It depends on whether you both agree to it. If you do, the law makes you wait at least 90 days. If one of you doesn’t, you have to be separated for at least a year.
The 90 days start the day the divorce complaint is served, not the day it’s filed. And when the wait is over, you’re still not divorced. There’s paperwork to file, and then the court has to enter the decree. If there’s property or alimony to work out, that can take longer than the wait itself. Enter one date below and we’ll show you the earliest each step can happen.
One of you files a divorce complaint and has it served on the other. Ninety days later, each of you can sign an affidavit of consent. If you both sign a waiver of notice too, the paperwork can go straight to a judge. Without the waivers, there’s a 20-day notice period first. After that, the decree is up to the judge, on the court’s schedule.
You don’t need your spouse’s consent once you’ve lived separate and apart for a year (two years if you separated before December 5, 2016). When the year is up, you file an affidavit saying so, and your spouse gets 20 days to dispute it. Then comes a 20-day notice period, unless you both waive it, and the case goes to a judge.
Pick your situation and enter one date. Dates in ink are fixed by a statute or a court rule. Anything in pencil depends on people or the court, so you can add time to it and watch the rest move.
Do you both agree to the divorce?
If you both agree
In ink: fixed by law In pencil: not fixed
Example: if the complaint is served on January 4, 2027, the first day you can both sign isApril 5, 2027
That’s 90 days after service, moved from a Sunday to the next Monday. The first example in the guide below walks through it.
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These are the earliest dates the rules allow, not a prediction. They assume every step happens on the first day it can, and anything a judge orders in your own case comes first. Filing dates use the Northampton County office calendar where verified; other counties can differ.
in pencil
What if it takes longer?
Add a week at a time and watch the dates move. The waits set by law stay the same length. Everything after a delay just starts later.
You don’t need this notice when you both sign waivers.
◈ Printing gives you a plain list of these dates and what they assume.
How these dates are counted
The calculator counts day 90 after service as the earliest day to sign the affidavits of consent. If that day is a weekend or legal holiday, it moves to the next eligible day. Months and years follow the calendar, using the final day of a shorter month. State and federal legal holidays are included. Filing steps use Northampton County’s published 2026 full-day holiday closures. Later years, early closings and exceptional closures still need confirmation. The separation calculation assumes no notice waivers. A denial, military service, reconciliation finding, court order or unresolved financial claims can change the steps.
THE RULES
Pennsylvania’s divorce waiting periods and deadlines
Every one of these comes from a statute or a statewide court rule. “Counted from” tells you what starts the clock.
The main time periods in a Pennsylvania no-fault divorce
Step
How long
Counted from
Source
Living in Pennsylvania before you file
At least six months right before filing, for at least one of you
The day that spouse became a Pennsylvania resident
“Going to a judge” means filing a praecipe to transmit the record, a short form that asks the Prothonotary (the court’s civil clerk) to send your file to a judge for the decree. The statewide rules now call the divorce master a “hearing officer.”
The paperwork, in plain English
Complaint
The document that starts the divorce. One of you files it with the Prothonotary and has it served on the other.
Service
Formally delivering the complaint under the court rules. Use the service date shown in the proof or acceptance of service; it is not necessarily the mailing date.
Affidavit of consent
A signed statement that you consent to the divorce. Each of you signs one, no sooner than 90 days after service.
Waiver of notice
A short form saying you don’t need advance notice before the decree is requested. If each of you signs and files one, the separate 20-day notice period drops out.
Notice of intention
A notice that gives your spouse a date, at least 20 days off, on or after which you plan to send the case to a judge.
Separation affidavit
A signed statement that you’ve lived separate and apart for the required time and that the marriage is irretrievably broken. Its formal name is the affidavit under § 3301(d) of the Divorce Code.
Counter-affidavit
The prescribed response can dispute the claimed separation or breakdown, or identify an objection involving economic claims. A counter-affidavit alone does not protect claims for property division, alimony or counsel fees; the appropriate written claims must also be filed and served.
Praecipe to transmit the record
A short form asking the Prothonotary to send your file to a judge so the decree can be entered.
Decree
The order, signed by a judge, that ends the marriage. You aren’t divorced until it’s entered.
WHAT SLOWS IT DOWN
What makes a divorce take longer
The waiting periods are the minimum. These are the things that actually set the pace.
Financial claims, disputed facts and the court’s review can all affect when the decree is entered. There is no guaranteed turnaround time for the court to enter it.
If there’s property to divide, or either of you wants alimony or counsel fees, the appropriate written claims must be filed and served before the decree is entered or the rights can be lost. Telling your spouse what you want, or filing a counter-affidavit alone, does not protect those claims. Once they’re raised, they generally have to be settled or decided before the decree. The court can approve the grounds for divorce in the meantime, but the decree itself waits. A judge can grant the divorce first and decide the rest later only in limited situations under 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3323(c.1), and only by court order.
Getting your spouse served. The 90 days don’t start until your spouse has been properly served. Unclaimed mail or a problem with the proof of service can mean another attempt is needed. A spouse who has moved may have to be located first.
Getting signatures. Each of you has to sign an affidavit of consent, plus a waiver of notice if you’re using one. Nothing makes your spouse sign on day 90. Once an affidavit is signed, it has to be filed within 30 days.
Property and alimony. Trading financial records, putting a value on a house, a pension or a business, and negotiating all take time. Whatever doesn’t settle is heard by a judge or a divorce master, on the court’s schedule.
A dispute. If your spouse files a counter-affidavit denying the separation date, or denying that the marriage is irretrievably broken, the court has to resolve that, after hearing testimony, before the divorce can move forward.
