Filing for divorce in Orange County: where to file and what happens first?

In Orange County, every divorce petition is filed at the Lamoreaux Justice Center, 341 The City Drive South, Orange. You file a Petition (FL-100) and Summons (FL-110), pay the first-paper fee of $435 or ask for a fee waiver, and then have someone else serve your spouse, who has 30 days to respond. Within 60 days of filing, you also serve your preliminary financial disclosures.

This page covers the first weeks of an Orange County divorce: whether you can file here, where the papers go, what you pay, how your spouse is served and what you must do before anything else happens. The full arc of a case, through custody, support, property and judgment, is on the page explaining how divorce works in California, from filing to final judgment. If your spouse already agrees on everything, a shorter route may fit, and it is set out below.

The rules here are California statewide rules applied by the Superior Court of California, County of Orange. The court's own pages say all dissolution, legal separation and nullity documents must be filed at the Lamoreaux Justice Center only, so a family in Irvine, Newport Beach, Mission Viejo or Anaheim files in the same building.

Can you file in Orange County?

A California court cannot enter a divorce judgment unless one spouse has lived in California for six months and in the county where the case is filed for three months immediately before filing (Fam. Code § 2320(a)). For an Orange County case, that means three months in Orange County. It does not matter where you married. A marriage that was valid where it was contracted is valid in California (Fam. Code § 308), which is why couples married in Tehran or Shiraz file here on the same forms as anyone else; the page on divorcing in California after marrying in Iran covers the documents those couples need.

If neither spouse meets the residency rule yet, the Orange County court's self-help page explains that you can file for legal separation first and amend the petition to ask for divorce once the residency rule is met. There is no residency requirement to start a legal separation.

The court's self-help page adds one warning that matters to Iranian families with relatives abroad: if your spouse lives in another state or another country with any of your children, it suggests talking with an attorney before you file anything, because its pages do not cover interstate and international law.

Filing in Orange County, step by step

1. Choose how to start. There are three starting papers. A regular case starts with a Petition (FL-100) filed by one spouse. Since January 1, 2026, spouses who agree, or plan to agree, on every issue can file one Joint Petition (FL-700) with a Joint Summons (FL-710). Couples who meet every condition in Family Code § 2400 can file a Joint Petition for Summary Dissolution (FL-800). The joint routes are explained on the page about how an agreed divorce works in California.
2. Fill out the forms. For a regular case, the state self-help guide lists the Petition (FL-100) and Summons (FL-110), plus the UCCJEA declaration (FL-105) if you have children under 18. The guide also tells you to read the Summons carefully, because it contains rules you must follow as soon as your case starts. Check whether the court requires any local forms.
3. Make copies. After signing the Petition, make two copies of each form. The court keeps the original.
4. File at Lamoreaux. The Family Law Clerk's Office is on the 7th floor, room 706, open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, except court holidays. A triage clerk checks that your forms are complete and that you are in the right place, then gives you a number. The court also lists electronic filing for family cases on its website. The building and the day itself are described on the page about what to expect at the Lamoreaux Justice Center.
5. Pay the fee or ask for a waiver. The statewide fee schedule effective January 1, 2026 lists $435 for the first paper in a dissolution, legal separation or nullity case, and $435 for the respondent's first paper. The base fee in Government Code § 70670(b) is $355; the schedule's $435 total includes other charges set by statute. The clerk accepts cash, check, credit card or money orders. If you receive public benefits, have a low income, or cannot pay for your household's basic needs and court fees, you can ask the court to waive fees with a Request to Waive Court Fees (FW-001).
6. Have your spouse served. You cannot serve the papers yourself. A server who is 18 or older and not part of the case hands your spouse copies of the filed forms and a blank Response (FL-120). If your spouse is willing, service by mail with a Notice and Acknowledgment of Receipt (FL-117) is possible. The server then completes a Proof of Service of Summons (FL-115), which you file, and the court will not move forward until it is filed.
7. Serve your preliminary disclosures. The petitioner serves a preliminary declaration of disclosure with the petition or within 60 days of filing it (Fam. Code § 2104(f)). It includes every asset and debt, in any country, and the tax returns you filed in the past two years (§ 2104(a), (c)). The disclosure itself is not filed, but proof of service is (§ 2104(b)), on form FL-141.
8. Watch the 30 days. The Summons gives your spouse 30 days to respond. If no Response is filed in time, you can ask the court to proceed by default; the court's page explains that a spouse who refuses to take part cannot stop the case that way.

The rules that start the day you file

The Summons itself carries temporary restraining orders that bind both spouses (Fam. Code § 2040(a)). Neither of you may take the children out of California, or apply for a new or replacement passport for them, without the other's prior written consent or a court order. Neither of you may transfer, hide or dispose of property, community or separate, without written consent or a court order, except in the usual course of business or for the necessities of life. Each spouse must notify the other of proposed extraordinary expenditures at least five business days before making them. Insurance held for the family cannot be cashed in, borrowed against, canceled or have its beneficiaries changed.

For families with ties to Iran, the passport rule deserves attention. A planned summer trip with the children to see grandparents needs the other parent's written consent or a court order once the case is open. If you fear the children will not come back from the trip, the page on how California courts decide custody and visitation explains the orders a judge can make.

What changes the answer?

