How much does a divorce cost
How much a divorce costs in Serbia: court fees, the lawyer's fee schedule and other costs of an agreed and a contested divorce, explained in plain language.
What goes into the total cost
The cost of a divorce consists of the court fee, a possible lawyer's fee, and, in a smaller number of cases, the cost of expert evaluation or notarial certification. The court fee is independent of which route is chosen - a single fee in the same amount is paid for both the agreed petition and the claim, based on the value of the dispute that the law fixes for marital disputes. The fee amount changes from time to time with amendments to the Law on Court Fees, so it is worth checking immediately before filing.
The biggest difference between the two routes is not the fee, but the extent of the lawyer's involvement. In an agreed divorce with no dispute over children or property, the fee under the tariff is tied to a single hearing and drafting the agreement, so it is predictable in advance. In a divorce by claim, the fee depends on the number of hearings, the reconciliation and settlement phase, any expert evaluation, and the possibility of an appeal - each additional step increases the total cost, so the upper limit cannot be reliably determined without reviewing the specific case file.
The fee for a single act by the lawyer, for example drafting the claim or attending a hearing, can also be checked with the attorney fee calculator. How the proceedings run and where the petition or claim is filed is described on the page Divorce proceedings.
Additional costs arise only in special situations: expert evaluation when the value of property is disputed or a psychological assessment concerning the child is needed, and notarial certification if the property-division agreement requires it.
Agreed divorce or divorce by claim: cost and duration
| Agreed divorce (petition) | Divorce by claim | |
|---|---|---|
| Court fee on the petition / claim | RSD 3,600, one fee for both spouses (Tariff No. 1, note 1) | RSD 3,600, paid by the claimant |
| Court fee on the judgment | RSD 3,600 | RSD 3,600 |
| Lawyer: drafting the petition / claim | RSD 27,500 (550 points) | RSD 27,500 (550 points) |
| Lawyer: hearing held | RSD 32,500 (650 points), as a rule one | RSD 32,500 per hearing; adjourned hearing RSD 18,750 (375 points) |
| Lawyer: appeal or response to appeal | rare, because a judgment based on an agreement can be challenged only exceptionally (Art. 227 of the Family Act) | RSD 55,000 (1,100 points), if an appeal is filed |
| Number of lawyers | the spouses cannot share the same representative (Art. 221 para. 3 of the Family Act), so either two fees or one | as a rule each side has its own |
| Duration | often a single hearing; with minor children the first hearing within 15 days and as a rule no more than two hearings (Art. 204 of the Family Act) | reconciliation up to two months (Art. 239), settlement up to two months (Art. 246), then the main hearing; the law sets no overall time limit |
The cost of an agreed divorce is therefore predictable: RSD 7,200 in fees for the couple, plus RSD 60,000 per lawyer engaged if the fee is calculated under the tariff without a discount. A divorce by claim has no upper limit in advance, because every hearing, expert evaluation and legal remedy adds an item; realistically count on the claim and at least two hearings (reconciliation and settlement are separate hearings), so even with one lawyer the starting amount exceeds RSD 90,000, before any expert evaluation or appeal. Reconciliation and settlement are not carried out if one spouse does not consent, if their whereabouts are unknown or if they live abroad (Art. 230 of the Family Act), which shortens the proceedings but does not change the tariff.
The court fee for divorce: how it is calculated
The fee is not based on the spouses' actual assets but on a value of the dispute fixed by law: for disputes over divorce, annulment and validity of marriage it is RSD 20,000 (Art. 27 para. 1 item 8 of the Law on Court Fees). Tariff No. 1 is applied to that value: for a value over RSD 10,000 up to RSD 100,000 the fee is RSD 2,800 plus 4% of the value, that is 2,800 + 800 = RSD 3,600. When the spouses seek a divorce by agreement, one fee for the claim is paid (Tariff No. 1, note 1), not one each. The same fee, RSD 3,600, is paid for the first-instance judgment (Tariff No. 2), regardless of whether the judgment has become final (Tariff No. 2, note 1). When child or spousal support is claimed together with the divorce, only one fee is charged, by the value set for the divorce dispute (Art. 27), and a person claiming statutory support is exempt from the fee (Art. 9 para. 1).
