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How to respond to a matrimonial application for divorce (normal track)

Find out how you can respond to the matrimonial application for divorce that has been served on you.

Before you respond

Before you respond to your matrimonial application for divorce, make sure you understand:

The requirements for getting a divorce.
The process of a matrimonial application for divorce on a normal track.
The documents with which you have been served.

If the matrimonial application for divorce is filed against you, you are the respondent or defendant.

Your spouse is the applicant or plaintiff.

Note

Respond to a matrimonial application for divorce (normal track)

You may choose to respond to the matrimonial application for divorce papers or through a lawyer. If you are represented by a lawyer, the documents will be filed by your lawyer.

If you are representing yourself, you must file all documents via eLitigation at the LawNet & CrimsonLogic Service Bureau.

You must follow Part 2 of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024 and the Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2024 to prepare your documents before heading down personally to do the filing.

If you are filing before 15 October 2024, you must follow Part 5 of Division 2 of the Family Justice Rules 2014 and the Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2015.

You can respond to the matrimonial application for divorce in the following ways:

If you wish to remain married to your spouse, you must defend the divorce by filing:

A notice to contest (Form 4, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2024 (DOCX, 55 KB)) within 14 days.
- A copy of the notice to contest is one of the documents served on you together with the matrimonial application for divorce.
- This form will indicate:
  - any objection to the facts or grounds of the application
  - any objection to the claims for ancillary relief
  - any claim(s) for ancillary relief
  - any cross-application
  - any challenge to the jurisdiction of the Court

A reply, (Form 5, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2024 (DOCX, 118 KB)) within 28 days after being served with the matrimonial application for divorce.

If, in addition to contesting any allegation(s) made in the matrimonial application for divorce, if you wish to apply for the marriage to be dissolved for different reasons, you must file and serve on the applicant a cross application ( Form 2A, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2024 (DOCX, 135 KB)) within 28 days after being served with the divorce application.

You will also have to attend the Mandatory Co-Parenting Programme (CPP) at the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and file the certificate of completion if you have any children under 21 years of age.

Estimated fees

The table below shows the possible fees to file relevant documents. You may also refer to Division 4 of the Third Schedule of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024 for the full list of court fees.

In addition to the fees listed in the table, there are also other fees payable to the LawNet & CrimsonLogic Service Bureau.

Item or service	Fees
File a notice to contest	$7
File a reply	$7
File a cross application	$63
Additional claims for minor children	$7
Additional claims relating to HDB property	$7

After you file

If the divorce is contested, the court will send a Registrar's Notice to notify the applicant and you (or your lawyers, if any) of the date to attend a court session known as a case conference.

The purpose of the case conference is to prepare both parties for the contested divorce hearing.

Only those directly involved in the matter can attend the status conference. Members of the public are not allowed to attend. Unless otherwise directed by the court, you do not have to attend the status conference yourself if you have a lawyer. Similarly, if the respondent has a lawyer, their lawyer will attend the case conference on their behalf unless otherwise directed by the court.

Note

At the case conference, the court may:

Check if all the necessary documents have been filed in court.
Refer both parties for meditation and counselling at the Family Dispute Resolution Division (FDR Division) of the Family Justice Courts.

If you agree to getting a divorce with your spouse, your case will proceed on the uncontested track.

If you cannot agree to the ancillary matters, you should file the notice to contest (Form 4, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2024 (DOCX, 56KB)) within 14 days.

A copy of the notice to contest should have been served on you together with the matrimonial application for divorce.

Estimated fees

The estimated fees for filing the notice to contest is $7. You may refer to Division 4 of the Third Schedule of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024 for the full list of court fees.

In addition to the fees listed in the table, there are also other fees payable to the LawNet & CrimsonLogic Service Bureau.

In an uncontested divorce, the applicant may, after all relevant documents have been filed, then inform the court that the divorce case is ready to be heard by filing a request for a trial or hearing date (Form 6, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2024 (DOCX, 80 KB)). If the grounds of divorce are agreed, the case will be scheduled for an uncontested divorce hearing. It is only after the Interim Judgment is granted at the hearing that the court will schedule a date to hear the ancillary matters.

If a hearing date is not requested

Unless otherwise directed by the court, if the applicant does not request for a trial or hearing date within 6 weeks, the court will send a Registrar's Notice to notify the applicant and you (or your lawyers, if any) to attend a court session known as a case conference.

