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

To file for divorce in Texas, either you or your spouse must meet Texas's residency requirement, the petition must state a legally recognized ground such as "insupportability" (Texas's no-fault ground) or a fault-based ground like cruelty or adultery, and — with narrow exceptions — a Texas court cannot grant the divorce until at least 60 days after the case is filed. Below is what the Texas Family Code actually requires, and what to do next.

Texas residency requirements

Before a Texas court can hear your divorce, at least one spouse — either the person filing (the petitioner) or the other spouse (the respondent) — must have been:

• A domiciliary of Texas for the preceding six months, and
• A resident of the county where the suit is filed for the preceding 90 days.

[Tex. Fam. Code § 6.301]

If you're not sure whether you meet this test — for example, if you recently moved to Texas or split time between counties — the safest step is to confirm the timeline with the district clerk's office in the county where you intend to file, since the requirement is jurisdictional (the court cannot waive it).

Military service and residency

If you or your spouse is serving in the U.S. armed forces or in other public service outside Texas or outside the county, that time away still counts toward the six-month and 90-day residency periods. In other words, being stationed elsewhere on military orders does not reset or pause the residency clock. [Tex. Fam. Code § 6.303]

Grounds for divorce in Texas

Texas is a "mixed" divorce state: you can file on a no-fault basis, or you can allege that your spouse's conduct caused the breakdown of the marriage. The ground you choose can matter for how a court divides property or timing, so think about which one actually fits your situation before you file.

No-fault grounds

• Insupportability — the most commonly used ground. It means the marriage has become insupportable because of discord or conflict of personalities that destroys the legitimate ends of the marriage, with no reasonable expectation of reconciliation. Neither spouse has to prove the other did anything wrong. [Tex. Fam. Code § 6.001]
• Living apart — the spouses have lived apart, without cohabitation, for at least three years. [Tex. Fam. Code § 6.006]
• Confinement in a mental hospital — one spouse has been confined in a state or private mental hospital for at least three years under conditions set out in the statute, and the disorder appears to make reconciliation unlikely or a relapse probable. [Tex. Fam. Code § 6.007]

Fault grounds

• Cruelty — treatment by one spouse toward the other of such a cruel nature that living together is insupportable. [Tex. Fam. Code § 6.002]
• Adultery. [Tex. Fam. Code § 6.003]
• Felony conviction — the other spouse has been convicted of a felony, has been imprisoned for at least one year, and has not been pardoned. [Tex. Fam. Code § 6.004]
• Abandonment — the other spouse left with the intention of abandonment and stayed away for at least one year. [Tex. Fam. Code § 6.005]

You do not have to prove fault to get divorced in Texas — insupportability alone is enough for most cases. Fault grounds are typically raised when a spouse believes it will affect the property division or another contested issue, which is a strategic decision worth discussing with a Texas family-law attorney rather than deciding on your own.

The 60-day waiting period

Time-sensitive: a Texas court cannot grant a divorce until the 60th day after the date the divorce petition was filed, even if both spouses agree on everything. This is a mandatory minimum, not a typical timeline — many cases, especially contested ones, take considerably longer. [Tex. Fam. Code § 6.702]

There is a narrow exception: the 60-day waiting period does not apply in certain family-violence situations, specifically where the respondent has an active protective order against them, or has a final conviction or deferred adjudication for a family-violence offense against the petitioner or a household member. If family violence is involved in your case, confirm with the court whether this exception applies, since it can significantly change how quickly a divorce can be finalized. [Tex. Fam. Code § 6.702]

Common-law (informal) marriage must be formally divorced

Texas recognizes informal, or "common-law," marriage. If you and your spouse are informally married under Texas law, you still need a formal divorce to legally end the marriage — you cannot simply separate and consider yourselves unmarried. The same residency, grounds, and waiting-period rules generally apply. [Tex. Fam. Code § 2.401]

If a spouse is on active military duty

Time-sensitive: under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), a servicemember whose military duties materially affect their ability to appear in court can request a stay — a pause — of at least 90 days in a civil case, including a divorce, custody, or support case. This protects deployed or active-duty spouses and parents from having a default judgment entered against them, or from being forced to litigate while they cannot meaningfully participate. If you or your spouse is on active duty, this is worth raising with the court early, since the request needs to be made properly to take effect. [50 U.S.C. § 3932]

Separately, if military retired pay is part of the property being divided, federal law (the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act) allows — but does not require — a state court to treat "disposable retired pay" as property subject to division in the divorce. Direct payment of a share to a former spouse through the Defense Finance and Accounting Service is available only when the couple was married for at least 10 years that overlapped at least 10 years of the military spouse's service (commonly called the "10/10 rule"). This federal law does not guarantee any particular split — how much, if any, a spouse receives is still decided under Texas's own property-division rules. [10 U.S.C. § 1408]

What you can do in Texas

1. Confirm you meet residency. Check that you or your spouse has been domiciled in Texas for six months and lived in the filing county for 90 days before you file.
2. Decide on a ground. Most people file on insupportability (no-fault). Consider whether a fault ground applies to your situation and, if so, get advice on whether alleging it helps or complicates your case.
3. File the petition with the district clerk in the proper county, and arrange to have your spouse formally served (or, if appropriate, have them sign a waiver of service).
4. Track the 60-day clock from your filing date, and ask the court about the family-violence exception if it applies to you.
5. Address temporary issues early — such as temporary orders for children, support, or use of property — since these can be requested while the underlying case is pending.
6. Raise military status immediately if you or your spouse is on active duty, so any SCRA stay request or retired-pay issue is handled at the start of the case, not after a problem arises.
7. Confirm current details with the court or a Texas family-law attorney before relying on any deadline or number, since court procedures and local requirements can change and can vary by county.

This article is general information, not legal advice — for guidance on your specific situation, consult a licensed Texas family-law attorney or your county court.