Chapter IV. STATE REGISTRATION OF MARRIAGE DISSOLUTION

Which authority has the right to register a divorce?

According to Part 1 of Art. 35 of Law No. 143-FZ of November 15, 1997 “On Civil Status Acts”, state registration of divorce is carried out exclusively in the registry office. However, making a decision on divorce does not always fall within the competence of this body. Art. 19 of the Family Code (IC RF) establishes an exhaustive list of cases

when the registry office has the right to consider applications for divorce:

• the couple does not have common minor children, and divorce occurs by mutual consent of the spouses;
• one of the spouses was declared missing in court;
• one of the spouses is incapacitated;
• one of the spouses is serving a sentence of imprisonment for a term of more than 3 years for a criminal offense.

In all other cases, the divorce case must be considered by the court, and the role of the registry office is reduced to state registration of divorce.

Chapter IV. STATE REGISTRATION OF MARRIAGE DISSOLUTION

Article 31. Grounds for state registration of divorce

The basis for state registration of divorce is:

joint application for divorce of spouses who do not have common children who have not reached the age of majority;

an application for divorce filed by one of the spouses and a court decision (sentence) that has entered into legal force in relation to the other spouse, if he is declared missing by the court, declared incompetent by the court or sentenced to imprisonment for a term of over three years for committing a crime;

a court decision on divorce that has entered into legal force.

Article 32. Place of state registration of divorce

State registration of divorce is carried out by the civil registry office at the place of residence of the spouses (one of the spouses) or at the place of state registration of the marriage.

ConsultantPlus: note.

On divorce in the event of evasion by one of the spouses, see Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated November 5, 1998 No. 15.

Article 33. The procedure for state registration of divorce by mutual consent of spouses who do not have common children under the age of majority

1. If there is mutual agreement to dissolve the marriage of spouses who do not have common children who have not reached the age of majority, the dissolution of the marriage is carried out by the civil registry office.

2. Spouses wishing to divorce, submit a joint application for divorce in writing in person or send the said application in the form of an electronic document through a single portal of state and municipal services to the civil registry office. The said application can be submitted through the multifunctional center.

(as amended by Federal Law dated July 28, 2012 N 133-FZ)

In a joint application for divorce, the spouses must confirm mutual agreement to dissolve the marriage and the absence of common children under the age of majority. The joint application for divorce must also include the following information:

last name, first name, patronymic, date and place of birth, citizenship, place of residence of each spouse;

(as amended by Federal Law dated July 23, 2013 N 242-FZ)

nationality, education, first or remarriage (indicated at the request of each spouse);

(paragraph introduced by Federal Law dated July 23, 2013 N 242-FZ)

details of recording the marriage deed;

surnames chosen by each spouse upon divorce;

details of identity documents of spouses.

Spouses wishing to divorce sign a joint statement and indicate the date of its preparation.

3. If one of the spouses wishing to divorce does not have the opportunity to appear at the civil registry office or the multifunctional center to submit the application provided for in paragraph 2 of this article, the will of the spouses may be formalized in separate applications for divorce. The signature of such an application by the spouse must be notarized, except if the application is sent through a single portal of state and municipal services. The signature of a suspect or accused in custody, or a convicted person serving a sentence in a correctional institution, certified by the head of the place of detention or the head of a correctional institution, is equated to the notarized signature of the spouse executed on the application for divorce.

(as amended by Federal Laws dated July 28, 2012 N 133-FZ, dated November 12, 2012 N 183-FZ)

4. Divorce and state registration of its dissolution are carried out in the presence of at least one of the spouses after a month has passed from the date the spouses filed a joint application for divorce.

Article 34. The procedure for state registration of divorce at the request of one of the spouses

1. Divorce at the request of one of the spouses is carried out by the civil registry office if the other spouse:

declared missing by the court;

declared incompetent by the court;

convicted of committing a crime to imprisonment for a term of over three years.

2. State registration of divorce in the cases provided for in paragraph 1 of this article is carried out upon the application of one of the spouses wishing to divorce.

