Divorce in Italy (Divorzio): Grounds, Routes and the Divorzio Breve Timeline

Divorzio ends a marriage's civil effects outright. Unlike separazione, which suspends a couple's cohabitation while the bond itself continues, a divorce is the proceeding that actually dissolves it, after which either spouse is free to remarry.

This page covers how divorce is actually reached in Italy: the ground almost every case actually uses, the waiting periods since the divorzio breve reform, the three procedural routes, and the newer option of requesting separation and divorce together.

Information verified on 21 July 2026. This page provides general legal information and does not constitute legal advice for an individual situation.

The legal grounds for divorce

Art. 3 of L. 898/1970 (the 1970 statute that first allowed divorce in Italy) lists the grounds on which a tribunale can dissolve a marriage. A few of them are fault-based and comparatively rare in practice: certain serious criminal convictions of the other spouse, a foreign divorce or remarriage obtained abroad by a foreign spouse, non-consummation of the marriage, and a judgment recognizing a change of legal sex.

The ground used in the overwhelming majority of Italian divorces, by far, is different: that the couple's separation has already run for the legally required period. Reaching that point does not require either spouse to prove fault or wrongdoing by the other; it only requires that the separation, consensual or contested, has lasted long enough, which is where the divorzio breve reform below matters most.

Divorzio breve: the waiting period since 2015

Before 2015, a couple had to remain separated for three years before either could seek a divorce. L. 55/2015, in force from 26 May 2015, cut that period substantially: twelve months where the separation was contested (giudiziale), or six months where the separation itself was consensual. Both periods are counted from the spouses' first appearance before the tribunale's president in the separation proceeding, not from the date the separation is finally granted.

This distinction matters in practice. A couple who separate on contested terms and only later reach agreement do not get the shorter six-month period simply because the case eventually settles; the statute specifically addresses that scenario and still measures from the original appearance date, whichever way the case later resolves.

The three routes to divorce

Divorce reaches finality through the same three procedural routes available for separation, described in full on our legal separation page:

The tribunale, for a contested case or a consensual one the couple chooses to formalize through the court.

Negoziazione assistita under art. 6 of D.L. 132/2014, with a lawyer for each spouse, available even where there are minor children, severely disabled adult children, or otherwise dependent adult children, subject to review by the procuratore della Repubblica.

The Comune, a joint declaration before the Ufficiale di Stato Civile under art. 12 of the same decree, available only where there are no minor children, no severely disabled or otherwise dependent adult children, and no property to transfer between the spouses.

Requesting separation and divorce together: the Cartabia reform

The 2022 reform of civil procedure (D.Lgs. 149/2022, part of the broader Cartabia reform, applicable to proceedings filed from 28 February 2023) introduced art. 473-bis.49 into the code of civil procedure. It lets a spouse filing a contested separation include, in the same petition, a request to dissolve the marriage outright, rather than waiting to file a second, separate divorce case once the separation period has run.

The article is explicit about sequencing: the divorce request sits alongside the separation request procedurally, but it is only actually examined after the separation has been pronounced and the required waiting period (twelve or six months, as above) has fully elapsed. It does not shorten the substantive wait; it saves the couple from opening an entirely new proceeding once that wait is over.

Whether the same combined filing was available where the separation itself was consensual, rather than contested, was genuinely unsettled for a period after the reform. The article written for joint proceedings did not say, in so many words, that a divorce request could be cumulated with it the way art. 473-bis.49 says for contested cases, and tribunals split on the question, with some allowing the combined joint filing and others refusing it. The Corte di Cassazione (n. 28727/2023) resolved the disagreement, holding that spouses filing a joint, consensual separation and divorce application together may do so. Anyone filing this year should still confirm their own tribunale's current administrative practice, since not every court adjusted its handling at the same pace.

What a divorce settles beyond the marriage itself

A divorce judgment addresses more than dissolving the bond. It can order one spouse to pay the other an assegno divorzile, assessed under a different legal test than any mantenimento paid during separation, covered in full on our assegno divorzile page; it settles the surname question, discussed below; and it can preserve a former spouse's access to health coverage through the other's scheme where they have no coverage of their own, a right that itself ends if that former spouse remarries.

On the surname, a wife who added her husband's name to her own during the marriage loses it by default once the divorce is pronounced. The tribunale can authorize her to keep it where doing so serves a genuine interest of hers or of the children, and that authorization is not permanent: it can be modified later, on either party's request, for serious reasons.

Three scenarios

A couple separated by consensual agreement eight months ago, both now ready to divorce. Since their separation was consensual, the required wait under L. 55/2015 is six months from their appearance before the tribunale, which has already passed. They can proceed with a divorce filing now, using whichever of the three routes suits their situation.

A couple in a contested separation proceeding who already know they will also want a divorce. Under art. 473-bis.49 c.p.c., their lawyer can include the divorce request in the same petition as the separation. That request will not actually be examined until the separation is pronounced and the twelve-month contested-case waiting period has run, but the couple avoids filing an entirely separate case once that date arrives.

A couple who agree on everything and want to file a joint separation and divorce petition together. Following the Corte di Cassazione's 2023 ruling, this combined joint filing is now recognized as permissible, where before that ruling some tribunals had refused it. It remains worth confirming the local tribunale's current administrative practice before relying on this route, since courts adjusted to the ruling at different speeds.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between separazione and divorzio?

Separazione suspends a couple's cohabitation and reorganizes their finances while the marriage bond continues; neither spouse can remarry. Divorzio is a separate, later proceeding that dissolves the civil effects of the marriage itself, after which both parties are free to remarry.

Do we have to be separated before we can divorce?

In practice, yes, for almost every divorce. Art. 3 of L. 898/1970 lists several grounds, but the ground used in the overwhelming majority of cases is that the couple has already completed the required period of separation; the statute's other grounds, tied to specific criminal convictions or similar circumstances, are uncommon.

How long do we have to wait after separating before we can divorce?

Under L. 55/2015 (divorzio breve), the wait runs from the spouses' first appearance before the tribunale in the separation case: twelve months if the separation was contested (giudiziale), or six months if the separation itself was consensual.

Can we ask for the separation and the divorce in one filing?

Since the Cartabia reform, a spouse in a contested separation case can include a divorce request in the same petition under art. 473-bis.49 of the code of civil procedure, though it is only examined after the separation is pronounced and the waiting period has fully run. Whether the same combined filing worked for a joint, consensual case was disputed between tribunals until the Corte di Cassazione (n. 28727/2023) confirmed it does.

Can we divorce without going to court?

Yes, on the same three routes available for separation: a contested or consensual filing with the tribunale, negoziazione assistita with a lawyer for each spouse, or, if there are no minor children, no severely disabled or otherwise dependent adult children, and no property transfer involved, a joint declaration before the Ufficiale di Stato Civile at the Comune.

Does divorce automatically mean one spouse pays the other maintenance?

No. An assegno divorzile is only awarded where a court finds the requesting spouse lacks adequate means, weighed alongside each spouse's contribution to the family and to the other's career or assets, and the marriage's duration. It is not automatic, and Italian law has no formula or table for the amount; see our assegno divorzile page for the full test.

What happens to a spouse's surname after divorce?

A woman who added her husband's surname to her own on marriage loses it on divorce by default. The tribunale can authorize her to keep it where doing so serves a genuine interest of hers or of the children, and that authorization can later be revoked for serious reasons on either party's request.