• Residency. Without six months in California and three months in Orange County, no divorce judgment can be entered (Fam. Code § 2320(a)). Legal separation has no residency rule and can be amended later.
• Whether you both agree. With a Joint Petition (FL-700), both spouses sign and file the same forms and pay one $870 fee, so there is no response to wait for, but no temporary orders can be requested while it stands; a spouse who needs them must first revoke it with a Notice of Revocation (FL-720), according to the state self-help guide.
• Where your spouse lives. In another state, the self-help guide says personal service always works, and mail sent by someone else with a return receipt requested, signed by your spouse, is also allowed. In another country, the rules depend on the country, and the Hague Service Convention may apply. Iran does not appear among the 84 contracting parties on the Hague Conference's status table for that Convention, so service there needs a method planned before filing.
• Children. With children under 18, the UCCJEA declaration (FL-105) is required, and any contested custody request goes to mediation (Fam. Code § 3170(a)). The page on custody mediation in Orange County walks through it.
• Safety. If there has been abuse, a domestic violence restraining order can be requested in the divorce case itself, at no fee (Fam. Code § 6222). The process is on the page explaining how to get a domestic violence restraining order in Orange County.
• Money. Fees can be waived on form FW-001, and temporary child or spousal support can be requested with form FL-300 once the case is open.

A worked example

For example, imagine Shirin, a hypothetical Persian-speaking pharmacist who lives in Laguna Niguel. She and her husband married in Isfahan, moved to Orange County two years ago, and have a nine-year-old daughter. Her husband has moved to a rented apartment in Irvine and says he will "sign whatever", but they have not discussed the house or their accounts in Iran.

Shirin has lived in California and in Orange County for more than six months, so § 2320 is met. Because they have not agreed on property, a Joint Petition would be premature: it requires agreement by the end, and she expects to need temporary child support. She fills out the Petition, Summons and UCCJEA declaration, makes two copies, and files at the 7th floor clerk's office at Lamoreaux, paying $435. Her sister, who is over 18 and not a party, hands the papers and a blank Response to her husband in Irvine and completes the Proof of Service, which Shirin files.

The Summons orders bind Shirin as well as her husband: she cannot move money out of their joint account to her mother in Iran or get her daughter a new passport without her husband's written consent or a court order. Within 60 days she serves her preliminary disclosure, listing the Laguna Niguel house, their accounts in California and the apartment in Isfahan registered in her husband's name. How that apartment is treated is a separate question, explained on the page about property in Iran in a California divorce. When her husband responds within 30 days and agrees to a parenting schedule, the case can still end by written agreement, without a trial.

Common mistakes in the first weeks

• Filing at the wrong courthouse. Orange County accepts divorce, legal separation and nullity papers only at the Lamoreaux Justice Center, not at the Harbor or Central Justice Centers.
• Serving the papers yourself. The self-help guide is clear that a petitioner cannot serve their own papers, and the court waits for a filed Proof of Service.
• Forgetting the blank Response. The server must hand over a blank Response (FL-120) with the filed papers.
• Moving money or traveling after filing. The Summons orders bind both spouses (Fam. Code § 2040(a)), including the five-business-day notice for extraordinary expenditures.
• Leaving property in Iran off the disclosure. The preliminary declaration lists all assets and debts regardless of whether they are community, quasi-community or separate (§ 2104(c)(1)), and perjury on it may be grounds to set aside the judgment (§ 2104(a)).
• Filing a Joint Petition without real agreement. The self-help guide says not to file one if you do not think you will be able to agree on everything.

What to do this week

1. Write down the date you moved to California and the date you moved to Orange County, and check the six-month and three-month rule.
2. Find your marriage certificate or Iranian marriage contract, and order a sworn English translation if it is in Persian.
3. Decide whether you need temporary orders for custody or support, because that rules out the joint route for now.
4. Gather two years of tax returns and statements for every account and property, in California and abroad, for the preliminary disclosure.
5. Decide who will serve your spouse, and where; if your spouse is in Iran, plan the method before filing.
6. Check whether you qualify for a fee waiver and, if so, prepare form FW-001.
7. Read about the attorney on the about page.
8. Book a first meeting through the contact page before you file, not after.

Frequently asked questions

Can I file my Orange County divorce online?

The Orange County court lists Family Law eFiling on its website, and the state self-help guide says some courts accept electronic filing. The papers still belong to the Lamoreaux Justice Center case, and the clerk's office remains the in-person filing point.

How much does it cost to file for divorce in Orange County?

The statewide fee schedule effective January 1, 2026 lists $435 for the petition and $435 for the response. A Joint Petition costs $870 and covers both spouses. People who qualify can ask for a fee waiver on form FW-001.

Does my spouse have to sign anything for the divorce to start?

No. One spouse can file alone, and the Orange County court explains that a spouse who does not want the divorce cannot stop it by refusing to take part; non-participation may lead to a default judgment instead.

What happens if my spouse does not respond within 30 days?

You can ask the court to enter a default with a Request to Enter Default (FL-165). The case then moves toward a default judgment, and the Orange County court notes that a defaulted spouse is essentially waiving the right to have a say in the settlement.

When does the six-month waiting period start?

From the date your spouse is served with the summons and petition, or the date your spouse first appears in the case, whichever comes first (Fam. Code § 2339(a)). With a Joint Petition, the state information sheet says the earliest divorce date is six months and one day after filing. The full timeline is on the page about how long a California divorce takes.

Can I get custody or support orders right after filing?

Yes, in a regular case. File a Request for Order (FL-300) to get a hearing date; the statewide fee for a family law motion is $60. For a true emergency about children, the Orange County court holds ex parte hearings each day at 8:30 a.m., after at least 24 hours' notice to the other parent unless notice would cause immediate danger or harm.

Can I ask for a Persian interpreter at Lamoreaux?

Yes. The Orange County court provides free interpreters in family law cases about custody or visitation and in domestic violence cases, and in other family matters as resources permit. Ask the courtroom before the hearing, or tell the staff member at the clerk's office or Self-Help Center.

The Law Office of Sourena Sarbazevatan represents people in Orange County and San Diego in divorce matters, in English and Persian (Farsi). Call (949) 591-9596 or use the contact page.