The application for divorce must include the following information:

last name, first name, patronymic, date and place of birth, citizenship, place of residence of the spouse wishing to divorce;

(as amended by Federal Law dated July 23, 2013 N 242-FZ)

nationality, education, first or remarriage, and if the spouses have common children who have not reached the age of majority, their number (indicated at the request of the applicant);

(paragraph introduced by Federal Law dated July 23, 2013 N 242-FZ)

the grounds for divorce specified in paragraph 1 of this article;

surname, name, patronymic, date and place of birth, citizenship, last known place of residence of the other spouse, as well as education and status in the first or remarriage of the other spouse (indicated at the request of the applicant);

(as amended by Federal Law dated July 23, 2013 N 242-FZ)

details of recording the marriage deed;

the surname chosen by the spouse who wishes to dissolve the marriage;

details of the identity document of the spouse wishing to divorce;

the place of residence of the guardian of the incapacitated spouse or the administrator of the property of the missing spouse or the location of the institution executing the sentence in which the convicted spouse is serving his sentence.

The spouse who wishes to dissolve the marriage signs the application and indicates the date of its preparation.

Simultaneously with the application for divorce, the following must be presented:

a court decision declaring the other spouse missing or incompetent, or a court verdict convicting the other spouse to imprisonment for a term exceeding three years;

identification document of the applicant.

3. State registration of divorce at the request of one of the spouses is carried out in his presence after a month from the date of filing the application for divorce.

4. The civil registry office that has accepted the application for divorce shall notify within three days the spouse serving a sentence, or the guardian of the incapacitated spouse or the property manager of the missing spouse, and in their absence, the guardianship and trusteeship authority about the received application and the date assigned for state registration of divorce.

If a marriage is dissolved with a spouse who is incompetent or sentenced to imprisonment for a term of more than three years, the notice also indicates the need to report, before the date appointed for state registration of the divorce, the surname that he chooses upon dissolution of the marriage.

Article 35. Procedure for state registration of divorce based on a court decision on divorce

1. State registration of divorce on the basis of a court decision is carried out in the civil registry office at the place of state registration of marriage on the basis of an extract from the court decision or at the place of residence of the former spouses (any of them) on the basis of an extract from the court decision and an application from the former spouses (one of them) or an application from the guardian of the incapacitated spouse. An application for state registration of divorce can be made orally or in writing.

(as amended by Federal Law dated April 29, 2002 N 44-FZ)

Simultaneously with the application for state registration of divorce, a court decision on divorce must be submitted and identification documents of the former spouses (one of the spouses) must be presented.

If one of the former spouses registered the divorce with the civil registry office, and the other former spouse applies to the same civil registry office later, information about this former spouse is entered into the previously made entry in the act of divorce.

(paragraph introduced by Federal Law dated April 29, 2002 N 44-FZ)

2. Former spouses (each of the spouses) or the guardian of an incapacitated spouse may, in writing, authorize other persons to make an application for state registration of divorce.

Article 36. Maintaining or changing surnames by spouses after divorce

A spouse who changed his surname upon marriage to another has the right to retain this surname after the divorce, or, at his request, during state registration of divorce, he is assigned a premarital surname.

Article 37. Contents of the record of the act of divorce

1. The following information shall be entered into the record of the act of divorce:

surname (before and after divorce), first name, patronymic, date and place of birth, citizenship, place of residence of each of the persons divorcing the marriage;

(as amended by Federal Law dated July 23, 2013 N 242-FZ)

nationality, education, first or remarriage, and if the spouses have common children who have not reached the age of majority, their number (to be entered at the request of the applicant);

(paragraph introduced by Federal Law dated July 23, 2013 N 242-FZ)

date of compilation, number of the record of the marriage act and the name of the civil registry office in which the state registration of the marriage was carried out;

information about the document that is the basis for state registration of divorce;

date of termination of marriage;

details of identity documents of those who divorced;

series and number of the divorce certificate.

2. The date of termination of marriage in the record of the act of divorce is indicated in accordance with Article 25 and paragraph 3 of Article 169 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation.

Article 38. Certificate of divorce

1. The divorce certificate contains the following information:

surname (before and after divorce), first name, patronymic, date and place of birth, citizenship, nationality (if indicated in the record of the divorce act) of each of the persons divorcing the marriage;

information about the document that is the basis for state registration of divorce;

date of termination of marriage;

date of preparation and record number of the divorce deed;

place of state registration of divorce (name of the civil registry office that carried out the state registration of divorce);

surname, name, patronymic of the person to whom the divorce certificate is issued;

date of issue of the divorce certificate.

2. A certificate of divorce is issued by the civil registry office to each of the persons who divorced the marriage.

The procedure for dissolving a marriage through the registry office

To get a divorce through the registry office by mutual consent, it is enough to come to this organization with your spouse and fill out an application in form No. 8. You need to attach your passports, a receipt for payment of the state duty and the original certificate of your marriage to it.

