The time it takes to divorce depends on two things: how long the separation has lasted and the procedure chosen to request the divorce. The first period is set by law and is six or twelve months. For the procedure, the law sets some of the steps, not the overall length. These periods also apply before the Tribunale di Milano (Court of Milan); no figure is given for the average length of divorces in Milan, because the official sources read do not contain a figure by year. There is a separate article on separation timelines.
Periods running from the separation
A divorce that follows a separation can be requested once the separation has lasted without interruption for a minimum period. If it is a judicial separation (separazione giudiziale), that is one decided by the court when there is no agreement, at least twelve months must have passed from the hearing at which the spouses appeared in the separation proceedings. If it is a consensual separation (separazione consensuale), six months are enough (Article 3 of Law No. 898 of 1970).
The six months also apply when the separation was requested as a judicial one and the spouses then reached an agreement, that is when contested proceedings have turned into consensual ones. If the separation was reached through assisted negotiation (negoziazione assistita), the route in which the spouses, each with their own lawyer, seek an agreement out of court, the six months run from the date certified in the agreement. If it was done at the municipality (Comune), they run from the date of the deed containing the agreement.
Besides time, the separation must be final. A judgment of judicial separation must have become final (passata in giudicato), meaning it is no longer open to an appeal or to an appeal to the Court of Cassation. A consensual separation must have been homologated. Homologation (omologazione) is the check by which the court reviews the spouses’ agreement and gives it effect: without homologation a consensual separation has no effect (Article 158 of the Italian Civil Code).
As for interruptions, spouses who reconcile can end the effects of the separation judgment without going to the judge, by an express declaration or by unambiguous conduct incompatible with separation (Article 157 of the Civil Code). In divorce proceedings, however, it is for the respondent spouse, that is the one who receives the petition, to raise the interruption of the separation.
Applying for divorce
Divorce does not happen on its own when the periods expire. It has to be requested, and it can be requested by one spouse alone. In court the judge pronounces the dissolution of the marriage, if it is a civil marriage, or the cessation of its civil effects, if it was celebrated with a religious rite and transcribed (Articles 1 and 2 of Law 898/1970).
In court the spouses can file a joint application (domanda congiunta) together, or one of them brings the petition alone, through judicial proceedings. In both cases the court follows the proceedings concerning persons, minors and families (procedimento in materia di persone, minorenni e famiglie), the single set of rules under which the court handles separations, divorces and cases about children, in force since 2023. The costs of a divorce are covered in a separate article.
The law also sets time limits outside court. In assisted negotiation the parties set the length of the procedure in the negotiation agreement; it cannot be less than one month or more than three months and can be extended by a further thirty days (Article 2 of Decree-Law No. 132 of 2014). At the municipality, where a lawyer is optional, the civil registrar, on receiving the spouses’ declarations, asks them to return no earlier than thirty days later to confirm the agreement (Article 12 of Decree-Law 132/2014).
Spouses who have not yet separated can make the divorce application in the separation petition itself. The wait remains, however, because the divorce application can proceed, meaning the judge can examine it, only once the periods have passed and the judgment pronouncing the separation has become final (Article 473-bis.49 of the Italian Code of Civil Procedure).
Consensual divorce in court
A consensual divorce (divorzio congiunto) is requested with a petition signed by the spouses themselves as well, filed with the court of the place where either of them resides or is domiciled (Article 473-bis.51 of the Code of Civil Procedure). After filing, the president of the court sets the hearing at which the spouses appear before the reporting judge and sends the file to the public prosecutor, who gives an opinion at least three days before the hearing.
At the hearing the judge hears the spouses, notes that they do not wish to reconcile and refers the case for decision. In the petition the spouses can also ask to replace the hearing with the filing of written submissions. In that case they must state that they do not wish to reconcile and file the documents on income, assets and accounts. The panel of judges decides with a judgment that homologates the agreements or takes note of them.
If the agreements conflict with the children’s interests, the panel calls the spouses in and indicates the changes to be made; if the solution is not suitable, it rejects the application for the time being. For the hearing in a consensual divorce, Article 473-bis.51 of the Code of Civil Procedure sets no time limit: the date is set by the president.
Judicial divorce
In a judicial divorce (divorzio giudiziale) the petition is brought by one spouse only, representation by a lawyer is compulsory and the law sets the timing of the first stage. Within three days of filing, the president sets the first hearing at which the parties appear, and no more than ninety days may pass between filing and the hearing. The petition must be served on the other spouse at least sixty clear days before the hearing, and the respondent must enter an appearance at least thirty days before it (Article 473-bis.14 of the Code of Civil Procedure). If the petition has to be served abroad, the maximum period before the hearing rises to one hundred and twenty days and the period for service to ninety.