If you filed your application before 15 October 2024:

If you wish to remain married to your spouse, you must defend the divorce by filing:

A Memorandum of Appearance (MOA) within 8 days (if you are located in Singapore) or within 21 days (if you are located outside of Singapore).
- A copy of the MOA is one of the documents served on you together with the divorce application.

A defence (Form 21, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2015 (DOCX, 42 KB)) within 14 days of filing the MOA.

If, in addition to contesting any allegation made in the divorce application, you wish to apply for the marriage to be dissolved for different reasons, you must file and serve on the plaintiff a counterclaim together with your defence. You will also have to attend the Mandatory Co-Parenting Programme (CPP) at the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and file the certificate of completion if you have any children under 21 years of age.

The plaintiff may file and serve a reply (or reply and defence to counterclaim) within 14 days after you serve your defence (or defence and counterclaim).

If the plaintiff files and serves a reply and defence to counterclaim, you may file a reply within 14 days.

Respond to the proposed parenting plan

If you have been served with the Plaintiff's Proposed Parenting Plan Form (Form 11, Family Justice Practice Directions 2015 (DOCX, 21 KB)), you may respond in the following ways:

(If you disagree) File the Defendant's Agreement (Parenting Plan) Form (Form 23, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2015 (DOCX, 39 KB)) within 14 days of filing the MOA.

(If you disagree) File the Defendant's Proposed Parenting Plan Form (Form 24, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2015 (DOCX, 42 KB)) within 14 days of filing the MOA.

Respond to the proposed matrimonial property plan

If you have been served with the Plaintiff's Proposed Parenting Plan Form (Form 14 - Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2015 (DOCX, 21 KB) ), you must obtain the relevant Central Provident Fund (CPF) statements and additional CPF information relating to your Housing & Development Board (HDB) flat within 14 days of filing the MOA.

After obtaining the necessary CPF documents, you may respond in the following ways:

(If you agree) File the Defendant's Agreement (Matrimonial Property Plan) Form (Form 25, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2015 (DOCX, 39 KB)) and the Particulars of Housing Arrangement Form (Form 13, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2015 (DOCX, 76 KB)) within 14 days.
(If you disagree) File the Defendant's Proposed (Matrimonial Property Plan) Form (Form 26, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2015 (DOCX, 40 KB)) and the Particulars of Housing Arrangement Form (Form 13, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2015 (DOCX, 76 KB)) within 14 days.

Estimated fees

Refer to the following to find out the possible fees to file the documents You may also refer to Part 6 of the Fifth Schedule of the Family Justice Rules 2014 for the full list of court fees.

In addition to the fees listed in the table, there are also other fees payable to the LawNet & CrimsonLogic Service Bureau.

Item or service	Fees
File the MOA	$7
File a defence (or a defence and counterclaim)	$7
File a reply	$7
File a Defendant’s Proposed Matrimonial Property Plan (with the Particulars of Housing Arrangement Form)	$7
File a Defendant's Agreement (Matrimonial Property Plan) (with the Particulars of Housing Arrangement Form)	$7
File a Defendant’s Proposed Parenting Plan	$7
File a Defendant's Agreement (Parenting Plan)	$7

After you file

After you have filed the relevant documents, the plaintiff may then inform the court that the divorce case is ready to be heard by filing a request for a hearing. This is known as setting down.

After the plaintiff has set down the case, the court will send a Registrar's Notice to notify the plaintiff and you (or your lawyers, if any) of the date to attend a court session known as a case conference.

The purpose of the case conference is to prepare both parties for the contested divorce hearing.

If the case is not set down

If the plaintiff does not set down the case within 6 weeks, the court will send a Registrar's Notice to notify the plaintiff and you (or your lawyers, if any) to attend a court session known as a status conference.

Only those directly involved in the matter can attend the status conference. Members of the public are not allowed to attend. You do not have to attend the status conference yourself if you have a lawyer. Similarly, if the defendant has a lawyer, their lawyer will attend the status conference on their behalf unless otherwise directed by the court.

Note

At the status conference, the court may:

Check if all the necessary documents have been filed in court.
Refer both parties for meditation and counselling at the Family Dispute Resolution Division (FDR Division) of the Family Justice Courts.

If you agree to the divorce but not to all the ancillary matters, you should file the Memorandum of Appearance (MOA) Form 18, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2015 (DOCX, 20 KB) within 8 days (if you are located in Singapore) or within 21 days (if you are located outside of Singapore).

Your MOA should indicate your agreement for the court to hear the ancillary matters.

