Civil partnership dissolution — the equivalent of divorce

REVIEWED BY: Sean McNamara on 2026-08-29

The legal starting point

Dissolution is the legal process for ending a civil partnership — the direct equivalent of divorce for married couples. Since the Civil Partnerships Act 2004 created civil partnerships, and the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 aligned the two regimes, a civil partnership and a marriage are treated almost identically at the end of the relationship. The process below uses slightly different words but follows the same route and leads to the same outcomes.

How dissolution mirrors divorce

The same court (the Family Court) and the same procedures and forms (applied online or by paper application) govern both.
No-fault is the rule: since April 2022 neither a divorce nor a dissolution requires blame, separating or proving anyone did wrong (see below).
The same grounds timeline applies — the relationship must have broken down and lasted at least 1 year before you can apply to end it.
The same orders and outcomes are available once the partnership is dissolved.

The no-fault process

Since the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 took effect in April 2022, ending a civil partnership is purely no-fault, in four stages:

1. Application — you or your ex applies (or you both apply jointly) citing simply that the partnership has irretrievably broken down. No facts such as adultery, behaviour or desertion are alleged, and there is no "defended" contest over who is to blame. 2. Conditional order — the first order granted. After the application you serve a copy on your partner, wait the minimum period, and ask the court to make a conditional order. 3. Wait — a set period (typically at least 6 weeks) passes so either party can reconsider; this replaces the old announcement of "decree nisi" and the waiting steps. 4. Final order — applied for to end the partnership. This is the dissolution equivalent of the old decree absolute; until it is made you remain formally in a legal partnership.

Financial remedies and children apply the same

Crucially, ending a civil partnership triggers the same financial and child remedies as divorce:

Financial remedies — pension sharing orders, property adjustment orders, periodical payments (maintenance) and lump sums are all available on the same basis, with the same principles of fairness, needs and disclosure applying as in a divorce.
Children — child arrangements orders, child maintenance and Schedule 1 financial provision for children apply identically, because child law is separate from whether you were married or a civil partner.
Consent orders and D81 — a negotiated settlement reached between you can be approved by the court through a consent order (with financial disclosure on form D81), exactly as in divorce.

Terminology differences

The legal language differs only because the law uses "civil partner" instead of "spouse":

Dissolution instead of divorce.
Conditional order instead of decree nisi.
Final order instead of decree absolute.
Civil partner instead of spouse / husband / wife.

Everything that applies to divorce in practice — this site's divorce guides, financial remedy guides and children's guides — applies equally to a dissolution.

Practical steps

1. Check eligibility — you must have been in the partnership for at least 1 year and be applying in England & Wales (or your civil partner be habitually resident here). 2. Decide how to apply — sole or joint application via the gov.uk online divorce/dissolution service; you can also apply by paper. 3. Apply and confirm service — your partner is notified; if you cannot locate or serve them, you may need the court's permission to dispense with service. 4. Claim costs if you wish — the applicant can ask for the other side to pay the application fee, though it is often left as their own cost. 5. Reach a financial settlement — negotiate finances and, ideally, a consent order to make it binding before the final order. 6. Apply for the conditional order, then the final order — waiting the required period between them. Only after the final order is your partnership legally at an end.

Note on separation vs dissolution

Legal separation (unlike dissolution) does not end the partnership — it is a way to obtain court orders on finances and arrangements while remaining formally in a civil partnership, usually selected for religious, cultural or practical reasons. Our separation page covers this option.

Official links

https://www.gov.uk/end-civil-partnership
Apply online: https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-divorce
https://www.gov.uk/money-property-when-relationship-ends

This page is general information, not legal advice. YourFamilyCase.co.uk is an independent information directory and is not affiliated with HMCTS or gov.uk.

Content verified against the official HMCTS court directory, gov.uk forms and fees pages, and the professional body registers (SRA, FMC, Bar Council). Last reviewed September 2026.