At the hearing the spouses must appear in person, save for serious and proven reasons, and the judge attempts conciliation (Article 473-bis.21 of the Code of Civil Procedure). If conciliation fails, the judge issues the temporary and urgent orders (provvedimenti temporanei e urgenti), the rules on the children, the home and maintenance payments that apply until another order replaces them. In the same order the judge sets the timetable of the proceedings and, within the following ninety days, the hearing for the evidence (Article 473-bis.22 of the Code of Civil Procedure). If instead conciliation succeeds, the judge issues the temporary and urgent orders needed and refers the case for decision.
The divorce itself can come before the rest. When the application on personal status, such as the divorce application, is ready for decision and the case has to continue for the other claims, the judge retains it for decision; that judgment can only be challenged by an immediate appeal. For the other claims, once the evidence has been taken, the judge sets the hearing at which the case is referred for decision, and the judgment is filed within the following sixty days (Article 473-bis.28 of the Code of Civil Procedure). How long the evidence stage lasts depends on the timetable set by the judge.
A judgment at first instance can be appealed, that is the Court of Appeal can be asked to review it. Even if the judgment has not been served, an appeal cannot be brought more than six months after its publication (Article 327 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
When the divorce takes effect
A divorce pronounced by the court takes effect, for all civil purposes, from the day the judgment is annotated in the civil status records (Article 10 of Law 898/1970).
Outside court, the agreement takes the place of the judge’s orders. In assisted negotiation the lawyer must send a copy of it, within ten days, to the civil registrar of the municipality where the marriage was registered or transcribed (Article 6 of Decree-Law 132/2014). If there are minor children, adult children who are incapable or have a serious disability, or children who are not financially self-sufficient, the agreement must first be sent within ten days to the public prosecutor; if the prosecutor considers it contrary to their interests or considers it appropriate to hear them, the prosecutor sends it within five days to the president of the court, who sets a hearing for the parties within the following thirty days.
How to proceed
If the other spouse does not agree and the divorce has to be sought through judicial proceedings, you will need a lawyer in any case, because the law makes it compulsory. Speaking to a lawyer before taking any step is also useful if the separation is still under way and you want to make the divorce application at the same time: it helps you understand when the periods start to run and what steps the proceedings will involve. In separation and divorce matters, the firm handles consensual separation, judicial separation, divorce, assisted negotiation and variation of arrangements. The first consultation is used to frame the case: you describe the situation, the firm reads the documents and tells you which routes are open and which are not. At the end of the first consultation you receive a written quote and decide afterwards, with the figures in front of you.
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Book a first consultationFrequently asked
Is divorce automatic after separation?
No. Even once the six or twelve months have passed, divorce has to be requested. One spouse alone can request it, and in court it is pronounced by the judge (Article 1 of Law 898/1970). If the other spouse agrees, there are also the joint application, assisted negotiation and, if there are no minor children, adult children who are incapable or have a serious disability, or children who are not financially self-sufficient, the agreement at the municipality.
When do the six months for a divorce start to run?
It depends on how you separated. In court the period runs from the hearing at which the spouses appeared in the separation proceedings, if that hearing took place (Article 3 of Law 898/1970). With assisted negotiation it runs from the date certified in the separation agreement; at the municipality, from the date of the deed containing the agreement. In every case the separation must have lasted without interruption.
We started a judicial separation but then reached an agreement: do I have to wait twelve months?
No, six months are enough. The law applies the period for a consensual separation also when contested proceedings have turned into consensual ones (Article 3 of Law 898/1970). The period runs from the hearing at which the spouses appeared in the separation proceedings. The separation must, however, be final: homologated, or pronounced by a judgment that has become final.
If we move back in together for a while, is the separation interrupted?
It depends on how both of you behave. Spouses can end the effects of the separation judgment without the judge, by an express declaration or by unambiguous conduct incompatible with being separated (Article 157 of the Italian Civil Code). For divorce the separation must have lasted without interruption, but it is for the respondent spouse to raise the interruption in the proceedings.
Can I ask for a divorce in the same petition as the separation?
Yes. In the separation petition you can also make the divorce application, together with the related claims (Article 473-bis.49 of the Italian Code of Civil Procedure). The divorce application, however, can only proceed, meaning the judge can examine it, once the six or twelve months have passed and the judgment pronouncing the separation has become final. So the wait remains.