Uncontested does not have one fixed legal meaning in Illinois. In everyday use it means the spouses agree on every issue, so nothing has to be decided by a judge. Separately, Illinois has an actual statutory shortcut called joint simplified dissolution, and it has hard eligibility limits written into the statute. This page sets out both.
What Uncontested Actually Means
Every Illinois divorce rests on the same single ground. Under 750 ILCS 5/401(a), the court enters a judgment where irreconcilable differences have caused the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, and one spouse has met the 90 day residency requirement. Fault is not part of it.
Under 750 ILCS 5/401(a-5), if the parties have lived separate and apart for a continuous period of at least 6 months immediately before judgment, there is an irrebuttable presumption that the irreconcilable differences requirement is met. Irrebuttable means it cannot be argued against.
So an uncontested case is not a different kind of divorce. It is the same statute with nothing left for a judge to decide, because the parties have already agreed on parenting, support, maintenance and property.
The Simplified Route, and Its Eleven Conditions
Joint simplified dissolution is the genuinely shorter path, and 750 ILCS 5/452 requires the parties to certify that ALL of the following are true when the proceeding starts:
- Neither party depends on the other for support, or each waives the right to support.
- Either party meets the residency or military presence requirement of section 401.
- The section 401 proof of irreconcilable differences has been met.
- No children were born of the relationship or adopted during the marriage, and the wife is not pregnant by the husband to her knowledge.
- The marriage has lasted no more than 8 years.
- Neither party has an interest in real property or retirement benefits, unless the retirement benefits are held only in individual retirement accounts with a combined value under $10,000.
- Both parties waive maintenance.
- Total fair market value of all marital property, after deducting encumbrances, is under $50,000; combined gross annualised income from all sources is under $60,000; and neither party alone earns more than $30,000.
- The parties have disclosed to each other all assets, liabilities and tax returns for every year of the marriage.
- They have a written agreement dividing every asset worth more than $100 and allocating the debts.
- They have a written agreement allocating ownership of and responsibility for any companion animals.
Read the list once and the pattern is obvious. Owning a house disqualifies you. Having a child together disqualifies you. Nine years of marriage disqualifies you. The route exists for short, simple, low asset marriages and for nobody else.
What the Simplified Procedure Involves
Under 750 ILCS 5/453, the parties use the forms provided by the circuit court clerk, including the affidavit required by section 454, and the clerk submits the petition to the court. The court considers it expeditiously. Both parties must appear in person, and testify if the court directs. The judge enters judgment only after examining the petition and the parties and finding the agreement not unconscionable.
That last phrase matters. Agreement between the spouses is not the end of it. The court still reviews the bargain.
If You Do Not Qualify
Most people do not, and that is not a problem. A conventional dissolution can still be entirely uncontested in the practical sense: the spouses agree, the paperwork reflects the agreement, and no issue is tried. The filing route differs, the level of conflict does not have to.
Court costs are the same either way. Filing a dissolution petition in Will County costs $369, and filing an appearance as the respondent costs $244, per the Circuit Clerk of Will County fee schedule effective July 12, 2026 and updated September 3, 2026.
Where These Facts Come From
Every rule on this page comes from the Illinois Compiled Statutes as published by the Illinois General Assembly at ilga.gov, retrieved 9 September 2026: 750 ILCS 5/401(a) and (a-5), 750 ILCS 5/452, and 750 ILCS 5/453. Court fees come from the Circuit Clerk of Will County published fee schedule. Statutes and fee schedules change. Confirm the current text before relying on it.
This page is general legal information about Illinois law. It is not legal advice, it does not create an attorney client relationship, and it does not account for the facts of any particular case.
