Minnesota Divorce Forms: Free Downloads and How to Use Them

Every form you need to file for divorce in Minnesota is available for free from the Minnesota Judicial Branch at mncourts.gov. You don't need to buy a forms package from a third-party website. You don't need to pay $299 for an online document preparation service. The official court forms are free, current, and accepted in every Minnesota county.

Here's which forms you need, where to get them, and what they actually require you to decide.

Which Form Packet Do You Need?

The Minnesota Judicial Branch organizes divorce forms into packets based on your situation:

Download the correct packet from the Divorce/Dissolution section at mncourts.gov. Each packet includes instructions specific to that case type.

Required Financial Disclosure Forms

Regardless of which petition track you use, Minnesota Rule 303 requires comprehensive financial disclosure:

• FAM108 (Parenting/Financial Disclosure Statement) — the standard disclosure form for cases with children
• FAM102 (Financial Affidavit) — an alternative financial-only form
• CON111 (Confidential Information Form) — for Social Security numbers, account numbers, children's birth dates
• CON112 (Cover Sheet for Non-Public Documents) — keeps sensitive information out of the public record

Supporting documents you must exchange with your spouse:

• Three months of pay stubs
• Most recent federal tax return and W-2s
• Recent bank statements (all accounts)
• Retirement account statements
• Life insurance declarations

How to Complete the Forms

Option 1: Guide & File (Recommended)

The state's free Guide & File tool generates your completed form packet through an online interview. You answer questions about your situation, and it fills in the correct forms with your information. Available at mncourts.gov under Divorce/Dissolution.

Option 2: Manual Completion

Download the blank PDF packet, print it, and fill it in by hand or with a PDF editor. The instructions in each packet tell you line by line what to enter. Manual completion takes longer but some people prefer seeing the full form before answering.

County Self-Help Centers

Most Minnesota counties have a self-help center or facilitator at the courthouse who can answer procedural questions about filling in the forms. They can't give legal advice (they can't tell you how to divide your assets), but they can confirm you're using the right packet, filling in fields correctly, and filing in the right location.

What the Free Forms Don't Cover

The forms collect your decisions — they don't help you make them. Every petition asks you to specify how assets, debts, and (if applicable) maintenance will be divided. The forms assume you've already figured out:

• Which assets are marital and which are non-marital
• The current fair market value of each asset
• How to handle the family home (sell, buyout, or co-own)
• How to divide retirement accounts (QDRO for private plans, DRO for PERA/TRA/MSRS)
• Whether spousal maintenance applies and for how long
• How to allocate joint debts and close shared credit accounts

These financial decisions are the hard part of a divorce — and they're entirely outside the scope of what the free forms provide. The forms give you a blank line for "maintenance amount." They don't tell you how to calculate a fair number using the 2024 statutory presumptions.

Common Mistakes With Free Forms

Using outdated versions. Third-party websites sometimes host old versions of Minnesota court forms. Always download from mncourts.gov directly.

Skipping the confidential forms. Failing to file CON111 and CON112 means your Social Security numbers and financial account numbers become part of the public court record.

Incomplete financial disclosure. Submitting FAM108 without the required supporting documents (pay stubs, tax returns, statements) can delay your case or result in the court rejecting your filing.

Filing in the wrong county. File in the county where either spouse currently lives. If you file in the wrong venue, the court will either transfer the case (adding weeks) or dismiss it.

After Filing

Once your forms are filed and processed, the court enters a final decree. Post-decree, you'll need additional forms:

• Form 80.1.2 (SREDJ) to transfer real estate title without exposing your full decree in public land records
• QDRO or DRO documents for retirement account division (these are separate from the dissolution forms)
• New beneficiary designation forms for every retirement account and life insurance policy

For the financial planning and decision-making that comes before filling in the forms, the Minnesota Divorce Financial Split Guide provides worksheets for property classification, asset valuation, and settlement calculation — designed to be completed before you start your form packet.

See more Minnesota guides →