How to Divorce a Missing Spouse in California

One of the most frustrating situations in California family law is trying to divorce someone who has completely disappeared.

The law requires you to formally serve your spouse with the FL-100 Petition so they have a chance to respond. But what if they moved out five years ago, changed their phone number, and left no forwarding address? You are not trapped in the marriage forever.

Step 1: The "Diligent Search"

You cannot simply tell the judge, "I don't know where they are," and immediately ask to publish a notice in the newspaper. The court requires you to prove that you made a genuine, exhaustive effort to find your spouse. A proper diligent search includes:

• Calling and emailing their last known phone numbers and addresses.
• Contacting their parents, siblings, or known friends.
• Searching for them on social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram).
• Contacting their last known employer.
• Searching online public records or hiring a private investigator to run a skip trace.
• Checking the county jail or state prison inmate locators.

You must document the dates, times, and results of every single search attempt.

Step 2: Request Permission from the Judge

Once you have exhausted all options, file an Application for Order for Publication or Posting (Form FL-980). Attached to this form, submit a sworn declaration detailing your diligent search. The judge will review your application and, if satisfied, sign an Order (Form FL-982) granting permission to proceed.

Step 3: Publication vs. Posting

Service by Publication (Standard Method)

The judge will order you to publish a legal notice (the Summons) in a specific local newspaper in the area where your spouse was last known to live.

• Publication fees range from $100 to $400.
• The notice must run once a week for four consecutive weeks.
• After four weeks, the newspaper provides a Proof of Publication affidavit, which you file with the court.

Service by Posting (If You Have a Fee Waiver)

If you are low-income and the court already granted you a Fee Waiver (Form FW-003), the judge may allow Service by Posting:

• The court clerk physically posts the Summons on a public bulletin board at the courthouse for 28 days.
• You must also mail a copy of the Summons to your spouse's last known address, even if you know they don't live there anymore.

Step 4: Proceed with a Default Divorce

Once the four weeks of publication or 28 days of posting are complete, the law considers your spouse officially served. The 30-day response window begins.

Missing spouses rarely read legal notices, so they almost certainly fail to respond within 30 days. Once that window closes, you file a Request to Enter Default (Form FL-165). This asks the court to cut your spouse out of the process entirely. You then submit your default divorce judgment paperwork — including a proposed property division that matches exactly what you asked for in the original Petition — and the judge finalizes your divorce without your spouse ever being present.

Want help running the search log, FL-980, and the default judgment packet? Start your California divorce here.