Ohio Divorce & Dissolution Cost Calculator
Ohio has no single statewide filing fee — each county’s Clerk of Courts sets its own, and they run roughly $150 to $475. This estimator uses filing fees we verified from official county sources (Franklin, Cuyahoga, Hamilton, Summit, and Montgomery), or your own county’s fee if you enter it, then adds the optional costs you choose.
What actually drives the cost up
Disagreement is the big one. The filing fee is the same whether a divorce is friendly or fought — but a contested case adds attorney fees (often several thousand dollars per spouse), extra motion filings, mediation, custody evaluations, and court-reporter costs. Every issue you and your spouse settle yourselves is money saved.
Children add required steps. Cases with minor children carry higher filing fees in most counties and a mandatory parenting seminar for both parents.
Service can get expensive. If your spouse can’t be found, service by publication in a newspaper costs far more than sheriff or certified-mail service.
Franklin County note: its $225 dissolution / $275 divorce figures are the filing deposit (security for costs) set by the court’s Local Rule 2 — the amount due when you file. It already includes the court’s computer, legal-aid, special-project, and parenting-seminar fees. Montgomery County note: the clerk adds a 3% convenience fee to e-filed cases. If you cannot afford the filing fee, every Ohio court can consider a poverty affidavit (fee waiver) — ask the clerk.
How this estimator works
The estimate starts with the filing fee for your case type. A dissolution and a divorce are different filings: in a dissolution both spouses petition together with a complete agreement, while in a divorce one spouse files and the other must be formally served. Whether minor children are involved changes the fee in most counties. For the five counties in the picker — Franklin, Cuyahoga, Hamilton, Summit, and Montgomery — the fee comes from tables verified on official county sources in October 2026. For any other county, the estimator uses the fee you enter, because the remaining counties’ fees were not verified from an official source and are not guessed here.
On top of the filing fee, the estimator adds only the optional costs you enter: service of process, a parenting-class fee multiplied by the number of parents who must attend, and certified copies priced by the page. A contested divorce uses the same filing fee as an uncontested one, so the total shown for a contested case is the known court-cost floor, not a prediction — attorney fees and the other costs described above are what push a contested case higher, and they vary too much to estimate responsibly.
Worked examples. A dissolution in Franklin County with no minor children costs $225.00 in court fees — the filing deposit is the only charge. An uncontested divorce in Franklin County with no children, using the sheriff for personal service inside the county, comes to $275 for the filing deposit plus $30 for service, or $305.00. A divorce in Cuyahoga County with minor children has a filing fee of $300 before any add-ons.
Filing fees in the five verified counties
| County | Dissolution, no children | Dissolution, with children | Divorce, no children | Divorce, with children |
| Franklin | $225 | $225 | $275 | $275 |
| Cuyahoga | $150 | $200 | $200 | $300 |
| Hamilton | $325 | $375 | $325 | $375 |
| Summit | $370 | $400 | $370 | $420 |
| Montgomery | $300 | $400 | $375 | $475 |
Franklin County’s figures are the filing deposit set by Local Rule 2, and the same deposit applies with or without children because the parenting-seminar fee is already included in it. Montgomery County’s clerk adds a 3% convenience fee to e-filed cases, which is not included in the table. Fees in the other 83 Ohio counties are set by their own Clerks of Courts — most fall between $200 and $400.
How to use this estimator
- Choose how the marriage is ending — dissolution, uncontested divorce, or contested divorce — and whether minor children are involved.
- Pick your filing county from the five verified counties, or choose “Another county” and enter the fee from your Clerk of Courts.
- Add any optional costs that apply: service of process for a divorce, a parenting-class fee if your county charges one separately, and certified copies of the decree.
- Press “Estimate my court costs” for an itemized breakdown and total.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to file for divorce in Ohio?
There is no single statewide fee — each county’s Clerk of Courts sets its own. In the five counties verified for this tool, filing fees run from $150 (a Cuyahoga County dissolution without children) to $475 (a Montgomery County divorce with children). Most Ohio counties fall between $200 and $400.
How much does an uncontested divorce cost in Ohio?
If nothing is disputed, the filing fee is usually the main court cost, plus service of process in a divorce. A dissolution is typically the cheapest route because both spouses file together and no service is needed — $225 in Franklin County, for example. Attorney fees, if you hire one, are separate.
What are the dissolution filing fees by county?
Among the verified counties: Franklin $225 with or without children, Cuyahoga $150 without children and $200 with, Hamilton $325 without children and $375 with, Summit $370 without children and $400 with, and Montgomery $300 without children and $400 with. The full table is above.
Why does a contested divorce cost so much more?
The filing fee is identical — what changes is everything around it. Contested cases add attorney fees for both spouses, extra motion filings, mediation, and sometimes custody evaluations or court-reporter costs. Those items, not the court’s fee, are what carry a contested case into the thousands of dollars.
Can the filing fee be waived if I can’t afford it?
Yes, it can be considered. Every Ohio court can review a poverty affidavit (fee waiver) for a filer who cannot afford the deposit. Ask the Clerk of Courts’ domestic relations desk about the form before you file.
Which county do I file in?
You file in the county where you or your spouse lives. If your county is not one of the five verified counties in the picker, find its current fee on your Clerk of Courts website and enter it in the estimator.
Sources: drj.fccourts.org (Franklin County Domestic Relations Court Local Rule 2); cuyahogacounty.gov Clerk of Courts, Filing Fees/Court Costs; hamiltoncountyohio.gov Domestic Relations Court filing guides; clerkweb.summitoh.net; mcclerkofcourts.org, Filing Costs & Fees. Verified October 31, 2026.
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