Ending a civil partnership: how dissolution works

Ending a civil partnership is called dissolution. In England and Wales you apply online on GOV.UK, alone or together, once you've been civil partners for more than a year. The fee is £628. Nobody has to be blamed: since 6 April 2022 the law has been the same no-fault process as divorce, with a 20-week wait before the conditional order and 6 more weeks before the final order ends the partnership.

What dissolution means

A civil partnership is a legal relationship registered between two people, and it can only be ended by a court. GOV.UK calls this ending a civil partnership, and the court's order is a dissolution order (GOV.UK). You can apply once you've been in the civil partnership for over a year. If you want to separate formally without ending it, you can apply for a legal separation instead, including during the first year.

Since 6 April 2022, the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 has removed the need to prove any reason. You, or both of you together, make a statement that the civil partnership has broken down irretrievably, and the court must treat that statement as conclusive (Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, s3). There's no need to describe behaviour or a period of separation, and your partner can't contest it because they don't want it to end. Our guide to no-fault divorce explains the reform in more detail; everything in it applies to civil partnerships too.

How to apply, step by step

You can apply online on GOV.UK or by post. You can apply together if you both agree the partnership should end and neither of you is at risk of domestic abuse. You apply alone if your partner doesn't agree, or you don't think they'll cooperate or respond to the court (GOV.UK).

1. Apply. Make the statement of irretrievable breakdown and pay the fee. If you apply alone, the court sends a copy to your partner, so you'll need their current address or email.
2. Wait 20 weeks. You must wait 20 weeks after the application is issued before applying for a conditional order (GOV.UK). The wait is there to give you time to reflect and to sort out money and arrangements for any children.
3. Get the conditional order. This confirms the court sees no reason the partnership can't end. You're still legally civil partners at this point.
4. Wait 6 weeks, then apply for the final order. You must wait 6 weeks after the conditional order, and should apply within 12 months of it (GOV.UK).
5. The final order ends the civil partnership. Keep it safe: you'll need it to marry or form a new civil partnership.

If your partner applied and hasn't gone on to apply for the final order, you can apply yourself, but you have to wait 3 months and 6 weeks after the conditional order. If your money isn't settled yet, get advice before anyone applies for the final order, especially if there are pensions. Our guide to getting a divorce step by step walks through the same stages in more detail.

Fees and timings

The court fee to apply for a dissolution is £628, the same as for divorce. It rose from £612 on 13 July 2026 (GOV.UK). When we checked on 25 October 2026, one GOV.UK civil partnership page still showed the old figure, so confirm the amount when you pay. If you're on a low income or certain benefits and have little in savings, Help with Fees can reduce or cover it; for a joint application, you both have to qualify. Our guide to help with court fees explains how to apply, and our court fees table lists the other family court fees.

The divorce timeline calculator works for civil partnerships too: enter the date you apply to see the earliest date for each order.

Money and property

Ending a civil partnership doesn't by itself sort out your finances. GOV.UK is clear that when you divorce or end a civil partnership, you need to agree how to separate your finances, and that an agreement should be made into a consent order to be legally binding (GOV.UK). The court has the same powers as in a divorce, and it weighs the same factors: your needs, incomes, contributions, the length of the relationship and, above all, the welfare of any children.

One thing to raise with your adviser is how long you've really been together. Many same-sex couples lived together for years before they could formalise their relationship. How that earlier time is treated depends on the facts, so get advice if it affects how much there is to share.

Our guides to splitting money and property, the house, pensions and consent orders apply to civil partners in full.

Same-sex married couples

If you're married, you end the marriage by divorce, not dissolution, whatever your genders. Same-sex couples have been able to marry in England and Wales since 29 March 2014 (ONS). The process, fee and waits are the same as described above.

Under the old fault-based law, adultery could only be committed with a person of the opposite sex, so it was never available to same-sex couples as a reason (Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, schedule 4), and civil partners could never rely on it at all. Since 6 April 2022 that no longer matters, because nobody has to give a reason.

The ONS recorded 2,123 same-sex divorces in 2025, the highest since they began. The median same-sex marriage ending in divorce had lasted 7.5 years for male couples and 6.6 years for female couples, while same-sex civil partnerships ending in dissolution had lasted 13.6 to 13.7 years (ONS).

