Uncontested versus contested divorce in the Czech Republic: rules from 2026

Updated on 4 October 2026 in line with the rules in force from 1 January 2026.

From 1 January 2026, the conditions for an agreed (uncontested) divorce in the Czech Republic and the court's approach to divorce without full agreement of the spouses have changed. The older description of an "uncontested divorce" with a mandatory six months of separation no longer corresponds to Section 757 of Act No. 89/2012 Coll., the Czech Civil Code. Nor does an ordinary divorce today automatically mean taking evidence on the causes of the marriage breakdown.

An agreed divorce rests on consent and complete agreements

Under Section 757 of the Civil Code, the spouses may file a joint petition, or one of them joins the other's petition. The court must accept as true their concurring statements on the breakdown and their intention to divorce. The marriage must have lasted at least one year on the day the proceedings commence. The condition of six months of separation was dropped from 2026.

If the spouses have a minor child who has not acquired full legal capacity, they need a court-approved agreement on the child's arrangements for the period after the divorce. They must also agree on property matters, housing and, where applicable, maintenance for the period after the divorce. This property and housing agreement must be in writing with officially certified signatures. Consent to the divorce alone does not replace a missing agreement.

An ordinary divorce usually does not examine the causes of breakdown

If the spouses do not meet the conditions for an agreed divorce, the court assesses a deep, lasting and irretrievable breakdown of the marriage under Section 755 of the Civil Code. Under Section 756, it examines the causes of the breakdown only in a statutory exception: where the spouse who did not file the petition asserts a reason for dismissing it under Section 755(2)(b). Infidelity or disagreement over the property settlement therefore do not in themselves mean that the court must take extensive evidence on marital conflicts.

A divorce may still run into the exceptions set out in Section 755(2). Protection of the interests of a minor child applies where there are special reasons. The second exception protects a spouse who did not predominantly contribute to the breakdown by breaching marital duties, if the divorce would cause particularly serious harm and exceptional circumstances favour preserving the marriage. This protection does not apply if the spouses have not lived together for at least three years.

Divorce and child arrangements are usually heard together

Under Section 398a of Act No. 292/2013 Coll., on Special Court Proceedings, divorce proceedings are joined with proceedings on the arrangements for the spouses' common minor child for the period after the divorce. They are not joined if the court of first instance has already announced its decision on the child's arrangements. The court may also separate the matters if hearing them together is not appropriate.

A divorce judgment cannot become final before the decision on the child's arrangements. Joint proceedings therefore do not remove the need to resolve care and maintenance. The current rules on care are explained in the article Childcare after parents separate.

Property and housing need their own solution

In an agreed divorce, the property and housing agreement is a condition. In an ordinary divorce, the property settlement may follow separately. The agreement should determine who takes over specific assets, how liabilities are settled and how housing will be secured. Its effects towards a bank or other creditor must be assessed separately; the spouses' agreement alone does not change a contract with a third party.

To prepare a divorce, in addition to documents on the marriage and children, we need an overview of assets, loans and the intended care arrangements. We handle divorces and related agreements as part of our family and inheritance law practice.

Sources: Sections 755 to 757 of Act No. 89/2012 Coll.; Section 398a of Act No. 292/2013 Coll.; Act No. 268/2025 Coll., in force from 1 January 2026.