The decision to end a marriage or civil partnership is, of
course, a very personal and often painful one. But when a couple
embarks on this course of action, our online application can make
the process smoother and less traumatic for all involved.
Background
The first stage of the online divorce service for personal
applications was available in April 2018. This allowed people to
apply for an uncontested divorce, upload evidence and pay online.
In January 2019, we added acknowledgement of service and decree
nisi applications online. Later the same year, decree nisi
outcomes were added to the digital process too, with the decree
absolute application following shortly afterwards.
New scanning technology means that any paperwork sent related to
online applications is placed on the digital court file
automatically. Alongside this, we developed an online system for
legal representatives to apply for divorce on behalf of a client.
User feedback has been vital to the successful development of the
project and has taken many forms, including inviting users to
complete a short online survey after making their divorce
application, which lead to important changes.
Clear feedback
Through survey responses many users expressed their need to take
a break and compose themselves during the application. They
highlighted that the process required the disclosure of many
sensitive issues, ranging from instances of domestic abuse or
infidelity, to an account of how the divorcing couple drifted
away from one another.
Recounting such issues is a great emotional strain for many and
often cannot be completed in a single sitting.
Acknowledging the importance of incorporating a ‘Save and Return’
function into the service, the project team worked with technical
colleagues to implement a solution where divorce applicants can
save their application at any point in the user journey and
return later, rather than having to start again from scratch.
Another example of a change being initiated by feedback from
users of the service was when legal professionals recommended the
introduction of a standardised platform for the processing of
entitlement orders, standardising the categories for refusal
across all regions.
In both cases, once the changes had been made the project team
continued to engage with service users through user experience
(UX) research sessions held at HMCTS’ UX laboratory.
Impact
The changes made as a result of feedback were integral to
building a quality online service, which will continue to develop
and evolve.
Currently, 70% of all new divorce applications in England &
Wales are being submitted online. It takes half the time to fill
in as the old paper forms. As a result, we return less than 1% of
online applications because of user error, compared to 40% in the
old system.
Since 2018, more than 80,000 applications have been received with
more than 8 out of 10 users saying they were satisfied or very
satisfied with the service (an 87% satisfaction rate).
Strong reciprocal engagement with service users and other
stakeholders has been integral to the success of this project.
The online divorce [test] has been a triumphant success and
shows, to my mind conclusively, that this is – must be – the
way of the future.
– Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division until July
2018
Below are some examples of user feedback on the revised service:
Perfect and stress-free.
Everything was straight forward and easy to follow.
It was so straightforward and easy to understand, it was very
easy to complete.
This service is excellent. Very user friendly.
To be honest I think it was a brilliant service, so easy and
simple to use with no stress. So, I wouldn’t change anything.
What is next?
We will start the design and development required for changing
the digital service to accommodate the new divorce legislation
that will come in from October 2021.
Apply for a divorce
online
New legislation to
overhaul divorce law
HMCTS Reform projects
explained
HMCTS engagement
groups
Engaging with our external
stakeholders - our approach and plans
