Filing for divorce
View connections →A marriage can be dissolved by a court decision, i.e. a divorce. A divorce application is made in the OmaTuomioistuin service or in writing.
Published by: The Judiciary · Government organisation
Description language: English
Coverage: All Finland
About this service
Description
A marriage may be dissolved by a court decision, i.e. by divorce. A divorce may be granted after a six-month cooling-off period or after the spouses have lived apart for the last two years without interruption. When considering a divorce, the court does not examine the reasons for the divorce application. The application for divorce is filed with the district court of either spouse’s municipality of residence via the OmaTuomioistuin e-service. If you cannot use the OmaTuomioistuin e-service, you must file your divorce application in writing, for example on an application form. You can submit a written application to the registry of the district court or send it to the district court by post or email. The application may be made by the spouses jointly or separately. If only one spouse is the applicant, the district court will serve the application on the other spouse and give him or her an opportunity to express his or her views on the application in writing. A registered partnership may also be dissolved by a decision of the district court. The same provisions apply to the dissolution of a registered partnership as to divorce.
How to use it
### Instructions for applying for divorce through the OmaTuomioistuin service: 1. Go to the e-service at omatuomioistuin.fi and log in with strong identification. 2. After logging in, you must then register the OmaTuomioistuin service as your procedural address. This will ensure that you receive all relevant messages in the service. At the same time, you must also provide an email address to which you want to receive notifications of new messages arriving in the service. 3. Fill in the application for divorce in the e-service and send it electronically via the service to the district court of either spouse's municipality of residence. ### If you cannot use the MyCourt service, you must file your divorce application in writing: 1. Fill in the application form according to the instructions, for example, using a ready-made pdf form. 2. Submit the application to the district court of the place of residence of either spouse in person, by post or by email. 3. An application submitted electronically does not need to be signed if the identity of the sender is not in doubt.