Court forms · D81
The D81 form, question by question
Form D81 is the statement of information you send with a financial consent order, so the court can decide whether your arrangements are fair[1]. The current edition is 04.25[1]. It goes with Form A and the signed draft order[2], and the fee for the consent order application is £62[3].
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01/ At a glance
Form D81 at a glance
Give the court the information it needs about your marriage, capital, income, housing and pensions, before and after the proposed order, so a judge can decide whether to approve a financial consent order.
Always take the form from its GOV.UK page: an old edition can be returned.
02/ What it is
What Form D81 is for
When you ask the court for a consent order, each of you must file and serve a statement of information in the prescribed form, and Form D81 is that statement[6][5]. GOV.UK says it helps the court decide whether the financial and property arrangements you have made are fair[1].
Unless the court has reason to look into other circumstances, it can make an order in the agreed terms based only on the information supplied with the application[7]. The judge checks that the agreement is reasonable and properly reflects what the law says[8].
A consent order is the only way to make a financial agreement binding and enforceable[8]. See consent orders for the whole process.
03/ Download
The 04.25 edition and who fills it in
The current form is the 04.25 edition, a 23-page PDF on the Form D81 page on GOV.UK, where a large print version was added on 16 July 2026[1]. Use the download button above, which goes straight to the GOV.UK file.
You are encouraged to fill in one joint form[5]. If you each fill in your own, you give your reasons, and each of you signs to confirm you have read the other's[9][6]. The form notes that you may wish to consider legal advice or assistance when completing it[5].
If you do not have a solicitor, you post the documents; the online consent order service is for solicitors registered with MyHMCTS[2].
04/ Timing
When you can send a D81
The court cannot approve a financial consent order before the conditional order, and the order takes effect only after the final order[10]. GOV.UK says it is usually simpler to ask for approval after the conditional order and before the final order[11].
Form D81 says that without a conditional order the court can only make a consent order for interim maintenance, a final order varying an existing maintenance order, or a final order for child maintenance[9].
05/ Question by question
What the D81 asks
The form asks for the dates of your marriage and separation, each party's capital and income now and after the proposed order, the main reasons for the division, where each of you will live, any new relationships, notice to a mortgage lender and any pension orders, and it is signed with a statement of truth[5].
| Questions | What they cover |
|---|---|
| 1 to 5 | Dates of the marriage (and of living together, if earlier), separation, conditional order and final order; whether it is for interim maintenance |
| 6 | Dates of birth of you both and of the children |
| 7 | How the agreement was reached: between you, through solicitors, through mediation or another process |
| 8 and 9 | Capital and net monthly income of each of you now |
| 10 and 11 | Capital and net monthly income after the proposed order |
| 12 | Anything else the court should know, such as health, a job change or a pre-nuptial or separation agreement |
| 13 | The main reasons for the division, including any pension offsetting |
| 14 | How each of you will support yourselves if there is a clean break |
| 15 | Where each of you and the children will live |
| 16 | New relationships, remarriage or plans to live with someone |
| 17 | Notice to any mortgage lender if property is transferred |
| 18 to 22 | Pension sharing, attachment and Pension Protection Fund orders |
| 23 and 24 | Each of you confirms reading the other's statement; then the statements of truth |
Questions 8 to 11: the before-and-after tables
You set out each party's property after mortgages, savings and investments, debts and pensions at their cash equivalent value, and net monthly income including child and spousal maintenance paid between you, first as things are and then as they would be under the order[9]. Jointly owned capital is divided in the shares you hold it, or equally if you have not agreed the shares[9].
Questions 13 and 14: your reasons
Question 13 asks for the main reasons for the division, for example meeting a particular housing need, dividing equally or unequally for a particular reason, or a view of each person's earning capacity[9]. If maintenance claims are to be dismissed, question 14 asks how each of you will support yourselves[9]. The court must consider whether your financial obligations to each other can end as soon as is just and reasonable[12].
