Judicial Divorce in Guatemala 2026: by Mutual Agreement or Contested, Always Before a Judge

In Guatemala every divorce is declared by a judge. The Civil Code provides two routes (Article 154): by mutual agreement of the spouses, and at the will of one of them on a specific cause. Both go through the Family Court; there is no divorce before a notary: the law that lets notaries handle voluntary-jurisdiction matters (Decreto 54-77) does not include divorce. This guide mainly covers the contested route, requested on a specific cause when there is no agreement or one party refuses.

Quick summary: Lawyer fees for a judicial divorce are agreed with the lawyer within the Arancel (Decreto 111-96); there is no court fee (Judicial Branch Law Art. 57). A mutual-agreement divorce can only be requested after more than one year of marriage. If you live in the USA, you can process from there with special power of attorney.

Information verified November 2026.

Correction, 24 September 2026. A judicial divorce carries no court fee: “La justicia es gratuita e igual para todos, salvo lo relacionado con las costas judiciales” (justice is free and equal for all, except court costs; Judicial Branch Law Art. 57); what you pay is lawyer fees, any expert reports and, if the judge orders them, court costs. An earlier version listed “court taxes” of Q200-Q500 and a minimum total of Q700-Q3,500.

Mutual agreement or a specific cause?

Both routes are judicial. What changes is the procedure:

Under Article 154 of the Civil Code, a divorce that is not by mutual agreement of the spouses is requested by one of them on a specific cause.

Grounds for divorce on a specific cause (Civil Code, Article 155)

Article 155 of the Civil Code lists the common grounds for separation or divorce. In summary:

1. Infidelity by either spouse
2. Mistreatment, continual quarrels and disputes, serious insults and offences to honour and, in general, conduct that makes life together unbearable
3. An attempt by one spouse on the life of the other or of the children
4. Voluntary separation or abandonment of the marital home, or unjustified absence, for more than one year
5. The wife giving birth during the marriage to a child conceived before it, if the husband did not know of the pregnancy
6. The husband inciting the wife to prostitution or corrupting the children
7. Unjustified refusal to meet the duties of support and maintenance toward the other spouse or the children
8. Squandering of the household estate
9. Gambling or drunkenness, or habitual misuse of narcotics, when they threaten to ruin the family or are a constant source of discord
10. A criminal complaint or slanderous accusation by one spouse against the other
11. A final conviction for a crime against property or another common crime carrying more than five years in prison
12. A serious, incurable and contagious illness harmful to the other spouse or to the offspring
13. Absolute or relative impotence, incurable and arising after the marriage
14. Incurable mental illness sufficient for a declaration of incapacity
15. A legal separation declared by final judgment, which is itself a ground for divorce

Two rules from the same chapter change a lawsuit: divorce on a specific cause can only be requested by the spouse who did not give cause, and within six months of learning of the facts (Article 158). The exception: for voluntary separation from or abandonment of the marital home, or unjustified absence, for more than one year (Article 155, ground 4), Article 156, as amended by Decreto 27-2010, says the action may be brought by either spouse. The paragraph of Article 158 that barred declaring a divorce on the defendant’s mere acceptance or confession appears as repealed by Article 4 of Decreto 27-2010 in the CENADOJ edition of the Civil Code updated to August 8, 2025.

Requirements

By mutual agreement (Procedure Code, Art. 426), the application is filed with:

• Certificates of the marriage, of the births of the children of both spouses and of the deaths of any children who have died
• Marital capitulations, if any were made
• A list of the assets acquired during the marriage
• The draft settlement of Civil Code Article 163 (children, their support and education, spousal support, guarantee)

On a specific cause, your lawyer files a lawsuit stating the Article 155 ground and the evidence that proves it.

Step by step

By mutual agreement (Procedure Code, Arts. 426-431):

1. File the application before the judge of the marital domicile, after more than one year of marriage, with the documents above.
2. Provisional measures — when admitting the application, the judge may suspend life in common and decide provisionally who keeps the children and the support (Art. 427).
3. Conciliation hearing within eight days; each spouse appears in person with a different lawyer. If they reconcile, the case ends (Art. 428).
4. Settlement — without reconciliation, the draft settlement is presented and the judge approves it if it follows the law and the guarantees are sufficient (Arts. 429-430).
5. Judgment within eight days once the requirements are met and any mortgage guarantees are inscribed; it can be appealed (Art. 431).
6. RENAP inscription — with the certified judgment, both birth certificates and the RENAP form.

On a specific cause (ordinary trial, Procedure Code Art. 96):

1. Consult a lawyer — private (fees agreed within the Arancel) or a university legal aid clinic (bufete popular).
2. Lawsuit — filed by the spouse who did not give cause, within six months of learning of the facts (Civil Code, Art. 158), stating the Article 155 ground and its evidence.
3. Answer — the judge gives the defendant nine days to answer (Procedure Code, Art. 111); if the defendant does not appear, the trial continues in default at a party request (Art. 113).
4. Evidence and judgment.
5. RENAP inscription of the final judgment.

Cost and time

Common mistakes

• Suing without proving the ground well — Guatemalan judges do not accept “irreconcilable differences” like in the USA. You need to fit your case in one of the grounds of Civil Code Article 155 and file within six months of learning of the facts (Article 158).
• Forgetting provisional measures — if you have children or are in economic crisis, request provisional support and custody from day 1 of the lawsuit. Do not wait for the judgment.

Diaspora — divorcing from the USA

• Mutual agreement: the spouses appear in person at the conciliation hearing; only the spouse who is outside Guatemala may appoint a representative for it, and the two spouses may never appoint the same person (Procedure Code, Art. 428). The power of attorney can be granted at a Guatemalan consulate — see consular power of attorney.
• Specific cause: your lawyer in Guatemala files the lawsuit; witnesses or a defendant abroad are reached through international letters rogatory (OJ international judicial requests).
• After the judgment: RENAP inscribes the divorce with the certified judgment, both birth certificates and a RENAP form; to use the Guatemalan judgment in the US, see MINEX apostille.

More detail, including taking a US divorce judgment to Guatemala: divorcing in Guatemala while living in the USA.

Related trámites

• Organismo Judicial Hub — all OJ trámites
• OJ International Judicial Requests — to notify spouse in the USA
• Divorcing in Guatemala while living in the USA — the representative rule (Art. 428) and taking a US judgment to Guatemala
• MINEX Apostille — to use judgment abroad
• OJ Child & Spousal Support — if you need separate support lawsuit
• OJ Oral Child Support Proceeding — fast track only for support
• Get DPI — current DPI required for any process

Official links

• Organismo Judicial — Portal
• OJ Virtual — Case Lookup
• USAC — Bufetes Populares
• RENAP — Judgment Recording
• Civil Code — Decreto 106