posted 18th August 2023
Applying for Divorce When You Do Not Have an Address
You can divorce a spouse whose whereabouts you do not know. It takes longer and involves an extra step, but it is possible.
The application itself
The process is the same as any other divorce application. Since 2022 there is no petition and no need to give a reason beyond the marriage having broken down irretrievably.
Where you do not have a current address, you give the last one you know of.
The difficulty is service, not the application
The other party has to be given the papers and has to acknowledge receiving them. That is the step that stalls where nobody knows where they are.
What the court can permit
Where ordinary service is not possible, you apply to the court for permission to do it another way. The court decides, so none of these is simply a matter of choosing:
- Service at the last known address
- Service on a relative or friend who is still in contact with them
- Service by email, or through a social media account they are known to use
- Service by advertisement, which is rare and generally a last resort
- Dispensing with service altogether, where the court is satisfied nothing further can reasonably be done
You will need to show what you tried
The court expects evidence of reasonable efforts before it permits an alternative. That usually means keeping a record of:
- Letters sent to the last known address and anything returned
- Attempts to contact family members, friends or former employers
- Emails, messages or calls, with dates
- Any search of the electoral roll or tracing service used
- Social media accounts found and any attempt to make contact
Keep it as you go rather than reconstructing it afterwards.
The finances are a separate problem, and a bigger one
This is the part people do not anticipate.
A divorce can proceed without the other party's participation. A financial settlement generally cannot, because it depends on both parties disclosing what they have.
So it is possible to end up divorced with the financial position still entirely open, meaning either party could bring a claim years later. That is an uncomfortable position to be left in, and it is worth taking advice on before the divorce concludes rather than afterwards.
More information
The government guidance is here: File Without Address
If your spouse can be located and the difficulty is getting them to engage rather than finding them, mediation may still be an option.
The first conversation is free and there is no obligation.
