Divorce in South Africa: the three routes, step by step
What happens, in what order, what it usually costs, how the money is worked out, and what most often goes wrong.
- Last updated:
- 14 November 2026
- Checked against the law:
- 14 November 2026
The short answer
A divorce is always granted by a court, even when you agree on everything. If you agree, it can be done in weeks, and a Regional Court gives out the forms free. If you don't, a court decides, and that can take years. The forms are the easy part. What you agree about the pension, the house, the debts and the children is what you live with afterwards.
At a glance
- Who grants it
- A court, always
- Even when you agree on everything. A Regional Court or the High Court.
- Do you need a lawyer?
- Not by law
- A Regional Court gives out the forms free and helps you fill them in.
- What you have to show
- That the marriage has broken down
- With no reasonable prospect of repairing it. Divorce Act, sections 3 and 4.
- What takes the time
- Agreeing, not the hearing
- Reaching agreement takes weeks, months or years.
Which route are you on
Uncontested
You agree on everything and sign a settlement.
- Usual cost
- R8 000 to R20 000
- Usual time
- 6 to 12 weeks
Mediated
A mediator helps you agree, then it runs as uncontested.
- Usual cost
- R5 000 to R30 000 for the mediator, plus the uncontested cost
- Usual time
- No published figure
Contested
You cannot agree, and a court decides.
- Usual cost
- R100 000 or more
- Usual time
- 2 to 3 years, or more
You are on the uncontested route only when all four of these are settled between you.
Uncontested means all four are agreed
- You both accept that the divorce will go ahead.
- Where the children live, and when they are with each parent.
- Who pays what: for the children, and for each other.
- Who keeps what, including the pensions and the debts.
One "no" means mediation or court. Mediation is not safe if there has been abuse, threats or fear. If that is your situation, start with crisis lines and protection orders.
Step by step: an uncontested divorce in a Regional Court
Check which court can hear it
- Who:
- You
A court can hear your divorce if either of you is domiciled in its area, or lives there and has lived in South Africa for at least a year (Divorce Act, section 2). Legal Aid South Africa sends people who represent themselves to the Regional Court.
Agree the terms and put them in writing
- Who:
- Both of you, usually with an attorney or a mediator
- How long:
- Days to months
This is the settlement agreement, and it is the document that matters. It records the arrangements for the children, maintenance, who keeps what, the pensions and the debts. A court can make a written agreement between you part of its order (section 7(1)).
Plainly does not draw up settlement agreements or any other court document.
Have the summons issued
- Who:
- The spouse who starts the divorce
- Where:
- The registrar's office at the Regional Court
The registrar has the summons form and helps you fill it in. The forms and the help are free.
The sheriff delivers it
- Who:
- The sheriff of the court
The sheriff delivers the summons to your spouse. In an unopposed divorce the sheriff's fee is usually your main cost, with transport and copies.
The court looks at the children's arrangements
- Who:
- The court, and the Family Advocate if asked
Only if you have minor or dependent children. A court will not grant the divorce until it is satisfied that the arrangements for them are satisfactory, or the best possible. It considers the Family Advocate's report where there is one (section 6).
Ask for a date
- Who:
- The spouse who started
- Where:
- The registrar's office
- How long:
- Depends on the court's roll
The matter goes on the unopposed roll. How soon depends on how busy that court is.
The hearing
- Who:
- The spouse who started
- How long:
- Short
The court needs to be satisfied that the marriage has broken down and that the children are provided for. Take your ID, the marriage certificate and the signed settlement.
The decree of divorce
- Who:
- The court
The court grants the divorce and can make your settlement part of its order. Ask for certified copies: the pension fund, the bank and others will each want one.
If you cannot agree
The court decides what you could not. That takes longer and costs more, and in one province a step has been added.
- Gauteng High Court. Since 22 April 2025 no case is given a trial date without a report showing that mediation was tried first.
How the money is worked out
It depends on how you were married.
In community of property
No antenuptial contract
One joint estate, shared by both spouses.
Out of community, with accrual
An antenuptial contract that does not exclude accrual
Each of you keeps your own estate. The one whose estate grew less during the marriage can claim half of the difference in growth (Matrimonial Property Act, section 3).
Out of community, without accrual
An antenuptial contract that excludes accrual
Each of you keeps your own. In some cases a court can order one spouse to transfer assets to the other (Divorce Act, section 7(3)). Who qualifies is changing: a Bill before Parliament (B20-2025) would remove the rule that limits this to marriages before 1 November 1984. It is not yet law.
| Thandi | |
|---|---|
| Her estate today | R1 800 000 |
| What she started with, adjusted for inflation | − R300 000 |
| Thandi's growth | R1 500 000 |
| Sipho | |
| His estate today | R700 000 |
| What he started with, adjusted for inflation | − R100 000 |
| Sipho's growth | R600 000 |
| The claim | |
| Difference in growth | R900 000 |
| Thandi pays Sipho half of it | R450 000 |
Starting values are adjusted for the change in the value of money, using the consumer price index. Inheritances, legacies and gifts are left out unless the contract says otherwise. Matrimonial Property Act, sections 3, 4 and 5.
