rights.
The Clerk of the District Court cannot help you prepare these forms or give you legal advice. The Clerk can only give very limited information about the process. If you have any questions, you should contact an attorney.
These forms are not for sale. If you paid a company for these forms, contact the Attorney General’s consumer complaint hotline and the Kansas Judicial Council.
Courts require anyone filing a divorce case to follow court rules. Self-represented persons are expected to know the rules as if you were an attorney.
If your spouse is active-duty military, you should consult an attorney because you must meet specific additional requirements.
Property decisions are binding on you and your spouse and may not be changed. Agreements are NOT binding on, and do not affect the rights of anyone other than you and your spouse. Property includes all assets, real estate, personal property, liquid accounts, retirement accounts, and any other things that were owned by either spouse during the marriage. Agreements that are not binding can include mortgages, promissory notes, debt obligations or other contracts involving third persons or entities.
If one spouse is to receive part of the other spouse’s retirement benefits, additional documents may be needed to complete the transfer. Consult an attorney. This type of situation is too complicated for use of these forms.
To get a divorce in Kansas, you or your spouse must have lived in Kansas for at least sixty (60) days before the Petition for Divorce is filed.
Filing for divorce starts with filing certain documents, and paying a filing fee, with the Clerk of the District Court in the county where you or your spouse lives. The office of the Clerk of the District Court is in the county courthouse.
Make sure to tell the Clerk of the District Court every time your mailing address changes.
When you file the Petition for Divorce, the Clerk of the District Court will assign a case number which you must put on all documents you file with the court in the future.
The Clerk of the District Court cannot help you prepare any legal documents or provide any legal advice.
The district court where you file for divorce may have local court rules that apply to your case. Contact the Clerk of the District Court to ask how you can find a copy of the local court rules. Some courts have their local court rules available on their website.
These forms give the reason for the divorce as “incompatibility.” If you want to reference a different statutory reason for the divorce, do not use these forms.
Case Caption = The section above the title of every document is called the case caption. It says which county the case was filed in, the case number, and the names of the people involved in the case. The case number is assigned by the court when the Petition for Divorce is filed.
Clerk of the District Court = A person at the courthouse who is responsible for taking the papers you give to the court.
Decree = A final order of the Court.
File Stamped = When you give documents to the Clerk of the District Court, the Clerk of the District Court will stamp each document showing that it was officially filed on the date printed on the stamp. The documents are now "file stamped." This stamp shows the documents were received by the Clerk of the District Court and are now part of the court’s file.
Filing Fee (or Docket Fee) = The money the person who files the Petition for Divorce pays to start the case. When you file your Petition for Divorce with the Clerk of the District Court, you must:
You can find out how much the fee will be by calling the Clerk of the District Court. You can search for the phone number on the Kansas Judicial Branch website.
Later in the case, the Judge will look at the Poverty Affidavit and decide whether you must pay the filing fee. If the Judge find that you do not meet the requirements, you will have to pay the filing fee.
Parties = A general word meaning both Petitioner and Respondent.
Petitioner = The person who files the Petition for Divorce.
Respondent = The person served with a Petition for Divorce and who may file an Answer.
Real Estate Legal Description = A legal description of a property is the geographical description of the real estate that identifies its precise location, boundaries, and any easements. You can get the legal description from the local Register of Deeds office.
Self-Represented Litigant (SRL) = A petitioner or respondent who does not have an attorney representing him or her in this case.
Service of Process = The procedure by which Petitioner gives appropriate notice of the legal action to the Respondent.
Links to forms are in each section on this webpage. Forms are available in PDFs that may be filled in.
You may type on the forms or print the form and write on it. If you write on the forms, write neatly in ink.
You can find an explanation of each form in Appendix A.
Leave the Case Number line blank. The Clerk of the District Court will give you the Case Number when you complete step 8.
You must give legal notice to your spouse that you have filed a Petition for Divorce. You can do that in ONE of the following ways.