When and how it is paid: the fee obligation for the claim arises at the close of the preliminary hearing or the first hearing of the main trial, and for the judgment on the day it is announced or served (Art. 3). The court serves a payment order with the amount, account and deadline (Art. 37); the fee is paid within eight days of the obligation arising (Art. 4). Anyone who still does not pay after the order pays a penalty fee of 50% on top (Art. 40). A spouse whose social security would be jeopardised by paying can ask for an exemption, by a motion before the hearing closes, with a certificate of financial status no older than six months (Arts. 10 and 11). The fee on an appeal against the judgment is paid separately and equals the fee for the claim, RSD 3,600 (item 1 para. 4).
The lawyer's fee for a divorce under the tariff
A divorce dispute has no assessable value, so the fee does not depend on the spouses' assets. The Tariff on Attorneys' Fees and Costs provides 550 points for a claim or petition in a divorce dispute (item 14), which at the point value of RSD 50 gives RSD 27,500. Representation at a hearing that is held carries the same fee as the claim plus 100 points for each hour begun, so a hearing of up to one hour carries 650 points or RSD 32,500 in total; attending a hearing that is adjourned carries half the claim fee plus the same 100 points, 375 points or RSD 18,750 (item 15). An appeal and a response to an appeal carry the fee increased by 100%, 1,100 points or RSD 55,000 (item 16). Drafting the agreements on parental rights and on the division of property is part of drafting the petition when the same lawyer writes them; a stand-alone property-division agreement of higher value may be charged as drafting a contract with an assessable value (item 75), so ask about that in advance.
The lawyer must issue an itemised bill, and by written agreement the fee may be lower than the tariff, by up to 50%. If both sides have a lawyer, each pays their own; the court decides in the judgment who ultimately bears the costs, and in marital disputes it often splits them.
Worked example
A worked example is given in the example field above - it covers an uncontested agreed divorce, as well as the approximate effect of additional hearings in a divorce by claim. The specific amount in each case depends on whether there is a dispute, how many hearings are needed, and whether the parties engage one lawyer or two.
Sources
- Law on Court Fees (Zakon o sudskim taksama, Official Gazette RS Nos. 28/94 ... 95/2018 and 91/2025), Arts. 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 27 para. 1 item 8, 37 and 40, Tariff No. 1 (note 1) and Tariff No. 2 (note 1)
- Worked example of the fee after the 2025 amendments: a value of RSD 20,000 gives RSD 2,800 + 4% = RSD 3,600 (mondo.rs, "Kolike sudske takse će Srbi plaćati ubuduće")
- Family Act (Porodični zakon, Official Gazette RS Nos. 18/2005, 72/2011 - other law, 6/2015 and 109/2025 - other law), Arts. 204, 221, 227, 230, 239 and 246
- Tariff on Attorneys' Fees and Costs (Official Gazette RS Nos. 43/2023 and 56/2025), items 14, 15, 16 and 75
- Tariff on Attorneys' Fees and Costs, tabular overview applied from 5 July 2025 (divorce: submission RSD 27,500, hearing RSD 32,500)
What it costs
| Item | Amount | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Court fee on the claim or petition for divorce | 3,600 RSD (2,800 RSD plus 4% of the statutory value of the dispute of 20,000 RSD set for marital disputes) - the same for both agreed and contested divorce. A fee of the same amount is paid for the first-instance judgment. | Law on Court Fees, Art. 27 para. 1 item 8, Tariff No. 1 (note 1) and Tariff No. 2, as amended in 2025 ('Sl. glasnik RS', no. 91/2025) |
| Lawyer's fee for drafting the petition/claim and representation | Under the current attorneys' tariff, 27,500 RSD for drafting the petition (550 points × 50 RSD per point) and 32,500 RSD for one held hearing in an agreed divorce. In a divorce by claim, the fee increases for each additional hearing and for special actions (response to the claim, appeal, expert evaluation), so the total amount depends on the scope of the dispute and the agreement with the lawyer. | Attorneys' Fee Schedule (Tarifa o nagradama i naknadama troškova za rad advokata) (Bar Association of Serbia); point value of 50 RSD, applied from 5 July 2025. |
