Which Route the Matter Takes
A matter where the issues are settled is a different piece of work from one where they are not, and the documents the court requires differ between the routes as well.
How Much Does Divorce Cost in Alberta?
photo — calculator and paperwork (4:3)
The published fee to commence a divorce claim is $310, including the $10 Central Registry fee, as read on September 21, 2026. Lawyer fees are separate and depend on the work involved.
What the Court Charges to Start a Divorce
The Government of Alberta's court-fee page and the three Court of King's Bench divorce instruction packages give the commencement fee. The government page was read on September 21, 2026.
The Central Registry fee is included in the commencement fee, not added to it.
The joint divorce package states that the fee may be paid by cash, debit or credit.
Check the court's current fee schedule before paying a filing fee.
A fee-waiver process exists and is administered by the court. Whether it applies to a particular person is decided by the court, and the court is where to ask about it.
A Different Kind of Case, a Different Fee
A claim under the Family Law Act is a different kind of family claim from a divorce. It is how a person brings a family matter that is not a divorce proceeding, and the court charges for it separately.
The commencement fee for a claim under the Family Law Act is $100, with no fee for responses, on the same government page read on 21 September 2026.
That $100 is not automatically added to the divorce filing fee. A divorce claim is commenced for the $310, and the $100 is the commencement fee for a Family Law Act claim, which is a different kind of claim. What the $100 pays for is commencing that claim, and it is not part of commencing a divorce.
What the Court Charge Is Not
The $310 is what the court charges to commence a divorce claim, and nothing else. It is not a lawyer's fee. It is not the total cost of a divorce. It is not what THEBIL Law charges.
Anyone comparing figures they have been given should start by checking which of those things a figure is describing, because the same number can be quoted for very different items. A court fee, a charge for a piece of legal work and an estimate for a whole matter are three different kinds of figure, and they answer three different questions.
What Can Affect the Legal Work
Beyond the court's charge, what a divorce costs turns on what the matter itself involves. The following can affect the legal work, and they are set out in no order of importance.
How Much Is Actually in Dispute
A single unresolved question is a different exercise from a file where property, support and parenting are all open.
Disclosure, and How Complete the Records Are
Information that has to be chased, reconstructed or requested more than once is work that records already to hand would not require.
Whether Something Has to Be Valued
Income, a business interest or property may have to be valued before anyone can say what is being divided, and a valuation the parties disagree about is a further question.
Whether an Expert Is Needed
Some questions are answered by an expert rather than from the parties' own documents, and an expert's charge is separate from both the court's fee and the legal work on the file.
How Much Is Resolved by Agreement
An issue the parties settle between them is generally not one the court is asked to resolve, though some things still go to the court either way: where there are dependent children, the judge must be satisfied that the amount of child support is reasonable before granting the divorce.
Which of these apply is a question about the particular matter rather than about divorce in general, so they are worked out from the matter rather than read off a list.
The settled routes, and what has to be true for each of them, are set out on their own page.
uncontested and joint divorce in Alberta›
The full sequence of steps and documents, from the first filing to the certificate, is set out separately.
the divorce process in Alberta›
Divorce in Alberta more generally, and what a lawyer does on a divorce file, is set out on the divorce page.
How to Get a Number for Your Own Matter
The factors above are specific to a matter. Discussing the matter with a lawyer is how they are identified for a particular situation.
Consultations at THEBIL Law are paid consultations. The charge is confirmed with you before the meeting and paid in advance.
Frequently Asked Questions
The court's commencement fee for a Statement of Claim for Divorce is $310, published by the Government of Alberta on a page dated 2 September 2026 and read on 21 September 2026, and it includes the $10 Central Registry of Divorce Proceedings fee. That is the court's charge only, and it is separate from what legal help costs.
The court's published commencement fee is $310 for either of the two settled routes. What differs between them is the process: a joint application is made together by both spouses and requires no service on the other party, while an uncontested application requires personal service by a third party. The court fee is one component and the legal work is another, so an identical court fee does not mean an identical total.
The legal work depends on the issues in dispute, the documents and the procedure involved. Consultations at THEBIL Law are paid; the charge is confirmed before the meeting and paid in advance.
Talk to a Calgary Family Lawyer About Your Own Matter
Contact THEBIL Law with the questions you want to discuss about your matter.
Call 403-457-3128.