How Much Does a Divorce Cost in Texas?

The cost of a Texas divorce depends almost entirely on one thing: whether you agree. An agreed, uncontested divorce can cost a few hundred dollars. A contested one, fought through lawyers, routinely runs $15,000 or more per spouse. Here’s the honest breakdown.

The one cost you can’t avoid: the court filing fee

Every divorce in Texas starts with filing an Original Petition, and the district clerk charges a filing fee to open the case. This fee is set by each county and generally falls in the $300–$400 range:

County	Approx. filing fee
Harris (Houston)	~$350
Dallas	~$400
Tarrant (Fort Worth)	~$400
Bexar (San Antonio)	~$400
Travis (Austin)	~$350

Fees change, so confirm the current amount with your county district clerk. If a case involves children, some counties add a small amount.

Can’t afford it? File a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs. If the court approves it, your filing fee is waived.

Other small costs to expect

Beyond the filing fee, an uncontested divorce may involve a few minor expenses:

• Notary fee — the Waiver of Service must be notarized (often $6–$15, or free at many banks).
• Certified copies of the final decree — usually a few dollars per copy from the clerk; you’ll want one or two.
• Service of process — only if your spouse won’t sign a waiver and must be formally served (roughly $75–$150 for a process server or constable).
• Parenting class — some counties require one in divorces with children (about $35–$55).

For a simple, agreed, no-children divorce where your spouse signs a waiver, you can often keep the total under about $400–$500 including the filing fee.

What drives the cost up

Divorce gets expensive when a judge — not the couple — has to decide things. The big cost drivers are:

• Disagreement. Every disputed issue means lawyer time, and possibly discovery, hearings, or mediation.
• Hourly attorneys. Texas divorce lawyers commonly bill $250–$500+ per hour, and a contested case can take dozens of hours.
• Contested custody. Custody fights are the single most expensive part of a divorce, often adding evaluations and extra hearings.
• Complex assets. Businesses, multiple properties, or large retirement accounts that need valuation and a QDRO add professional fees.

If your situation involves any of these and you can’t reach agreement, an attorney is worth the cost — a mistake in a binding court order is far more expensive than legal fees.

Where document preparation fits

If your divorce is genuinely uncontested, you don’t need to pay a lawyer’s hourly rate just to move standard paperwork through the court. Your realistic options are:

1. Do it entirely yourself — the official forms are free; you fill them out and file. Lowest cost, highest effort, easiest to make a form error.
2. Use a flat-fee document-preparation service — you answer a questionnaire, the correct county forms are prepared for you, and you file them. A flat fee (ours is $159) instead of an hourly bill.
3. Hire an attorney — necessary for contested or complex cases; overkill for a simple agreed one.

Bottom line

For an agreed Texas divorce, budget for the court filing fee (~$300–$400) plus a handful of small costs — and, if you want the forms done correctly without an hourly lawyer, a flat document-prep fee. See the full step-by-step filing process, or check whether you need a lawyer at all.