| Cost of expert evaluation, if the value of property is disputed or a psychological evaluation concerning the child is needed | Depends on the type of evaluation. Ask the specific expert or institution for an indicative price. | The cost is, as a rule, advanced by the party who requested the evaluation; the court makes the final allocation according to the outcome of the dispute. |
| Certification of the joint property-division agreement before a notary public, if the parties choose this or the content of the agreement requires it | Depends on the value of the property being divided. A notary public can give the specific amount under the current notarial tariff. | Notarial tariff |
Worked example
Spouses with no dispute over children or property choose an agreed divorce. They pay a single court fee on the petition in the amount of 3,600 RSD, since in an agreed divorce only one fee is charged regardless of the fact that the petition is filed jointly, and then a fee of the same amount for the judgment. If each of them hires a lawyer to draft the agreement and represent them at the hearing, the fee under the current attorneys' tariff is 27,500 RSD for drafting the petition and 32,500 RSD for the hearing, 60,000 RSD in total per lawyer, though the lawyer and the client can agree on a lower amount, since the tariff allows a discount of up to 50%. If only one spouse has a representative and the other represents themselves, the couple's total cost comes down to the fees of 2 x 3,600 RSD plus one lawyer's fee. In a divorce by claim with, for example, three hearings and a disputed child-support issue, the fee rises in proportion to the number of hearings, so the upper limit of the cost cannot be determined in advance - an indicative estimate for the specific case is given by the lawyer after reviewing the file.
FAQ
Who pays the court fee in an agreed divorce?
In an agreed divorce, a single fee is paid on the petition. The law does not prescribe that it must be paid by one particular spouse - that is a matter for their mutual agreement.
Is it possible to be exempted from paying the court fee?
The Law on Court Fees allows an exemption from paying the fee for a person whose financial position would be jeopardized by paying it, based on a certificate of financial status that the court assesses in each individual case.
Is a separate fee charged for a child-support claim filed together with the divorce?
Not separately. When a child-support claim is raised together with the divorce, only one fee is charged, based on the value of the dispute set for divorce.
Who ultimately bears the costs of proceedings in a divorce by claim?
The court decides on the allocation of costs according to the outcome of the dispute and the special rules for marital disputes. In practice, costs are often split, or borne by the party whose claim was rejected in its predominant part; a realistic assessment of the actual allocation for a given case can only be made by the lawyer handling the proceedings.
How much does an agreed divorce cost?
For the couple: RSD 3,600 in fees on the joint petition and RSD 3,600 on the judgment, RSD 7,200 in total, without a lawyer. If one or both spouses engage a lawyer, the tariff adds RSD 27,500 for drafting the petition and RSD 32,500 for the hearing, RSD 60,000 per lawyer, with the option of agreeing a lower amount by up to 50%. The same lawyer cannot represent both spouses.
How much does a divorce claim cost?
The claim itself as a filing: RSD 3,600 in court fees (the value of the dispute for divorce is fixed by law at RSD 20,000) and, if a lawyer drafts it, RSD 27,500 under the tariff. After that, every hearing held carries RSD 32,500 in lawyer's fees, an adjourned one RSD 18,750, and an appeal RSD 55,000, so the total cost of a contested divorce depends on how much is disputed over the children and property.