The FL-100 form is the “Petition, Marriage/Domestic Partnership,” and it’s the document that officially starts a divorce in California. Filing it opens your case, tells the court what you’re asking for, and names you as the Petitioner. Nothing else in your divorce happens until this form is filed.
Because it’s the first form and the foundation of your whole case, getting the FL-100 right matters more than almost any other document. Small mistakes here, a wrong residency date, an unchecked box, an incorrect property selection, are a common reason petitions get bounced back by the court clerk.
Here’s a plain-English walkthrough of what the FL-100 form is, what each part of it asks, the mistakes that trip people up, and what happens after you file it. As always, a quick note: California Divorce Pros is a registered Legal Document Assistant service, not a law firm, so this explains the form; it isn’t legal advice about your specific case.
Key Takeaways
– The FL-100 is the Petition that officially starts a California divorce, legal separation, or annulment.
– The person who files it is the Petitioner; the other spouse is the Respondent.
– It covers residency, your children, the legal grounds, and what you’re requesting for property and support.
– Only the Petitioner signs the FL-100; the Respondent replies later with a separate form (the FL-120).
– Common errors, especially around residency and property boxes, are a top reason petitions get rejected.
What Is the FL-100 Form?
The FL-100 is California’s official Petition form for ending a marriage or domestic partnership. When you file it with the Superior Court, you’re formally asking the court to grant a divorce (which California calls a “dissolution”), a legal separation, or an annulment.
The form does three big things at once. It tells the court who’s involved, it establishes that California has the authority to handle your case, and it states what you’re requesting regarding your children, property, debts, and support. Everything that follows in your divorce builds on what you put here.
You can download the FL-100 for free from the California Courts website. Like all the California divorce forms, it’s the completing and filing that’s the hard part, not getting the blank PDF.
The FL-100 at a glance:
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Official name | Petition, Marriage/Domestic Partnership |
| What it does | Starts your divorce, legal separation, or annulment |
| Who files it | The Petitioner (the spouse who starts the case) |
| Who signs it | Only the Petitioner |
| Filed alongside | FL-110 Summons (and FL-105 if you have children) |
| Cost | Free to download; the court charges a separate filing fee |
Who Files the FL-100?
The spouse who starts the divorce by filing the FL-100 is called the Petitioner. The other spouse becomes the Respondent.
This matters because only the Petitioner completes and signs the FL-100. Being the Petitioner doesn’t give you any legal advantage in the outcome; it just means you’re the one who opened the case. After you file and serve it, the Respondent has a chance to reply using a different form, the FL-120 Response.
What the FL-100 Asks: Section by Section
The FL-100 is organized into numbered sections. Here’s what each part is getting at, in plain terms.
Residency
Right near the top, the form confirms you meet California’s residency requirement. To file for divorce here, one spouse generally must have lived in California for the last six months and in the filing county for the last three months. If you don’t meet this yet, it affects what you can file, which is one reason this section trips people up.
Statistical Facts
This section asks for the date you married, the date you separated, and the length of your marriage. These dates aren’t just trivia. Your date of separation, in particular, can affect property and support, so accuracy matters.
Minor Children
Here you list any minor children of the marriage. If you have them, this section connects to additional forms and to the court’s authority over custody. If you don’t, you note that and move on.
Legal Grounds
California is a “no-fault” divorce state, so almost every FL-100 cites irreconcilable differences as the grounds. You don’t have to prove wrongdoing or explain what went wrong. This is usually the simplest section on the form.
Your Requests
This is the heart of the Petition. Here you indicate what you’re asking the court to address: how to characterize and divide property and debts (community versus separate), whether you’re requesting spousal support, and, if you have children, custody and support. You’re not settling everything here, you’re telling the court what’s on the table.
The Mistakes That Get the FL-100 Rejected
The FL-100 looks straightforward, but a few specific errors send it back again and again.
Residency mistakes. Getting the residency dates or requirements wrong, or filing before you actually qualify, is a frequent problem.
Property boxes. The form asks you to identify community and separate property and to check specific boxes about how you want them handled. Checking the wrong box, or leaving it blank, causes confusion and rejections.
Wrong or missing dates. An incorrect date of separation or marriage, or a blank where a date belongs, is an easy error with real consequences.
Using an outdated version. California updates its forms periodically. File last year’s FL-100 and the clerk may reject it on sight.
Consider Priya, who filled out her FL-100 carefully but checked the wrong property box, indicating she wanted the court to divide assets she’d actually agreed to keep as separate. The clerk flagged it, and she had to redo and refile. She hadn’t made a legal mistake, exactly. She’d made a form mistake, and the form doesn’t forgive.
Want this done right the first time? See how our process works; we prepare your FL-100 and everything with it.
What You File Alongside the FL-100
The FL-100 never goes in alone. At a minimum, it’s filed with the FL-110 Summons, which notifies your spouse and puts standard restraining orders in place. If you have minor children, you also file the FL-105 (the UCCJEA declaration) so the court has jurisdiction over custody.
Once these are filed and you’ve paid the filing fee (or gotten a fee waiver), your next step is serving your spouse and proving it with the FL-115 Proof of Service. For the full picture of everything that comes next, see our guide to filing for divorce in California.
What Happens After You File the FL-100
Filing the FL-100 opens your case, but it doesn’t start your clock. That happens when your spouse is served with the filed Petition and Summons. From the date of service, California’s mandatory six-month waiting period begins.
After service, the case moves into financial disclosures and, eventually, the judgment paperwork that finalizes everything. The FL-100 is step one of a longer process, but it’s the step everything else depends on, which is why it’s worth getting exactly right.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I get the FL-100 form?
The FL-100 is available for free on the California Courts website as a fillable PDF. The form itself costs nothing, though the court charges a separate filing fee when you submit it.
How do I fill out the FL-100 correctly?
Work through it section by section: residency, statistical facts (marriage and separation dates), children, grounds (usually irreconcilable differences), and your requests for property, support, and custody. The most common errors are in the residency and property sections, so take extra care there, or have a document preparer complete it for you.
Do both spouses sign the FL-100?
No. Only the Petitioner, the spouse who files, signs the FL-100. The other spouse (the Respondent) can reply later using the FL-120 Response form.
What’s the difference between the FL-100 and the FL-120?
The FL-100 is the Petition that starts the case, filed by the Petitioner. The FL-120 is the Response, filed by the other spouse if they choose to respond. They’re two sides of the same conversation.
Do I need a lawyer to file the FL-100?
No. Many Californians file the FL-100 without an attorney, especially in uncontested cases. A registered Legal Document Assistant can prepare and file it for you accurately for a flat fee. For legal advice about your specific situation, consult an attorney.
The Bottom Line
The FL-100 form is where your California divorce begins. It names the parties, confirms the court’s authority, and lays out what you’re asking for. Get it right and your case starts clean; get it wrong and you’re refiling before you’ve really begun.
You don’t have to decode every box and section yourself. If your divorce is uncontested and you want the paperwork prepared correctly from the very first form, that’s exactly what we do.
Book your free consultation today → and let us prepare your FL-100 and the rest, the right way.
California Divorce Pros is a registered and bonded Legal Document Assistant service. We are not attorneys, do not provide legal advice or representation, and cannot recommend legal forms or strategy. Document preparation is provided at the direction of the client under California Business & Professions Code §§ 6400 to 6415. For legal advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed attorney.