You must give your spouse a copy of the completed Petition for Divorce and Summons. After getting the copies of those forms, your spouse can fill out a Voluntary Entry of Appearance form.
Your spouse must sign this form in front of a notary public. The completed and signed Voluntary Entry of Appearance form must then be filed with the Clerk of the District Court.
You can have the sheriff give a copy of the Petition for Divorce and Summons to your spouse.
If your spouse lives in Kansas, you must pay a sheriff’s service fee.
If your spouse lives in a state other than Kansas, you will have to find out the procedures required by the sheriff in that state and county and to pay any fees required.
You can mail copies of the Petition for Divorce and Summons to your spouse using return receipt delivery, which can be by certified mail, priority mail, commercial courier service, overnight delivery service or other reliable personal delivery service to the party addressed.
The written or electronic delivery receipt must show who the documents were delivered to, the date of delivery, the address where delivered, and the person or entity completing delivery.
After receiving the return receipt, you must fill out and file a Return of Service by Return Receipt form with the Clerk of the District Court to show that your spouse received the documents.
You can pay a fee and have the sheriff’s office send copies of your Petition for Divorce and Summons to your spouse using return receipt delivery.
See Appendix B for more information on Service by Return Receipt.
You can only use this method if the judge says you can.
If you cannot give legal notice to your spouse through any other way, you can ask the court if you can publish notice in a local newspaper.
This is a very complicated process and may limit your ability to have all issues decided in the divorce. You can only use this method if the judge says you can.
The newspaper will charge you a fee to publish the notice. After publication, you must file the proof of publication with the Clerk of the District Court.
You can search for the phone number on the Kansas Judicial Branch website.
Call the Clerk of the District Court’s office and ask:
how many copies of each document you need to bring when you file the documents with the Clerk of the District Court’s office;
how much you will have to pay (the filing fee) when you give the documents to the Clerk of the District Court’s office; and
if you are asking a sheriff in Kansas to serve your Petition for Divorce and other documents on your spouse, ask how much the Kansas sheriff service fee is and how you can pay that fee when you file your documents.
Fill out the case caption.
On page 1, write your spouse’s name and the address where you want the sheriff to go to give your spouse the Petition for Divorce and Summons.
On page 2, write your name and mailing address on the line.
Do not fill in the date or sign on the line reserved for the Clerk of the District Court.
On the Return of Service of Summons section (beginning on page 3), fill out the caption only. Do not fill out anything else after the caption.
Check the box on the form showing how you want to give legal notice to your spouse. See Step 2 above.
If you chose – Personal Service by Sheriff:
Option a – Personal Service inside Kansas:
Look at the address you wrote on the Summons form where you want the sheriff to serve the paperwork on your spouse. Find out which county the address is in and write the name of that county on the line in Option a.
Write a check or buy a money order for the amount of the service fee. Make out the check or money order payable to the county sheriff of the county you wrote on the line in Option a. You will give this check or money order to the Clerk of the District Court’s office in Step 8.
Option b – Personal Service outside Kansas:
Look at the address you wrote on the Summons form where you want the sheriff to serve the paperwork on your spouse. Find out which county the address is in and write the name of that county and state on the lines in Option b.
Call the sheriff’s office in that county and ask:
On the form, write the address where the Clerk of the District court must mail the paperwork to the sheriff and the sheriff’s phone number.
Write the check or buy the money order in the amount of the fee charged by the sheriff. You will give this check or money order to the Clerk of the District Court in Step 8.
If you chose – Service by Return Receipt:
Option c –Service by Return Receipt inside or outside of Kansas:
You do not need to write anything in Option c.
Option d –Service by Return Receipt inside or outside Kansas by Sheriff:
Look at the address you wrote on the Summons form where you want the sheriff to mail the paperwork to your spouse. Find out which county the address is in and write the name of that county and state on the lines in Option d.
Call the sheriff in that county and ask:
How much it costs for the sheriff to send the paperwork to your spouse by return receipt delivery.
Whether you must pay the fee by check or money order.
