How to File for Divorce in Maryland: Residency, Grounds & Waiting Period

To file for an absolute divorce in Maryland, you generally need to meet a residency requirement, state one of three legal grounds, and file a Complaint for Absolute Divorce in the Circuit Court for the county where you or your spouse lives (or where your spouse works). If the reasons for your divorce happened outside Maryland, at least one spouse must have lived in Maryland for six months before you file; if the reasons happened in Maryland, either spouse's current residency is enough. From there, your case moves through service on your spouse and a waiting period for a response before the case can proceed.

Residency: do you qualify to file in Maryland?

Maryland's residency rule depends on where the underlying reasons for your divorce took place:

• If the grounds for the divorce arose outside Maryland, you may not apply for divorce unless one of the parties has resided in Maryland for at least six months before the application is filed.
• If the grounds arose in Maryland, current residency of either spouse is enough to file — there is no separate six-month waiting period tied to residence itself.

In practice, this means someone who just moved to Maryland because of events that happened in another state should confirm they can meet the six-month mark before filing. If your situation is unusual — for example, you moved partway through a separation, or the events span more than one state — this is a good point to confirm the details with your Maryland court or a family law attorney rather than guess.

Grounds for divorce in Maryland

Time-sensitive note: Maryland eliminated fault-based grounds for divorce effective October 1, 2023. If you have older information about adultery, cruelty, or similar fault grounds, that information is now out of date.

Under current law, a Maryland court may grant an absolute divorce only on one of three grounds:

1. Six-month separation. The parties have lived separate and apart, without interruption, for six months before the divorce is filed. This can include spouses who are living under the same roof but are pursuing separate lives — it does not always require two separate addresses.
2. Irreconcilable differences. The party filing states reasons supporting the conclusion that the marriage is permanently over.
3. Mutual consent. Both spouses agree to divorce and have signed a written settlement agreement that resolves alimony, how property will be divided, and the care, custody, access, and support of any minor or dependent children.

Which ground fits your situation affects both the paperwork you file and how quickly the case can move, so it's worth thinking through which of the three actually describes your circumstances before you file.

Where and how to file

Divorce cases in Maryland are filed in the Circuit Court for the county where you live, where your spouse lives, or where your spouse works. The form used to start the case is the Complaint for Absolute Divorce (form CC-DR-020). A filing fee applies, though a fee waiver may be available based on income — the specific fee amount and waiver income limits aren't part of the materials used for this article, so confirm current figures with your Circuit Court clerk or the court's self-help resources. Maryland's official Guide & File tool can help you prepare the forms.

What you can do in Maryland

1. Confirm you meet the residency requirement. Figure out whether the reasons for your divorce arose in Maryland or elsewhere, and check the six-month rule if they arose out of state.
2. Decide which of the three grounds applies — six-month separation, irreconcilable differences, or mutual consent — since mutual consent requires a signed settlement agreement covering alimony, property, and any children before you file.
3. Complete the Complaint for Absolute Divorce (CC-DR-020) and any related forms, using the state's Guide & File tool if helpful.
4. File in the correct Circuit Court — the county where you live, your spouse lives, or your spouse works — and pay the filing fee or request a fee waiver if eligible.
5. Arrange for service of the complaint on your spouse, following the court's rules for how service must be completed.
6. Track the response deadline that applies based on where your spouse was served, and be prepared for the next step in the case once that window closes or a response is filed.

Serving your spouse and the response deadline

Time-sensitive: once your spouse is served, a clock starts running, and how long they have to respond depends entirely on where they were served:

• 30 days if served within Maryland;
• 60 days if served in another state; and
• 90 days if served in another country.

Because these deadlines differ so much by location, confirm exactly how and where service was completed in your case, since that detail determines which deadline applies.

What a Maryland divorce decree can resolve

A Maryland divorce (also called an "absolute divorce") ends the marriage through a court order called a divorce decree. That same decree can also address:

• alimony (spousal support);
• how marital property is divided;
• child support; and
• child custody, including parenting time and decision-making authority.

Addressing these issues within the decree gives the court a basis to enforce the terms afterward, rather than leaving them to a separate agreement with no built-in enforcement mechanism.

If a military spouse is involved

Two federal protections can matter in a Maryland divorce involving a servicemember:

• Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), 50 U.S.C. § 3932: if military duties materially affect a servicemember's ability to appear in the case, they can obtain a stay of at least 90 days in the divorce, custody, or support proceeding. This protects a deployed or active-duty spouse from a default judgment or from being forced to litigate while unable to participate. Time-sensitive: if a stay is requested, it will affect your case timeline, so factor this in early if your spouse is on active duty.
• Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act (USFSPA), 10 U.S.C. § 1408: this federal law allows Maryland's courts to treat a servicemember's "disposable retired pay" as marital property that can be divided in the divorce. It does not create any automatic 50/50 split — how much, if any, a spouse receives is still decided under Maryland's own property-division rules. Direct payment of a share of that retired pay through the Defense Finance and Accounting Service is only available when the marriage lasted 10 or more years overlapping 10 or more years of military service (the "10/10 rule").

A note on what isn't covered here

This article covers residency, grounds, filing, service, and response deadlines for a Maryland absolute divorce, plus the two federal military-related protections above. It does not walk through how Maryland calculates alimony, divides property, or sets child support and custody in detail — those depend on facts specific to your case, and you should confirm current rules and any dollar figures or formulas with your Circuit Court or a Maryland family law attorney rather than relying on general guidance.

Key takeaways

• Residency depends on where the divorce grounds arose: six months in Maryland if the grounds happened elsewhere, or simple current residency if the grounds happened in Maryland.
• Only three grounds exist as of the current law: six-month separation, irreconcilable differences, and mutual consent with a signed settlement agreement — fault grounds were eliminated effective October 1, 2023.
• File the Complaint for Absolute Divorce (CC-DR-020) in the Circuit Court for the county where you or your spouse lives or works.
• Response deadlines after service vary sharply by location: 30 days in-state, 60 days out-of-state, 90 days internationally.
• A servicemember spouse may be entitled to at least a 90-day stay under the SCRA, and military retirement pay division follows the federal USFSPA framework, including the 10/10 rule for direct payments.

This article is general information about Maryland law, not legal advice for your situation — consult a Maryland family law attorney or your Circuit Court self-help resources for guidance specific to your case.