Divorce in the Netherlands: how the procedure works

In the Netherlands you do not divorce at the town hall or at a notary, but through the district court. That is why a divorce always requires a lawyer, even when the two of you agree on everything. Below are the steps in the order they usually come.

A lawyer is required

The divorce request is filed with the district court, and a lawyer (advocaat) has to file it. You cannot file it yourself. What you can do is share one lawyer, if you agree on the divorce and its consequences. Many couples first work out their arrangements with a mediator and then have a lawyer file the request.

Joint or one-sided

Joint request (gemeenschappelijk verzoek). If you agree, your lawyer files a single joint petition. It comes with, among other things, an extract of the marriage certificate, extracts from the population register (BRP) and, if you have minor children, their birth certificates and the parenting plan. Arrangements about money and property can be recorded in a divorce settlement (echtscheidingsconvenant); it is not mandatory, but it is common.

One-sided request (eenzijdig verzoek). If your spouse does not want to divorce, or you disagree about the consequences, you can still divorce through a one-sided request. Your spouse receives a copy and has six weeks to file a defence, also through a lawyer. If your spouse lives abroad, that period is three months. If your spouse does not respond at all, the judge decides without their input.

How long it takes depends mostly on how quickly you reach agreement. According to the Dutch judiciary, it ranges from a minimum of six weeks to more than a year.

Children: the parenting plan

If you have minor children together, a parenting plan (ouderschapsplan) is mandatory. At a minimum it covers how care is divided, how costs are shared and how you will inform and consult each other on important matters. The judge reviews the plan. Children aged eight and over are invited by the court for a conversation with the judge; they do not have to come, and may write a letter instead.

Maintenance and division, in outline

Child maintenance (kinderalimentatie). You both remain financially responsible for your children until they are 21. You agree how to share the costs; if you cannot, the judge sets the amount.

Spousal maintenance (partneralimentatie). For arrangements and decisions made since 1 January 2020, there is as a rule a maximum of five years, or less if the marriage lasted under ten years. There are exceptions, for example where you have young children together or the marriage was long. Older arrangements follow different rules.

Division (verdeling). What there is to divide depends on how you married. If you married on or after 1 January 2018 without a prenuptial agreement, a limited community of property applies: what you owned before the marriage and what you inherit or receive as a gift generally falls outside it. What falls inside it is divided equally on divorce. If you married earlier, or under a prenuptial agreement, different rules apply. Remember pensions and a mortgaged home; they are often the largest items.

If you cannot agree, the judge can decide. During the procedure your lawyer can also ask the judge for temporary measures, for instance about who stays in the home for now.

After the decision: registration with the municipality

The judge's decision, the echtscheidingsbeschikking (divorce order), does not yet make you divorced. You are only divorced once the order is entered in the civil registry (burgerlijke stand). That must happen within six months, in the municipality where the marriage took place. If it is not done in time, you remain married and have to request the divorce again. If you do not want to wait for the three-month appeal period to run out, you can both sign a deed of acquiescence (akte van berusting). Your lawyer usually arranges the registration.

Costs

You pay a court fee (griffierecht) to the court and your lawyer's fees. On a low income you may be able to get subsidised legal aid through the Raad voor Rechtsbijstand (Legal Aid Board).

This page is general information about how these matters usually work in the Netherlands. It is not legal advice about your own case, and only a lawyer who has read your documents can give you that.