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How can you get a divorce or dissolution if you have lost contact with your spouse or civil partner?

on Thursday, 17 April 2025.

It is your responsibility to ensure that they are made aware of the pending application and that they have been given the opportunity to respond to it.

Why is it important to locate your spouse or partner?

When you apply for a divorce or dissolution, you are legally required to inform your spouse or partner about the application. However, making contact after a relationship breakdown can often be easier said than done. Before the Court can consider alternative ways to move the process forward, the Court will need to be satisfied that you have made every reasonable attempt and exhausted all efforts to locate your spouse or partner.

What steps should you take to locate your spouse or partner?

The following are the types of enquiries that a court would expect you to have explored:

  • Family and friends: If you have contact details for their family members, such as parents, siblings, or adult children, reach out to them (if you feel comfortable doing so) to see if they can provide any contact details or a recent location of your spouse or partner.
  • Last known employer: Check with their last known employer, trade union or professional body to see if they can assist in locating your spouse or partner.
  • Social media: Social media can be surprisingly useful for locating someone. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok can offer clues and leads for finding people. A simple search of their name might reveal recent posts or interactions, or you may be able to contact mutual friends who can assist you.
  • Search engines, public directories & AI: Try searching for their name in search engines and public directories. If they have a business, you might also find useful information on Companies House. You might also want to consider using AI tools such as ChatGPT to assist your search.
  • Tracing agents: There are professional agencies that specialise in locating individuals. These experts have access to databases and resources that may help track down your spouse or partner, provided you can supply sufficient details.

Keep a detailed log of your efforts, such as emails you have sent, screenshots of your calls or messages, search results and notes of conversations you have had with people or organisations. Even if your attempts are unsuccessful, keep records of them to show the Court that you have made thorough efforts to locate your spouse or partner.

What if you still cannot locate your spouse or partner? 

If you have tried all of the above and you are still unable to find an address for service of the application, the next step is to apply to the Court for an order to assist you in locating your spouse or partner or to dispense with the requirement to serve them. The specific circumstances of your situation will determine which of these steps is right for you.

Application for alternative service

Alternative service is a process where you can apply to the Court to allow you to serve the application in an alternative place or by an alternative method; for example, serving the application to a relative of your spouse or partner who has regular contact with them or serving them via a different method of communication. This is an option when the Court believes that this method is likely to bring the application to their attention.

Application for an order of Disclosure of Addresses by Government Departments

If the last known address of your spouse or partner was in the UK, you can apply to the Court for an order requiring HMRC (His Majesty's Revenue & Customs) or the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) to provide their most recent address on record for them. The address will be sent to the Court, to allow the court to serve the papers on your behalf.

Application for an order to dispense with service

If you’ve exhausted all these efforts to locate your spouse or partner and have been unsuccessful, you can apply to the Court for an order to dispense with service. This allows the divorce or dissolution to proceed without formally serving the application on them. It is important to bear in mind that this is a last resort and you will need to provide substantive evidence to demonstrate to the Court that all reasonable efforts have been made to find your spouse or partner.

Presumption of death

If there is strong evidence that your spouse or partner has passed away, for example if they have been missing for many years, you can apply to the Court for a declaration of presumed death. You can then apply to the GRO (General Register Office) for a death certificate after obtaining the declaration. This will end your marriage or civil partnership and allow you to re-marry or form a new civil partnership.

We hope this article has provided clarity on how to proceed if you have lost contact with your spouse or civil partner.

*This article is not intended to be legal advice and specific advice in relation to individual circumstances should be obtained from a solicitor or family law specialist to assist with the matters raised in this article.


For more information or advice, please contact our New Enquiries team on 020 7405 1234, or complete the form below.

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