Opposite-sex civil partners

Opposite-sex couples have been able to form civil partnerships in England and Wales since 31 December 2019, when 167 couples registered on the first day (ONS). Ending one works in exactly the same way. Opposite-sex dissolutions have risen from 2 in 2021 to 270 in 2025, and the median opposite-sex civil partnership ending in 2025 had lasted 3.7 years (ONS).

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Civil partnerships registered in Scotland or Northern Ireland are ended under that nation's law, through its own courts. The rules there are different from England and Wales.

In Scotland, the grounds are set out in section 117 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (legislation.gov.uk). There's a cheaper do-it-yourself procedure if you rely on separation, have no children under 16 and have nothing about money left to decide (Scottish Courts and Tribunals). In Northern Ireland, adultery isn't a ground for civil partners, and you can't apply in the first two years (nidirect). Our guides to divorce in Scotland and divorce in Northern Ireland cover fees, courts and how money is divided there.

Children in two-mum and two-dad families

Ending your relationship doesn't change who your child's legal parents are, or who has parental responsibility. The question is who is a legal parent in the first place, and that depends on how your child joined the family. It's worth checking now, before you agree any arrangements.

Two mums: the second female parent

If you were married or in a civil partnership when your partner had fertility treatment, you'll be treated as your child's legal parent, unless it's shown you didn't consent to the treatment. If you weren't married or civil partners, you're not automatically a legal parent: at a UK licensed clinic, you both had to sign legal parenthood consent forms before the treatment (HFEA). A second female parent who isn't a civil partner or spouse gets parental responsibility by being registered on the birth certificate, by a formal agreement with the birth mother, or by a court order (Children Act 1989, s4ZA). If you conceived outside a licensed clinic and weren't married or civil partners, get advice, because you may not be a legal parent.

Two dads: surrogacy and parental orders

If your child was born through surrogacy, the surrogate is the legal parent at birth. You become the legal parents through a parental order, which you must apply for within 6 months of the birth. One of you must be genetically related to the child; if neither of you is, adoption is the only route (GOV.UK). If a parental order was never made, the surrogate is still a legal parent and one or both of you may not be, so take advice from a family solicitor before you separate formally.

Adoption

If you adopted together, you are both your child's legal parents, and that doesn't change when your relationship ends.

Arrangements after you separate

From there, child arrangements and child maintenance work exactly as they do for any separating parents. The court only becomes involved if you can't agree, and the child's welfare comes first. Our guides to child arrangements, telling your children and co-parenting apply to every family.

Support for LGBT+ people

A break-up can be isolating, especially if family support has been patchy or your friendships overlap with your ex's. These services are specifically for LGBT+ people:

• Galop runs the national helpline for LGBT+ people experiencing abuse and violence, including domestic abuse. It's free on 0800 999 5428 or [email protected], open Monday and Tuesday 9.15am to 8pm and Wednesday to Friday 9.15am to 4.30pm (Galop).
• Switchboard LGBT+ offers a confidential listening service on 0800 0119 100, from 10am to 10pm every day (Switchboard LGBT+).

When you look for a solicitor or mediator, it's reasonable to ask whether they've worked with same-sex couples and families like yours, particularly on parentage. We can introduce you to family solicitors and mediators, or you can browse experts near you.

Common questions

Sources

1. GOV.UK, End a civil partnership
2. GOV.UK, End a civil partnership: before you apply
3. GOV.UK, End a civil partnership: apply for a conditional order
4. GOV.UK, End a civil partnership: apply for a final order
5. GOV.UK, Court and tribunal fees: updates from July 2026
6. legislation.gov.uk, Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, section 3
7. GOV.UK, Money and property when you divorce or separate
8. Office for National Statistics, Divorces and dissolutions in England and Wales: 2024 and 2025 (September 2026)
9. Office for National Statistics, Civil partnerships in England and Wales: 2019
10. Office for National Statistics, Ages at divorce from 1950 to present (freedom of information response)
11. legislation.gov.uk, Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, schedule 4
12. legislation.gov.uk, Civil Partnership Act 2004, section 117 (Scotland)
13. Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, Simplified (do it yourself) procedure
14. nidirect, Getting a divorce or dissolving a civil partnership
15. Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, Becoming the legal parents of your child
16. legislation.gov.uk, Children Act 1989, section 4ZA
17. GOV.UK, Surrogacy: legal rights of parents and surrogates
18. Galop, Helpline
19. Switchboard LGBT+

Keep reading

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws, fees and figures change, so check the sources above and speak to a qualified professional about your situation. Facts checked 25 October 2026.