Texas has a mandatory sixty-day waiting period from the date a person files an Original Petition for Divorce before they are eligible to formally receive a divorce from the Court. This is outlined in Section 6.702 of the Texas Family Code. In almost all circumstances, you will be required to wait the statutorily-required sixty days before you are able to finalize your divorce.

The sixty day waiting period is not required in two cases, annulment and cases with domestic violence. The waiting period is not mandatory for an annulment and/or void marriage because the Court is making a finding that there is no marriage, thus there is no requirement for a waiting period.

The waiting period may be waived by a judge if a spouse has been formally convicted of or has received deferred adjudication for an offense involving family violence against the person who filed for divorce or if the filing person has a current protective order against their spouse for domestic violence. In cases of domestic violence, it is in the best interest of the battered party to be granted the waiver of the waiting period.