D81 Form Explained: What the Court Needs From You

Part of: Financial Settlement after Divorce

A D81 form is the statement of information a judge reads before approving the financial agreement you and your ex have reached. It sets out both of your finances before and after the deal, so the judge can decide whether the terms are fair (Family Procedure Rules 2010, r.9.26). It is one step in a wider financial settlement after divorce.

If you have finally agreed who keeps what, a 23-page form can feel like one hurdle too many. This guide walks through the current version, marked April 2025: what each part asks, what the judge looks for, which papers go with it, and the gaps that most often hold an application up. It covers the law in England and Wales only.

Reviewed by: Garry Steedman, Family Law Consultant (Divorce, Children & TOLATA), Kabir Family Law

What is a D81 form?

Form D81 is the court’s “Statement of information for a consent order in relation to a financial remedy”. GOV.UK says it helps the court decide whether the money and property arrangements you have made are fair. That is why you will also see it called the D81 statement of information. The current version, marked 04.25, runs to 23 pages.

A judge usually approves agreed terms on paper, without a hearing. Under rule 9.26, neither of you has to attend unless the court directs it. That means your D81 and your draft order are often the only picture of your family the judge ever sees. People often search for a “D81 consent order”, but these are two separate documents: the D81 explains your finances, and the consent order sets out the terms. For how the order itself works, see our guide to the financial consent order.

Form D81 is not the same as Form E. Form E is the full financial statement you each exchange when the court is asked to decide a financial dispute. It carries a statement of truth and goes in with supporting documents (FPR 2010, r.9.14). The D81, by contrast, is a shorter summary that goes with terms you have already agreed. Our guide to what a Form E is explains the longer form.

Who has to fill in Form D81?

You need Form D81 whenever you ask the court to make a financial order by agreement. That covers divorce, the end of a civil partnership, nullity and judicial separation. Rule 9.26 says each party must file a statement of information with the draft order. It applies whether your agreement deals with the home, savings, pensions, maintenance or all of them.

The form encourages you to complete one joint D81 unless there is a good reason not to. If you each fill in your own, you give that reason on the first page, and each of you signs to confirm you have read the other’s form. If one or both of you attend a hearing, the court can also decide it does not need a statement of information at all (r.9.26(5)).

What does the D81 form ask you to show?

The April 2025 form follows a clear order. This table shows what each part covers and what the judge wants to see in it.

Treat the table as a map of the form, not a guide to filling it in. It cannot tell you whether your figures are complete, or whether your split is fair.

What does the judge check on a D81 form?

A judge approving agreed terms is not a rubber stamp. Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 requires the court to consider all the circumstances. It must also give first consideration to the welfare of any child of the family under 18. In addition, section 25A asks whether financial ties between you should end as soon as it is just and reasonable.

Under section 33A, the court can make the order on the information you send, unless it has reason to ask for more. So in practice, the judge reads your D81 with questions like these in mind:

• Will both of you, and any children, have somewhere suitable to live?
• If one of you receives much less, does the form explain why?
• Do the figures in the D81 match the figures in the draft order?
• Have you valued and dealt with each pension, or simply left one out?
• If maintenance ends, can the person who received it manage without it?

If the judge does not think the terms are fair, they can ask you to change them, ask for more information, or list a hearing. That can feel like a rejection, but it usually means the paperwork has not yet explained your reasons. Our guide to managing divorce financial disclosure explains why the figures behind your D81 need to be complete.

Which documents go with Form D81?

The last page of the form lists what must travel with it. Send everything together, so the court has the full picture from the start.

1. A conditional order first. The court cannot approve your agreement before this stage. GOV.UK says it is usually simpler to ask before the final order, because asking later may have financial consequences, particularly for pensions (GOV.UK).
2. The draft consent order. Both of you sign it. The form strongly recommends the judiciary’s Standard Orders, because clear wording helps the judge.
3. Form D81. Send one joint form, or one each with the confirmations at questions 23 and 24.
4. Form A. This is the notice of application for a financial order, unless one of you has already filed one.
5. Any pension annex. If the order shares or attaches a pension, the right annex goes in, and the scheme must first give the information the law requires.
6. The £62 court fee. You may be able to get help with court fees if you have a low income or receive certain benefits.

If you have no legal adviser, you post the bundle to the HMCTS Financial Remedy Service address printed on the form. Legal professionals use an online service instead. If your order shares a pension, our guide to the pension sharing order explains what the scheme does next.

What happens after you send Form D81?

1. Checks. Court staff make sure the papers are complete and that the fee is paid.
2. The judge reads your papers. A judge reads the draft order and the D81 together, usually without a hearing.
3. Approval. If the judge thinks the terms are fair, the court makes the order and sends it to you both.
4. Questions or changes. If the judge needs more, you are asked for information or asked to change the terms, and approval waits until you respond.
5. If you cannot agree the changes. You can renegotiate, explain your reasons more fully, or ask the court to decide the finances instead.

