West Virginia Divorce Forms: Complete List and Filing Order

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals publishes standardized divorce forms that every county's Circuit Clerk accepts. The forms themselves are free to download from the state judiciary website, but they arrive as a disconnected stack of PDFs with no guidance on which ones you actually need, what order to file them in, or which signatures require a notary. Here is the complete form list organized by when you use each one in the filing process.

Forms You File at the Start (Group 1)

These forms make up your initial filing packet. You submit them all at once to the Circuit Clerk when you open your case.

SCA-FC-101 — Petition for Divorce. This is the core document that starts your case. It identifies both spouses, states the grounds for divorce, and requests specific relief (property division, custody, support). The petition must be signed under oath and notarized.

SCA-FC-103 — Petitioner's Civil Case Information Statement. Provides the court with contact information, employment details, and case classification data. Required for every divorce filing.

SCA-FC-104 — Vital Statistics Form. Records marriage date, place of marriage, and demographic information that the state Bureau of Health Statistics needs for its records. This form is administrative but mandatory.

SCA-FC-106 — Financial Statement. The most document-intensive form in the packet. You must attach three consecutive pay stubs, two years of federal tax returns, and W-2 forms. The Financial Statement must be notarized. Incomplete or unsigned financial statements are the single most common reason Circuit Clerks reject filings.

SCA-C&M201 — Fee Waiver Application (if applicable). If your net household income falls below 150 percent of the federal poverty guidelines ($22,590 for a single person), submit this form with your filing packet to waive the $135 filing fee and all service costs.

Additional Forms for Cases With Children

SCA-FC-107 — Bureau for Child Support Enforcement Application. Required in every case involving minor children. The BCSE uses this to establish or enforce child support obligations.

SCA-FC-201 — Joint Parenting Plan. If both parents agree on custody and visitation, file a joint plan. If you cannot agree, each parent files their own individual plan using SCA-FC-203 and SCA-FC-204.

Service of Process Forms (Group 2)

After filing, you must serve your spouse. Which form you need depends on how service happens.

SCA-FC-105 — Acceptance of Service. If your spouse is cooperative, they sign this form in front of a notary or Deputy Circuit Clerk, acknowledging they received the divorce papers. This eliminates the need for sheriff delivery or certified mail and costs nothing.

SCA-FC-110 — Affidavit of Non-Residency / Unknown Address. Required when your spouse cannot be located or lives out of state. This notarized affidavit supports a request for service by publication (a legal notice in a local newspaper).

SCA-FC-111 — Order of Publication. Issued by the Circuit Clerk after you file the SCA-FC-110. You take this order to an approved newspaper to run the legal notice.

Response Forms (Group 3)

These are filed by the respondent (the spouse who was served).

SCA-FC-108 — Answer to Petition. The respondent's formal reply, due within 20 days of being served. If filing on irreconcilable differences, the Answer must explicitly admit to this ground. A denial or failure to answer blocks the irreconcilable differences path entirely.

SCA-FC-114 — Respondent's Civil Case Information Statement. The respondent's equivalent of the SCA-FC-103.

SCA-FC-106 — Financial Statement (Respondent's copy). The respondent must file their own notarized financial statement with the same supporting documents (pay stubs, tax returns, W-2s).

Where to Get the Forms

All forms are available free from three sources:

1. West Virginia Judiciary website — courtswv.gov under Public Resources, then Court Forms, then Divorce Forms
2. Legal Aid of West Virginia — legalaidwv.org offers guided document assembly that walks you through each form with plain-language prompts
3. Circuit Clerk's office — some clerks charge up to $10 for printed packets

Self-represented filers can submit paper forms at the clerk's window. West Virginia's CourtPLUS e-filing system is live in all 55 counties, but pro se filers are generally permitted (not required) to use paper.

Common Form Mistakes That Cause Rejections

Missing notarization. The Petition (SCA-FC-101), Financial Statement (SCA-FC-106), Acceptance of Service (SCA-FC-105), and Fee Waiver (SCA-C&M201) all require notarization. Filing without it triggers a rejection.

Incomplete financial attachments. The SCA-FC-106 is not just a form — it requires three pay stubs, two years of tax returns, and W-2s physically attached. Missing documents delay your case.

Wrong ground on a default case. If your spouse will not sign the Answer admitting irreconcilable differences, you cannot proceed on that ground. You must amend the Petition to allege voluntary separation (requiring one year apart) or a fault-based ground before scheduling a hearing.

For a complete assembly guide that shows you exactly how to compile, organize, and file these forms in order — with a notarization checklist and document tracker — the West Virginia Divorce Filing Process Guide covers the full sequence from packet assembly through the final decree.

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