What is the address where the Clerk of the District Court must send the paperwork to the sheriff.
On the form, write the address where the Clerk of the District court must mail the paperwork to the sheriff and the sheriff’s phone number.
Write the check or buy the money order in the amount of the fee charged by the sheriff.
You will give this check or money order to the Clerk of the District Court in Step 8.
If you chose – No Service Required:
Option e – Voluntary Entry of Appearance or Publication Service:
You do not need to write anything in Option e.
Sign the form and write your address, telephone number, and email address.
You must sign the Petition for Divorce in front of a notary public. You may have to pay a fee.
Here are the most common types of businesses where you can find a Notary Public.
Banks, Law Firms or Law Offices, Real Estate Firms or Real Estate Offices, Tax Preparer or Accountant Offices, Photocopy Shops, Parcel Shipping Stores, Auto tag and license service centers, Colleges and Universities, or Public Libraries.
If you are unable to pay the fee required to start your divorce case, fill out the Poverty Affidavit.
Go to the Clerk of the District Court's office in the county courthouse. You can find the address of the county courthouse on the Kansas Judicial Branch website.
Give the original and all copies of the following documents to one of the Clerks in the Clerk of the District Court’s office:
Give the Clerk of the District Court any check or money order for the sheriff’s service fee, if needed.
One of the Clerks in the Clerk of the District Court’s office will stamp each document showing that it was filed on the date printed on the stamp. The documents are now "file stamped." The Clerk will give you back a "file stamped" copy of your documents.
You must pay to start your divorce case. If you are unable to pay, give the Clerk your completed Poverty Affidavit form.
Even if you file the Poverty Affidavit, you may have to pay the filing fee later. Before the judge orders your divorce, the judge will look at your Poverty Affidavit and decide if you must pay the filing fee.
If you chose – Voluntary Entry of Appearance:
Print the Voluntary Entry of Appearance form. Fill out the case caption. Give your spouse a copy of the file-stamped Petition for Divorce, Summons, and the Voluntary Entry of Appearance form. After getting the documents, your spouse will fill out a Voluntary Entry of Appearance form. Your spouse must sign this form in front of a notary public.
After your spouse has completed the Voluntary Entry of Appearance form, either you or your spouse need to file the completed Voluntary Entry of Appearance form with the Clerk of the District Court in the same place you filed your Petition for Divorce.
If you chose – Personal Service by Sheriff:
The Clerk of the District Court will send your paperwork to the sheriff.
If you chose – Service by Return Receipt inside or outside Kansas:
You can send the documents to your spouse using certified mail, priority mail, commercial courier service, overnight delivery service or other reliable personal delivery service.
For example, these services may be offered by the United States Postal Service, FedEx, or UPS. Go to Appendix B for more information.
After you file your Petition for Divorce and Summons, take the file-stamped copies of these documents, and any other documents you filed (do not include the Civil Information Sheet and Request and Service Instructions), to the company you’ve chosen to send the documents.
Make sure you send the documents to your spouse using a type of service that will give you a written or electronic delivery receipt showing who the documents were delivered to, the date of delivery, the address where delivered, and the person or entity completing delivery.
When you get the written or electronic delivery receipt, fill out the Return of Service by Return Receipt form. Attach the written or electronic delivery receipt to the form. Go to Appendix B for examples of what the delivery receipt might look like.
If the written or electronic delivery receipt says the documents were refused, mail a copy of the Petition for Divorce and other documents to your spouse by first-class mail.
File the completed Return of Service by Return Receipt form with the Clerk of the District Court’s office where you filed your Petition for Divorce.
If you chose - Service by Return Receipt inside or outside Kansas by Sheriff:
The Clerk of the District Court will send your paperwork to the sheriff.
If you chose – Publication:
If you cannot give legal notice to your spouse through any other way, you can ask the court if you can publish notice in a local newspaper. This is a very complicated process. Follow the steps under STEPS FOR PUBLICATION SERVICE in Appendix C.