Entry of the decree. Filing the request is not the end. You are divorced when the court enters the decree. There is no guaranteed turnaround time.
EXAMPLES
Two worked examples
The dates are made up, but the rules are real. Each step assumes the one before it happened on the first day it could.
IF YOU BOTH AGREE
Served on January 4, 2027
Ninety days after January 4 is Sunday, April 4. Because that’s a weekend, the calculator moves it to Monday, so the first day you can each sign an affidavit of consent is Monday, April 5, 2027.
Sign that day and the affidavits have to be filed by Wednesday, May 5. If both affidavits and both waivers of notice are filed on April 5, the request for a decree can be filed that same day, if all other requirements are met.
April 5 is the earliest date to file the request under these assumptions. It does not tell you when the court will review the file or enter the decree.
IF ONE OF YOU WON’T AGREE
Separated on March 16, 2026
One year later is Tuesday, March 16, 2027. Say the complaint has already been served, and the separation affidavit is served that day.
Your spouse has until Monday, April 5 to file a counter-affidavit. If none comes, the notice of intention can go out that day. Twenty days later is Sunday, April 25, which moves to Monday, April 26. That’s the earliest date to file the request under these assumptions.
That’s with no dispute and no waivers of notice. If property or alimony is still open, the decree waits for that too.
How the days are counted
Don’t count the day something happens. Start with the next day, and count the last day. If the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the period runs to the next day that isn’t one. Months and years run to the same date, so a year from March 16 is March 16. If there’s no such date, it’s the last day of the month: a year from February 29, 2024 was February 28, 2025. And anything that has to be filed needs a day the Prothonotary’s office is open.
Periods set by court rule are counted under Pa. R.J.A. 107, and periods set by statute under 1 Pa. Cons. Stat. §§ 1908 and 1910. The calculator also moves day 90, the first day the affidavits of consent can be signed, off a weekend or legal holiday. That can only make the date later.
QUESTIONS
Common questions about how long a divorce takes
How long does a divorce take in Pennsylvania?
If you both agree, the consent affidavits can be signed 90 days or more after the complaint is served. The required filings still follow. If one of you won’t agree, it’s at least a year of separation plus roughly six weeks of required waiting. After that, it depends on whether there’s property or alimony to settle, whether anything is disputed, and when the court enters the decree. No rule sets a date by which a divorce has to be final.
Can I get divorced in 90 days?
Not quite. Ninety days after service is the first day you can each sign an affidavit of consent. Even if everything is signed and filed that same day, the court still has to review the file and enter the decree. There is no guaranteed turnaround time.
When does the 90-day wait start?
The day the divorce complaint is served on the spouse who didn’t file it. Not the day it’s filed, the day you moved out, or the day you hired a lawyer.
How long do we have to be separated if my spouse won’t consent?
One year, if you separated on or after December 5, 2016. Two years if it was before that. The affidavit you file also has to say the marriage is irretrievably broken. If your spouse denies either one, the court decides after hearing testimony.
Does the year have to be over before I file the complaint?
Not necessarily. Filing the complaint and signing the separation affidavit are two different steps. The affidavit says you’ve already been apart for the full period, so it can’t be signed until you have. The complaint can be filed earlier.
Can we be separated while living in the same house?
Yes. The Divorce Code defines living “separate and apart” as the end of cohabitation, whether or not you still share a home. Since the date can be disputed later, write down when you separated and what changed.
What if my spouse won’t sign, or disputes the separation date?
If your spouse won’t sign an affidavit of consent, you wait out the separation period and go that way instead. If your spouse then files a counter-affidavit denying the separation date, or denying that the marriage is irretrievably broken, the court has to resolve that first. The calculator can’t tell you how long that will take.
Do the two 20-day periods always apply?
No. When one of you won’t agree, the first 20 days are your spouse’s time to respond to the separation affidavit. The second 20 days follow the notice of intention, and you can skip that notice if you both sign waivers. A waiver doesn’t shorten the separation period, and it doesn’t settle a dispute over the affidavit.
Do weekends and holidays change the dates?
Yes. If the last day of a waiting period lands on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, it moves to the next day that isn’t one. Anything you have to file also needs a day the courthouse is open. The calculator applies state and federal holiday rules and the published 2026 Northampton full-day office closures. Other years, early closings and one-off orders still need checking, so confirm an actual deadline against the court’s calendar.
How long does it take to divide property or get the judge’s signature?
No rule sets either one. Dividing property depends on how long it takes to trade financial information, put values on things and negotiate, and on the hearing schedule if you can’t settle. Once a divorce master issues a report, either side has 20 days to file objections, which are called exceptions. The court enters the decree after reviewing the completed record. There is no guaranteed turnaround time.
BEFORE YOU CALL
What to bring to a consultation
Madsen Law Offices is at 680 Wolf Avenue in Easton. The waiting periods on this page are the same everywhere in Pennsylvania. Filing procedures and court closure days aren’t. Northampton, Lehigh and Monroe Counties each do things a little differently. Where this page gets local, it’s talking about Northampton County.
Before you count on a date, check the current filing instructions and the court’s calendar.
These statutes and statewide court rules are binding in Pennsylvania. The examples on this page are illustrations that use the counting choices described above.
General information, not legal advice. This page covers the two no-fault ways to divorce only. It doesn’t cover fault grounds, divorce when a spouse is institutionalized, presumed consent after a spouse is convicted of certain crimes against the other, or the protections for a spouse in military service. Those situations need individual advice.