Filing an application for unilateral divorce is submitted using Form No. 9. In this case, a copy of the court decision confirming the existence of grounds for a unilateral divorce through the registry office is added to the list of required documents.

The application must be submitted to the registry office at the place of registration of either spouse or to the same body that registered your marriage. It is also possible to submit such an application electronically through the State portal.

After the application is accepted, the decision on divorce will be made within one month. After it is issued, a corresponding entry is made in the civil registration book and the spouses are given a certificate of termination of their marriage.

Concept, grounds and procedure for ending a marriage

Let us consider in Table 4 the grounds for ending a marriage through the court or the registry office:

There are 2 more grounds for ending a marriage administratively - death or recognition of one of the spouses as deceased. In the first case, medical certificates are submitted to the registry office, on the basis of which a certificate is issued, in the second - a certified copy of the court decision.

Let's look at the features in more detail.

At the registry office

You can get a divorce through the registry office if there are no common minor children and both spouses agree to the divorce. If there are disputes about jointly acquired property, you can first get a divorce in the registry office, and then divide the property in court - this will significantly save time.

General grounds apply here, and no one asks them at the registry office. Spouses just need to submit a joint application and receive certificates a month later. It is not necessary to come for them together: the divorce is carried out in the presence of one of the spouses (Article 33 of the Federal Law of November 15, 1997 No. 143-FZ “On Civil Status Acts”).

If the marriage is dissolved at the request of one of the spouses on the basis of Art. 19 of the RF IC, you will need documents confirming deprivation of liberty, recognition of the second spouse as incompetent or missing: a verdict or a court decision that has entered into legal force.

In a court

If one of the spouses is against divorce or has common children under 18 years of age, you will have to go to court. The reasons are of secondary importance. Every spouse has the right to divorce, and no one can restrict it.

The only point is the appointment of a conciliation period (Article 22 of the RF IC). Spouses can be given up to three months for reconciliation at the request of the defendant who does not want to divorce. If the conciliation period has expired, but the plaintiff continues to insist on the demands, the court will rule in his favor.

The decision comes into force in a month. Then you need to come to the registry office, submit an application on form No. 12, and receive a certificate on the same day.

Annulment of marriage

Another basis is a court decision declaring the marriage invalid. This is possible if the marriage was concluded without the consent of the man or woman, or when one of them has not reached the age of marriage. A marriage can also be declared invalid:

• if he is registered with a spouse who is already in an official relationship;
• if close relatives, the adoptive parent and the adopted child got married;
• on the wedding day, the husband or wife was declared incompetent due to mental disorders and could not account for their actions;
• if the relationship is registered fictitiously - without the purpose of creating a family (Article 27 of the RF IC).

A minor spouse, his parents, guardianship representatives, a prosecutor, or the spouse himself, whose rights have been violated, have the right to go to court with a claim to declare a marriage invalid (Article 28 of the RF IC).

If the court satisfies the requirements, the marriage does not end, but is declared invalid from the moment of its state registration.

What does not apply to the grounds for ending a marriage?

In family law, the basis for ending a marriage is not the separation of a man and a woman. Even if they have not lived together for a long time, but have not filed for divorce, they are considered legal spouses. Consequently, all property acquired before the divorce is considered jointly acquired. When dividing, you will have to prove that at the time of purchase the parties were no longer living together, and only the one who bought it invested money.

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You might find it useful:

Where to file for divorce

Samples of divorce documents

Divorce lawyer consultation

Registration of dissolution of the union through online services

Art. 35 of Law No. 143-FZ allows filing an application for registration of termination of marriage electronically. To do this, you can use the State Services portal by going to the appropriate section and selecting the option,

most suitable for your case:

• divorce by court decision if there are two applicants;
• judicial divorce on the initiative of one plaintiff;
• simplified divorce through the registry office by mutual consent of the parties.

Next, you need to log in to the portal, fill out the proposed electronic application form, certify it with your simple electronic signature, pay the state fee, wait for the spouse to fill out and certify his copy of the application through the Personal Account (for the first and third options) and visit the registry office on the day assigned to you by the system. On average, registering a divorce through the State Services portal takes no more than 30 days.

If you do not have an electronic signature or registering a divorce through State Services does not suit you for other reasons, you can contact. Please note that the list of services provided by MFCs in different cities of Russia may vary.