The pension
After the house, a pension is often the largest asset.
- A member's pension interest counts as part of their assets on divorce (Divorce Act, section 7(7)).
- A court can order the fund to pay part of it to the other spouse (section 7(8)). The fund acts on that order.
Maintenance
- For the children: the child maintenance estimate shows how the sum is usually approached.
- For a spouse: not automatic. You agree it in writing, or the court decides when it grants the divorce. It looks at what each of you has and can earn, your needs and obligations, your ages, how long you were married, how you lived, and conduct relevant to the breakdown (section 7(1) and 7(2)).
Forfeiture
A court can order that one spouse loses some or all of the financial benefits of the marriage, if the other would otherwise be unduly benefited. It looks at how long the marriage lasted, why it broke down and any substantial misconduct (section 9).
What can happen
You settle first
The quickest
You sign a settlement before the summons is issued. The court part then takes weeks.
You settle on the way
After it has started
It starts as a fight and ends as an agreement, often after mediation or after both sides have seen each other's figures.
The court postpones
If reconciliation looks possible
A court can postpone a divorce so that you can try to reconcile (section 4(3)).
A court decides
The slowest and most expensive
A trial. You get a decision, but not one either of you chose.
What goes wrong
The pension is left out of the order
A fund pays a former spouse on a court order (section 7(8)). An order that is silent gives it nothing to act on.
Worth checking: that the settlement deals with every retirement fund by name, and states the share as a percentage or an amount.
Signing before you have seen the figures
The settlement becomes part of a court order. You are agreeing to numbers, so see them first.
Worth checking: that you have statements for every account, debt, policy and fund before you sign.
Maintenance for a spouse is not dealt with
The Act deals with spousal maintenance at the divorce: by your written agreement, or by the court when it grants the decree (section 7(1) and 7(2)).
Worth checking: whether the settlement says anything about maintenance for either of you, and for how long.
Loose wording about the children
The court has to be satisfied about the children before it grants the divorce (section 6). "Reasonable contact" settles nothing on the first disputed weekend.
Worth checking: days, handovers, holidays, and who decides about school and medical care.
What to gather
Whatever your route, these get asked for
- Your marriage certificate and both ID documents
- Your antenuptial contract, if you signed one
- The children's birth certificates
- Three to six months of statements for every bank account
- Payslips, or financial statements if you work for yourself, and your latest tax assessment
- A statement from every pension, provident and retirement annuity fund, with the fund's name and your member number
- The bond statement, and the finance statement for each vehicle
- Every life policy, with its named beneficiaries
- A list of every debt: store cards, credit cards, loans
- What you and the children spend in an ordinary month
What has changed lately
- Gauteng High Court, 22 April 2025. Mediation comes before a trial date.
- Muslim marriages, 2024. The Divorce Act now covers Muslim marriages (section 3, as amended by the Divorce Amendment Act 1 of 2024).
- Redistribution. A Bill (B20-2025) would widen who can ask a court to redistribute assets in a marriage without accrual. It is before Parliament and is not yet law.
What this means for you
The forms are the easy part, and the court gives them away. What you live with is the settlement: the pension, the house, the debts and the children's week. Those are the things to have clear before a first meeting with anyone you pay by the hour.
After the decree
Things people usually still have to arrange themselves
- Send a certified copy of the order to each retirement fund that has to pay
- Arrange the transfer of the house and speak to the bank about the bond
- Close or move every shared account and debt
- Look again at your will and at the beneficiaries on your policies and funds
- Tell your medical scheme, your employer and SARS
- Give the children's school and doctor the new contact details
Sources
Every legal statement in this guide comes from one of these. We checked each statement against its source. A legal practitioner has not reviewed this guide.
- Divorce Act 70 of 1979, sections 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 9 (consolidated to 14 May 2024)
- Matrimonial Property Act 88 of 1984, sections 2 to 5 (consolidated to 3 April 2024)
- Legal Aid South Africa, self-help divorce guide (Regional Court)
- Government of South Africa, How to get a divorce
- Gauteng Division of the High Court, Directive on mediation, 22 April 2025
- General (Family) Laws Amendment Bill, B20-2025 (a Bill, not yet law)
- Plainly cost and time ranges (sample figures)
Independent. Not a law firm. Legal information, not legal advice.