How to do your own divorce in South Africa

The unassisted path: which court papers you need, where to get the official forms, and the steps from signing the settlement to the unopposed hearing.

Updated 7 November 2026 · 8 min read

You don't have to do this today. This page is the unassisted option: the court steps for an uncontested divorce when you and your spouse have already agreed, and you are taking the papers to court yourselves. Come back to it when the settlement is signed.

It only works while every term stays agreed. The moment one of you disputes the house, a pension, maintenance or the children, stop and each get your own lawyer. A court will not treat a disputed case as a do-it-yourself unopposed divorce.

What you are actually filing

The court does not sell a single "divorce kit". You assemble a small set of documents. Some are official blank forms. Two of them, the deed of settlement and the particulars of claim, are written for your marriage. Use the current blank from the office that published it, then ask the registrar of the court you will use whether that division wants anything extra.

Combined summons

The document that starts the case. In the Regional Court, use Form 2C (J941), Combined Summons [Divorce Matters]. The Department of Justice updated it on 14 October 2022 and it is marked for the Regional Court only. The full list of magistrates' and regional court forms is on the Department of Justice forms page. Form 2B is a general combined summons. It is not the divorce form.

Particulars of claim

The annexure to the summons. It states where and when you married, your matrimonial property system, that the marriage has broken down irretrievably, the names and ages of any minor children, and the order you want. There is no separate numbered government form for this. Write it so that it incorporates the signed deed of settlement, and attach that deed. The registrar can tell you if that division keeps a local example.

Deed of settlement

Your agreement: who keeps what, the debts, maintenance, and the arrangements for the children. Both of you sign it before the summons is issued. Agreeably drafts this with you. It is not a form you download from a department.

Annexure A, if anyone under 18 is involved

This is the form people call Statutory Form A. Its proper name is Annexure A to the Mediation in Certain Divorce Matters Regulations, 1990: "Arrangements regarding dependent and minor children". You swear or affirm it in front of a commissioner of oaths, attach it to the summons, and file copies with the registrar, who sends one to the Family Advocate. Collect the current blank from the Family Advocate's office or from the court. A private website's copy goes out of date. Annexure B is different: it asks the Family Advocate to investigate a dispute. If you need Annexure B, this is no longer an unassisted divorce.

Divorce statistics form

Statistics South Africa Form 07-04, "Statistics of divorces". The plaintiff completes sections 1 to 12. The registrar completes sections 13 and 14 and stamps it. Download Form 07-04 (English). Stats SA also sends copies in other official languages from its Health and Vital Statistics directorate, and most divorce courts keep a pile at the counter.

Marriage certificate

Take the original to the hearing. If it is lost, Home Affairs can issue a duplicate.

Which court

You generally issue where you live or where your spouse lives. For an unassisted uncontested divorce, the Regional Court is the usual court, and Form 2C is the summons for that court. A High Court divorce uses Form 10 of the First Schedule to the Uniform Rules (Rule 17), which the registrar of that division supplies. Do not file a Regional Court form in the High Court, or the other way round. If you are unsure which division covers your address, ask the court before you fill anything in. Type the town below and this page names the magistrate's court, the Family Advocate offices and the High Court seat from the Department of Justice lists.

The steps

1. Sign the deed of settlement first. Both of you sign the agreement that divides property and debts, sets maintenance, and, if you have children, records care and contact. The rest of the papers point at this document.
2. Fill in the summons and the particulars of claim. Use Form 2C in the Regional Court, or Form 10 in the High Court. Complete the particulars so they incorporate the deed of settlement, and attach the signed deed.
3. Children: Annexure A. If you have a minor or dependent child, complete Annexure A and sign it in front of a commissioner of oaths. Police stations and many post offices have one. Attach it to the combined summons.
4. Fill in Form 07-04. Complete the plaintiff sections of the divorce statistics form. Leave the registrar's sections blank.
5. Pay the court fee the way that court asks. Ask the registrar before you queue. Some offices still want revenue stamps stuck to the face of the summons and cancelled there. Others take the fee at the counter. The amount is that court's tariff, not a figure from an old kit.
6. Make the copies the registrar asks for. A working set is the original plus a copy for the court file, a copy for the sheriff to leave with your spouse, and a copy for you. Some offices, including Johannesburg, also want an extra copy of the first page of the summons. Ask, then photocopy.
7. Issue the summons. Take the set to the registrar who issues process (at a regional court this may be the assistant registrar or the clerk). They stamp the papers, write a case number, and keep the court's copy.
8. The sheriff serves your spouse. Go to the sheriff who serves process where your spouse lives or works. Hand over the original and one copy of the combined summons, the particulars of claim, and Annexure A if there are children. The sheriff serves the copy in person and gives you the return of service, original and copy. Ask what the service will cost. Sheriffs charge a regulated tariff. It is not a flat amount, and it is more than the old "about R50" people still repeat.
9. Children: the Family Advocate. If children are involved, go to the Office of the Family Advocate for that area. Take the issued papers. They will tell you what they still need and how their endorsement goes into the court file. Their service is free. The court will not grant the divorce until it is satisfied about the children. The Family Advocate explains the office on the Department of Justice site.
10. Wait the court days, then ask for a date. Court days leave out weekends and public holidays. The summons tells your spouse how long they have to defend. On Form 2C that is 10 court days when they are served in the same court's area, and longer when they live further away. Read the number printed on your summons. If they do not defend, take the original summons and the return of service back to the registrar and ask for a date on the unopposed roll.
11. The hearing. Be at court by about 09:00. Bring every original: the deed of settlement, the marriage certificate, the return of service, Annexure A, and your copies of the issued papers. Check the court roll for the courtroom and your number. Watch one or two matters ahead of you. The magistrate or judge asks the spouse who issued the summons to confirm that the marriage has broken down and that the settlement is the agreement. They are used to unopposed divorces and will tell you what to say if you get stuck.

Home Affairs

Home Affairs does not grant the divorce. After the order, it records the change on the population register. The court sends the decree on, but you should confirm the record yourself.

• Before the hearing, if the marriage certificate is lost. Apply for another one on Form BI-130 at a Home Affairs office. Take the original certificate to court.
• After the order. Take your identity document and the final divorce order to a Home Affairs office and ask them to confirm the register shows you as divorced. You can also check by SMS: send M, then your ID number, to 32551. Do this before you remarry.
• Surname. A woman may resume a surname she used before, keep her married surname, or use both, without a formal surname-change application. To have an identity card or passport printed in that surname, she applies for it with the divorce order and a short signed note of the surname she wants.

A divorce granted outside South Africa is a different process, handled through a South African mission. It does not apply to a divorce granted here.

After the order

The divorce order makes the deed of settlement part of the court's order. Then you carry it out: transfers, pension funds, accounts and the practical list in the settlement checklist. The broader picture of an uncontested divorce is in how an uncontested divorce works.

This guide is general information about South African law, not legal advice for your situation. Agreeably is a settlement facilitator, not a law firm: before you sign, a lawyer should review your settlement agreement.