Family · Guide

Divorcing under Moroccan law

In Morocco a marriage ends only through the court. The Family Code offers several routes: by agreement, for discord, at the husband's or the wife's request.

Checked: October 2026

These pages describe the law in force in October 2026: the Family Code of 2004 and the Nationality Code. The reform of the Family Code announced in December 2024 has not been voted. They inform you. For your own case, see a lawyer, an adoul or a notary.

Key facts

No divorce exists outside the court. Words said at home, an oath or a letter do not end the marriage. Only the court's authorisation or judgment counts, recorded where needed by two adouls.
The Code applies to every Moroccan, also with a second nationality, and to any couple in which one spouse is Moroccan.
You file with the family section of the court of first instance: that of the marital home, or of the wife's home or residence, or of the place where the marriage deed was made, in that order.
The court first tries to reconcile you. With children, it makes two attempts at least 30 days apart.
A discord divorce (chiqaq) must be decided within six months of the request. So must the divorces asked by the wife on legal grounds, except in exceptional circumstances.
When the husband asks for the divorce (talaq), the court fixes what the wife and children are owed. He must deposit the sum at the court within 30 days. If he does not, the court treats it as giving up the divorce.
The court's decision ending the marriage cannot be appealed on the divorce itself. The parts on money and children can.
The court sends a summary to the civil status office of each spouse's place of birth, which notes the divorce on your birth records. For a spouse born abroad, it goes to the prosecutor in Rabat.
A new Code of Civil Procedure (law 58.25) has applied since 24 August 2026. Press reports say requests can now be filed through electronic platforms.
Under that code, Moroccan courts can hear a divorce against a spouse who lives abroad when the marriage deed was made in Morocco, when the spouse who files is Moroccan, or when the spouse who is sued is Moroccan, according to a specialist's review.

Steps

Choose the route with a lawyer: by agreement, for discord, or one of the others below. It decides what the court checks and what is owed.
File the request with the marriage deed. For a talaq, add proof of the husband's income. For a divorce by agreement, add your written agreement.
Attend the reconciliation hearing. Ask the court, through your lawyer, whether you must come in person: the Code says nothing for spouses who live abroad.
In a talaq, the husband deposits the sum fixed by the court within 30 days.
With the court's authorisation, the divorce is recorded by two adouls of the court's district. In a judicial divorce, the judgment itself ends the marriage.
Collect the divorce deed or the judgment, and a certificate that it is final.
Check that the divorce is noted on your Moroccan birth record by ordering a fresh copy. Then have it recognised in your country of residence.

What to bring

The marriage deed
The identity of both spouses, and details on the children
For a talaq: proof of the husband's income and obligations
For a divorce by agreement or a khol': your written agreement and its conditions
From abroad: a power of attorney for your lawyer, legalised at the consulate. Ask the court what it accepts.

Watch out

If the husband asked for the divorce, was summoned in person and does not come, the court treats his request as withdrawn.
If the wife was summoned in person and neither comes nor answers in writing, the case can be decided without her after a warning from the prosecutor.
Check which kind of divorce is written on your deed. Several European countries refuse a talaq decided by the husband alone, and accept a divorce by agreement or for discord.
A divorce case in Morocco does not stop a case abroad by itself. Between France and Morocco, the court seized second must wait.
We could not read the consulates' page on divorce in Morocco. Ask your consulate what can be done on site.
Proposals, not law: the reform would turn divorce by agreement into a contract without a court case, reduce the number of divorce types, and cap every divorce case at six months.

Official sources

consulat.ma adala.justice.gov.ma fh2mre.ma

Checked: October 2026. Independent guide, not a government site. Rules change: confirm on the official page before you act.

The routes to divorce

By agreement (mutual consent): You both agree to end the marriage, with or without conditions. The conditions must not harm the children. One or both of you file; the court tries reconciliation, then authorises the divorce.
For discord (chiqaq): Either spouse, or both, asks the court to settle a dispute that threatens the marriage. If reconciliation fails, the court grants the divorce and fixes what is owed, weighing each one's share of responsibility.
At the husband's request (talaq): He needs the court's permission, deposits what the wife and children are owed, then has the divorce recorded by two adouls.
By the wife, with a delegated right (tamlik): If her husband gave her the right to divorce, usually in the marriage deed, she applies to the court herself. He cannot oppose it.
For compensation (khol'): The wife gives something in exchange for the divorce, by agreement. If you disagree on the amount, the court sets it. What she gives cannot come from the children's money.
At the wife's request, on legal grounds: Six grounds: the husband broke a condition of the deed, harm, non-payment of maintenance, absence of more than a year, a hidden defect, or his oath of abstinence. Harm can be proved by any means, including witnesses.
Before the marriage is consummated: The divorce is final at once. The wife is owed half of the dowry and observes no waiting period.

After the decision: revocable or final, and the waiting period

Final divorces: A divorce granted by the court is irrevocable, except for an oath of abstinence or non-payment of maintenance. So are a divorce by agreement, a khol', a divorce under tamlik and a third talaq. To live together again, you need a new marriage deed.
Revocable divorce: A first or second talaq by the husband is revocable during the waiting period. He can take his wife back before two adouls. The judge calls the wife, and if she refuses she can ask for a discord divorce.
Waiting period (idda): It runs from the divorce when the marriage was consummated: three menstrual cycles, or three months for a woman without cycles, or until the birth for a pregnant woman. A widow observes four months and ten days.
After a third divorce: You cannot remarry each other unless the woman has since been through a consummated marriage with another man that has ended.

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Marriage, divorce and nationality: all the guides

Marrying abroad: town hall or adouls at the consulate Marrying in Morocco when you live abroad Marrying a foreigner The marriage deed: conditions, property and polygamy Divorce across two countries Children after a divorce: custody, guardianship and travel Money after a divorce Moroccan nationality: who has it, how to prove it Children of a Moroccan and a foreigner Your foreign husband or wife in Morocco: nationality, residence, work Inheritance in a mixed couple

Services

Official online servicesFifty government websites and phone lines: what each one does, what you need to sign in, and whether it works from abroad.

Divorce

Divorce across two countriesA divorce obtained in one country does not change your records in the other by itself. Have it recognised there before you remarry.Children after a divorce: custody, guardianship and travelCustody usually goes to the mother, while the father stays the legal guardian. That difference matters for school, papers and travel.Money after a divorceThe court fixes what is owed: the wife's dues at the divorce, then maintenance and housing for the children until they can stand on their own.