There is no fixed timescale, because it depends on the court’s workload and on whether your papers are complete first time. Even once a judge approves it, the order only takes effect after the final order ends your marriage or civil partnership.

Which D81 form mistakes delay approval?

These gaps come straight from the questions on the form. Each one gives the judge a reason to pause before approving your agreement.

1. Figures that do not match the order. If the D81 values the house at one figure and the order divides another, the judge cannot tell which is right.
2. Before and after mixed up. Questions 8 and 9 show your position now. Questions 10 and 11 show it after the order.
3. Pensions missing or shown as nil. A pension can be one of the biggest assets in a marriage, so a gap here stands out.
4. No reason for an unequal split. Unequal terms can be fair, but question 13 asks you to explain them.
5. Ending maintenance with no plan. If maintenance claims end, question 14 asks how each of you will manage.
6. Missing notices. A property transfer needs notice to the mortgage lender, and a pension order needs notice to the scheme.
7. Unsigned pages. Both statements of truth, and the confirmations at questions 23 and 24, need signatures and dates.

Why does an agreed split still need a careful look?

Couples who have agreed terms often feel the hard part is over, and that relief is understandable. However, the D81 is where your agreement meets the law. The real judgement calls are rarely about boxes. Instead, they are about whether the deal will hold: whether a pension value tells the whole story, whether a smaller share leaves one of you unable to rehouse, and whether ending maintenance now is realistic.

Pensions need particular care. If you have a pension valuation that differs from the cash equivalent shown in the tables, question 12 lets you set it out. Similarly, some agreements delay the sale of the family home until the children are older, which needs its own careful thought.

It is also hard to undo. Maintenance can usually be varied later, but a one-off lump sum or a transfer of property generally cannot (Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, s.31). Each of you signs a statement of truth, and the form warns that a false statement can lead to proceedings for contempt of court. If one of you hid something important, the other can apply to have the order set aside (FPR 2010, r.9.9A). That route is slow and uncertain, so it pays to get the figures right first time.

Frequently asked questions

Is the D81 form divorce-only?

No. You use the same form for agreed financial orders when a civil partnership ends, and in nullity or judicial separation cases. Its questions refer to marriage or civil partnership throughout. Apart from limited cases such as interim maintenance, the court still needs a conditional order, or its equivalent, before it can approve the terms.

How much is a D81 form?

The form is free to download from GOV.UK. However, the court fee to ask a judge to approve your agreed terms is £62. You may qualify for help with court fees if you have a low income or receive certain benefits.

How long does a D81 take?

Filling in the form is quicker when you have already gathered your financial information, such as pension values and mortgage balances. Approval has no fixed timescale and varies between courts. Incomplete papers, and figures that do not match the order, are common causes of delay.

Do I need professional help to complete a D81 form?

No law says you must use a professional, and the form itself suggests you may wish to take legal advice. The real risk lies less in the boxes than in the agreement behind them. Once the court makes the order, a lump sum or property transfer usually cannot be changed, so it is worth getting advice on the terms before you sign.

Can we fill in one D81 together?

Yes, and the form encourages it, as long as you both sign. If you each complete your own instead, you give a reason, and each of you confirms you have read the other’s form (Family Procedure Rules 2010, rule 9.26).

Where can I get a D81 form?

The official D81 form download is free on GOV.UK, as a PDF or in large print. We do not offer templates or completed examples, because every D81 has to reflect your own figures and your own reasons for the split.

What happens if the information in a D81 is wrong?

A small error may simply lead the judge to ask questions. Serious non-disclosure is different. If one of you hid something important, the other can apply to have the order set aside under Family Procedure Rules 2010, rule 9.9A, and a false statement of truth can lead to contempt proceedings.

Agreed your finances? Get advice before you both sign the D81

A D81 is 23 pages of boxes, but it carries years of shared life, and a lump sum or property transfer it supports usually cannot change once a judge approves it. If you are unsure whether your figures are complete, whether a pension has a fair value, or whether the split would make sense to a judge, settle those questions before you sign and send the papers.

Book a free initial consultation, where one of our specialists gives you initial advice tailored to your circumstances. It does not include drafting or reviewing documents. You can also read more about how our financial settlement after divorce specialists assist and advise.

Expert Tip

Before you sign, lay your D81 next to the draft order and follow each asset across. The house equity, savings and any pension share should appear in the “after” tables at the same figures the order uses. Then, if the split is unequal or maintenance is ending, explain why in plain words at questions 13 and 14. A judge who cannot follow your reasons is likely to ask questions, and that delays the order.

Iblal Iqbal, Partner & Family Law Strategist