A copy of MOA should have been served on you together with the divorce papers.

Respond to the proposed parenting plan

If you have been served with the Plaintiff's Proposed Parenting Plan Form (Form 11, Family Justice Practice Directions 2015 (DOCX, 21 KB)), you may respond in the following ways:

(If you agree) File the Defendant's Agreement (Parenting Plan) Form (Form 23, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2015 (DOCX, 39 KB)) within 14 days of filing the MOA.

(If you disagree) File the Defendant's Proposed Parenting Plan Form (Form 24, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2015 (DOCX, 42 KB)) within 14 days of filing the MOA.

Respond to the proposed matrimonial property plan

If you have been served with the Plaintiff's Proposed Parenting Plan Form (Form 14 - Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2015 (DOCX, 21 KB)), you must obtain the relevant Central Provident Fund (CPF) statements and additional CPF information relating to your Housing & Development Board (HDB) flat within 14 days of filing the MOA.

After obtaining the necessary CPF documents, you may respond in the following ways:

(If you agree) File the Defendant's Agreement (Matrimonial Property Plan) Form (Form 25, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2015 (DOCX, 39 KB)) and the Particulars of Housing Arrangement Form (Form 13, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2015 (DOCX, 76 KB)) within 14 days.
(If you disagree) File the Defendant's Proposed (Matrimonial Property Plan) Form (Form 26, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2015 (DOCX, 40 KB)) within 14 days.

Estimated fees

Refer to the following to find out the possible fees to file the documents. You may also refer to Part 6 of the Fifth Schedule of the Family Justice Rules 2014 for the full list of court fees.

In addition to the fees listed in the table, there are also other fees payable to the LawNet & CrimsonLogic Service Bureau.

Item or service	Fees
File the MOA	$7
File a Defendant’s Proposed Matrimonial Property Plan (with the Particulars of Housing Arrangement Form)	$7
File a Defendant's Agreement (Matrimonial Property Plan) (with the Particulars of Housing Arrangement Form)	$7
File a Defendant’s Proposed Parenting Plan	$7
File a Defendant's Agreement (Parenting Plan)	$7

After you file

After you have filed the relevant documents, the plaintiff may then inform the court that the divorce case is ready to be heard by filing a request for a hearing. This is known as setting down.

As you have indicated that in the MOA that you are not contesting the divorce, the case will be scheduled for an uncontested divorce hearing. It is only after the interim Judgment is granted at the hearing will the court schedule a date to hear the ancillary matters.

If the case is not set down

If the plaintiff does not set down the case within 6 weeks, the court will send a Registrar's Notice to notify the plaintiff and you (or your lawyers, if any) to attend a court session known as a status conference.

Only those directly involved in the matter can attend the status conference. Members of the public are not allowed to attend. You do not have to attend the status conference yourself if you have a lawyer. Similarly, if the defendant has a lawyer, their lawyer will attend the status conference on their behalf unless otherwise directed by the court.

Note

At the status conference, the court may:

Check if all the necessary documents have been filed in court.
Refer both parties for meditation and counselling at the Family Dispute Resolution Division (FDR Division) of the Family Justice Courts.

If you do not respond

If you choose to ignore the divorce application, the applicant is allowed to ask the court for the divorce case to be heard on the uncontested track by filing a request for a hearing date.

The court may then proceed to schedule a date for the divorce hearing, hear the case and grant an order for divorce known as an Interim Judgment in your absence.

Need help?

The information here is for general guidance as the courts do not provide legal advice. If you need further help, you may want to get independent legal advice.

Find out more

Resources

For filings commenced on or after 15 October 2024, refer to:

Divorce in Singapore: the essentials (PDF, 519 KB).
Divorce in Singapore: processes in a glance (PDF, 442 KB).
Specimen Government Medical Certificate (DOCX, 18 KB) for absence from court attendance.

Legislation associated with this topic includes:

Part 10 of the Women's Charter.
Family Justice Act.
For filings commenced on or after 15 October 2024: Part 2 of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024.
For filings commenced before 15 October 2014: Part 5 of Division 2 of the Family Justice Rules 2014.

For filings commenced on or after 15 October 2024, refer to:
- Part 2 of the Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2024 for proceedings for the dissolution of marriage under Part 10 of the Women's Charter.
For filings commenced before 15 October 2024, refer to:
- Paragraph VI of the Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2015 for proceedings for the dissolution of marriage under Part 10 of the Women's Charter.

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