Questions 17 to 22: mortgages and pensions
If the order transfers property, you say whether the mortgage lender has been given notice and has objected within 14 days[9]. For a pension attachment order, you confirm notice to the pension scheme and whether it objected within 21 days; for pension sharing, whether the scheme has given the information the regulations require[9]. Pensions can only be shared by a court order[8].
06/ Checklist
What goes in the envelope with the D81
Form D81 lists what must go with it, and the Family Procedure Rules add the copies the court needs[2][6]:
Without a solicitor, you post everything to HMCTS Financial Remedy, PO Box 12746, Harlow CM20 9QZ[15][2]. Form D81 strongly recommends drafting the order with the Standard Orders Volume 1[2]; see the consent order template.
07/ The fee
The consent order fee
The fee is for the consent order application the D81 goes with: £62, in force since 13 July 2026[3][2]. The higher Form A fee is for applications other than a consent order[16]. Help with Fees can reduce or cover it on a low income or benefits[14].
If you are both eligible for legal aid for mediation, it covers the MIAM, mediation sessions and applying for a consent order[17]. You do not need a MIAM for a consent order[4].
08/ What the judge does
After you send it
There is usually no hearing: a judge approves the order if they think it is fair, and can ask you to change it if not[18]. The Family Justice Council says you usually do not go to court unless the judge is unhappy with or puzzled by what you have agreed, and that if the information is not full and clear, the judge will probably ask questions first[8][19].
You must both disclose all your financial resources before applying[8]. A consent order can later be set aside for fraud or material non-disclosure, so the D81 has to be complete and honest[20]. The statement of truth warns that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought for a false statement made without an honest belief in its truth[21][5].
If you have not yet agreed, a mediator can help you agree, and a consent order can be based on what you agreed in mediation[22]. See divorce mediation, Form E for full disclosure, and how the court approaches a financial settlement in divorce. Miam can help you organise the figures the D81 asks for.
09/ Questions
Frequently asked questions
What is a D81 form?
Does a D81 need a Form A?
How much does it cost to file a D81?
Can we fill in one D81 together?
Where do I send the D81?
Can I send a D81 before the conditional order?
10/ Sources
Sources we checked
- Form D81: statement of information for a consent order — HMCTS, GOV.UK · Form D81 (04.25), PDF — HMCTS
- Form D81 (04.25): what to return, PDF — HMCTS
- The Court and Tribunal Fees (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2026 (SI 2026/642), Schedule 3 — legislation.gov.uk
- Practice Direction 3A — Ministry of Justice
- Form D81 (04.25), PDF — HMCTS · Form D81: statement of information for a consent order — GOV.UK
- Family Procedure Rules, Part 9, rule 9.26 — justice.gov.uk · Practice Direction 9A, para 7.1 — justice.gov.uk
- Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, section 33A — legislation.gov.uk
- Sorting out Finances on Divorce: consent orders (March 2024) — Family Justice Council
- Form D81 (04.25): questions and notes, PDF — HMCTS
- If you agree: making your agreement legally binding — GOV.UK
- Money and property when you divorce or separate: if you agree — GOV.UK
- Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, section 25A — legislation.gov.uk
- Form A (05.26): nature of application, PDF — HMCTS
- GOV.UK — Get help with court fees
- Form A (05.26): what you do next, PDF — HMCTS
- The Court and Tribunal Fees (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2026 (SI 2026/642), Schedule 3 — legislation.gov.uk
- Make an agreement through mediation — GOV.UK
- Money and property when you divorce or separate (printable guide) — GOV.UK
- Sorting out Finances on Divorce: court powers and FAQs (March 2024) — Family Justice Council
- Practice Direction 9A, paras 13.5–13.8 — justice.gov.uk · Family Procedure Rules, Part 9, rule 9.9A — justice.gov.uk
- Form A (05.26): notes and fees, PDF — HMCTS
- Get help agreeing (Money and property when you divorce or separate) — GOV.UK
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