Consent Order in Divorce: Your Complete Guide for England and Wales

When you and your spouse agree how to divide your finances after divorce, a consent order turns that agreement into a legally enforceable court order. Without one, your ex could come back years later and make a financial claim against you — even after you have both moved on. This guide explains exactly what a consent order is, how to get one in England and Wales, how much it costs, and what happens if you skip it.

What Is a Consent Order in Divorce?

A consent order is a legal document, approved by a judge, that records how you and your spouse have agreed to divide your finances on divorce. Once sealed by the court, it becomes legally binding on you both.

It can cover virtually every financial matter that arises from the breakdown of a marriage, including:

• Who keeps the family home, or how and when it will be sold
• How savings, investments, and bank accounts are divided
• How pensions are split (through a pension sharing order or pension offsetting)
• Whether one spouse pays maintenance to the other — and for how long
• How any joint debts are dealt with

Crucially, a consent order is not the same as a divorce order (formerly called a decree absolute). The divorce itself ends your marriage. The consent order ends your financial ties. Many people confuse the two, but they are separate legal steps — and you need both to achieve a truly clean break.

You can apply for a consent order once your divorce application has been issued and you have received the conditional order (formerly decree nisi). You cannot make it final until the conditional order has been granted.

A common variant is a clean break order, which not only divides existing assets but also extinguishes any future financial claims either of you could make against the other. This is often the preferred outcome for couples who want complete financial independence after divorce.

It is worth noting that the rules described here apply in England and Wales. Scotland has its own family law system, so if you are based there, a different process applies — you can read more in our guide to decree of divorce in Scotland.

Why Do You Need a Consent Order? The Risks of Going Without One

Many divorcing couples reach an informal agreement about money and property, shake hands on it, and move on. This feels practical — but it can be a costly mistake.

Without a sealed consent order, your financial ties to your ex-spouse remain open indefinitely. Under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, either of you can make a financial claim against the other at any point after divorce — even decades later. This is sometimes called a "Wyatt v Vince" risk, after a 2015 Supreme Court case in which a woman successfully brought a financial claim 23 years after her divorce.

The risks are real and significant:

• Inheritance: If you remarry and later die, your ex could potentially make a claim against your estate.
• Lottery wins and windfalls: A large inheritance or business success years down the line could attract a claim from your former spouse.
• Property disputes: Without a clear court order, disagreements about who owns what — particularly the family home — can lead to expensive litigation.
• Pension claims: Your ex retains the right to claim a share of your pension even years after the divorce.

A consent order closes all of these doors. Once it is sealed and any clean break clause is included, neither of you can bring further financial claims. That certainty is invaluable.

Even if your finances are relatively straightforward — perhaps you have no property and modest savings — a consent order is still strongly advisable. The cost of obtaining one is small compared with the potential cost of a future dispute. We look at the specific costs in a later section of this guide.

What Can (and Cannot) Be Included in a Consent Order?

A consent order in England and Wales can cover a wide range of financial matters. Understanding what it can include helps you make sure nothing is left unresolved.

What can be included:

• The family home: Transfer of ownership to one spouse, an order for sale, or a deferred sale (for example, until the youngest child reaches 18). You can read more about how the home is typically dealt with in our article on what happens to the house in a divorce.
• Other property: Buy-to-let properties, holiday homes, or land.
• Savings and investments: Bank accounts, ISAs, stocks and shares, and cash savings.
• Pensions: Pension sharing orders, pension attachment orders, or pension offsetting arrangements.
• Spousal maintenance: Regular payments from one spouse to the other, either for a fixed term or on a joint lives basis.
• Lump sum payments: One-off capital payments from one spouse to the other.
• Business interests: A share of a business or company assets.
• Debts: Who takes responsibility for joint loans, credit cards, or mortgages.

What cannot be included:

• Child maintenance: This is handled separately through the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) or a separate child arrangements order. A consent order cannot oust the CMS's jurisdiction, though a short-term agreement on child maintenance can be included for the first 12 months.
• Child arrangements: Contact and living arrangements for children are dealt with through a separate child arrangements order if you cannot agree.

Both spouses must give full and frank financial disclosure before a consent order is drafted. If one party conceals assets, the court can set the order aside at a later date — so honesty is not just a moral obligation; it is a legal one.

How to Get a Consent Order: Step by Step

Obtaining a consent order involves several steps. The process is not as complicated as many people fear, but it does require care and attention to detail.

1. Reach an agreement. Both spouses must agree on how finances will be divided. This can be done directly between you, through mediation, or with the help of solicitors. Neither party can be forced to sign a consent order — it must be genuinely consensual.
2. Get legal advice. It is strongly recommended that both parties take independent legal advice before signing. A solicitor can confirm that the agreement is fair and that you understand what you are agreeing to. This also reduces the risk of the order being challenged later on grounds of duress or misunderstanding.
3. Draft the consent order. The order must be drafted in precise legal language. This is typically done by a solicitor, though some couples use a specialist document drafting service. The order needs to be accurate and complete — errors or omissions can cause significant problems later.
4. Complete Form D81. Both parties must complete a Statement of Information for a Consent Order (Form D81). This sets out a summary of each person's financial position — income, assets, debts, and outgoings. The court uses this to assess whether the order is fair.
5. Submit to the court. The draft consent order and completed D81 forms are submitted to the Family Court, along with the court fee (currently £53 as of 2026). You do not normally need to attend a hearing — the judge reviews the paperwork and approves it if it appears fair and reasonable.
6. Receive the sealed order. Once approved, the court seals and returns the order. It is now legally binding. If the judge has questions or concerns, they may request clarification or ask you to attend a short hearing.

The entire process typically takes four to twelve weeks from submission, depending on court workloads. It is sensible to apply as soon as you have reached agreement and received your conditional order.

How Much Does a Consent Order Cost?

Cost is understandably a major concern for couples going through divorce. The good news is that a consent order does not have to be prohibitively expensive — but costs vary significantly depending on how you approach it.

Court fee: The court application fee for a consent order is currently £53. This is a fixed fee payable to HMCTS when you submit the paperwork.

Solicitor fees: If you use a family law solicitor to draft the consent order, you can expect to pay anywhere from £500 to £2,500 or more, depending on the complexity of your finances and how much negotiation is required. Solicitors in England and Wales typically charge between £150 and £400+ per hour for family law work, and a consent order can take several hours to draft, review, and finalise.

Document drafting services: Some specialist services will draft a consent order for a fixed fee — often in the range of £100 to £500 — if you have already agreed the terms. This can be a cost-effective middle ground between doing it yourself and using a full-service solicitor.

DIY: It is technically possible to draft a consent order yourself, but this is generally not recommended. The language must be precise, the form D81 must be completed accurately, and any ambiguity could leave the order open to challenge. A poorly drafted consent order can cost far more to fix than a properly drafted one would have cost in the first place.

If you are concerned about the overall cost of your divorce, our detailed guide on how much divorce costs in England and Wales breaks down every potential expense.

At Clarity Guide, our plain-English divorce guidance starts from just £37 — helping you understand your rights and options so you can make informed decisions and avoid unnecessary solicitor fees wherever possible.

Can a Consent Order Be Changed or Set Aside?

One of the great strengths of a consent order is its finality. Once it is sealed by the court, it is very difficult to change. However, there are limited circumstances in which a consent order can be varied or set aside.

Variation of maintenance: If the consent order includes ongoing spousal maintenance payments, either party can apply to the court to vary the amount if there has been a significant change in circumstances — for example, if the paying spouse loses their job, or if the receiving spouse remarries or begins cohabiting.

Setting aside: A court may set aside a consent order entirely in the following circumstances:

• Non-disclosure: One party concealed assets or income during the financial disclosure process. This is the most common ground for setting aside an order.
• Fraud or misrepresentation: One party provided false information to induce the other to agree.
• Duress: One party was pressured or coerced into signing the agreement.
• Supervening event: A significant and unforeseeable event occurs very shortly after the order is made that fundamentally changes the basis on which the order was made. This is a very high bar to meet.

Attempting to have a consent order set aside is complex, stressful, and expensive. It is far better to ensure the process is done properly in the first place — with full disclosure, independent legal advice, and a carefully drafted document.

It is also worth remembering that if you remarry after divorce without having obtained a consent order, you permanently lose the right to apply for certain financial orders (specifically, a lump sum, property adjustment, or pension sharing order). This is another compelling reason to sort your finances before moving on.

Consent Orders and the No-Fault Divorce Process

Since April 2022, divorce in England and Wales has operated on a no-fault basis under the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020. You no longer need to cite unreasonable behaviour, adultery, or separation to obtain a divorce. Either spouse — or both jointly — can apply, simply stating that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.

The process now has two key stages: the conditional order (equivalent to the old decree nisi) and the final order (equivalent to the old decree absolute). You must wait at least 20 weeks from the start of the divorce application before applying for the conditional order, and then a further six weeks before applying for the final order.

Where does the consent order fit into this timeline?

• You can negotiate and draft your consent order at any point during the divorce process.
• The court will only seal the consent order once the conditional order has been granted.
• Many family lawyers recommend applying for the consent order before applying for the final order. This ensures your financial position is protected before the divorce is made absolute. Once the final order is granted, you are legally divorced — and if you then remarry before obtaining a consent order, you lose important rights (as described above).

The no-fault divorce process has made divorce simpler and less adversarial for many couples. However, it has not changed the rules around financial settlements — you still need a consent order to make your financial agreement legally binding.

Understanding the full cost picture of your divorce, including court fees at each stage, is important for budgeting. Our article on how much divorce costs in the UK covers the complete picture.