D8D form: end a marriage or civil partnership where your partner is presumed dead
Form D8D is a petition asking the court to presume that a missing spouse or civil partner has died and to end the marriage or civil partnership on that basis. If you do not know where your partner is, GOV.UK says you can usually still apply for a divorce online using their last known address.
Fill in the D8D form with Wren
How Wren helps with the D8D
Official forms are written for lawyers. With Wren you do not have to decode this one on your own, and you still follow the court’s procedure.
- Plain questions, one at a timeEach part of the D8D becomes short questions in everyday words. Answer at your own pace and come back to it.
- Help beside each questionWhat the question is asking and what the official guidance says about it, in plain English.
- The official form, filled inYour answers go into the official D8D. You check it, sign it and send it yourself. Nothing goes to the court for you.
- What comes next, kept with your caseWhat usually happens after you send it, with the dates worked out from the published rules.
Time and money
- On your own
- A day or more
- With Wren
- About an hour for most forms
- Solicitor for this form
- £740 to £1,2403 to 5 hours
A solicitor’s time for the D8D can run to £1,240. With Wren it is part of £19.99 a month, and it takes about an hour for most forms rather than a day or more.
Times and hours are Wren’s estimates for a typical case, not quotes. Solicitor costs are those hours at £247 an hour, the courts’ guideline rate for a solicitor with over four years’ experience, outside London (GOV.UK, Solicitors' guideline hourly rates (in effect from 1 January 2026)). The guideline runs from £200 to £295 an hour outside London depending on experience, firms set their own rates, and VAT is added on top.
Key facts
- Official title
- Form D8D: Petition for a presumption of death decree/order and the dissolution of a marriage/civil partnership
- Online first
- GOV.UK says you can get a divorce or dissolution even if you do not know where your partner is.Source: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
- Edition
- 04.14 (6 pages), which uses the terms in force before April 2022.Source: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
- What it does not do
- GOV.UK says it can be used to remarry or form a new civil partnership, but not to get a death certificate, a financial order or probate.Source: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
Who uses the D8D
A person whose spouse or civil partner is missing and who has sufficient evidence that they have died. GOV.UK says a solicitor can advise on the evidence needed.
When it is used
When you want to remarry or form a new civil partnership and there is evidence your partner has died. GOV.UK says the decree or order cannot be used to get a death certificate, a financial order or probate.
Before you start
- Check whether an ordinary divorce or dissolution, applied for online with the last known address, is the better route.
- Your marriage or civil partnership certificate, or a certified copy.
- When and where your partner was last heard of, and the steps you have taken to find them.
- Any evidence that your partner has died.
How to fill in the D8D
Open each part for what it asks and how to answer it. In Wren, each part is a few plain questions, and your answers fill in the form.
Page 1 and Part 1
You name yourself, say whether it is a marriage or civil partnership, and give your details and your partner's last known details.
Parts 2 to 4
You copy the certificate details, tick why the court can deal with it and list other court cases.
Parts 5 and 6
You give the date you stopped living together, when your partner was last heard of, the steps taken to find them and any other details you rely on.
Parts 7 to 10
Optional details of children, any help you need at court, where documents should be sent, and the prayer. The petition is signed on paper.
Prepare your D8D with Wren Family
Wren Family turns official forms into short, plain-English questions you can answer at your own pace. You check everything before you send it: nothing goes to the court for you.
Get startedFree for 14 days, no card. Then £19.99 a month, with your money back within 14 days if it’s not right.
What happens after you send it
The court considers the petition and the evidence. If it grants the decree or order, the marriage or civil partnership is ended in the same way as by a divorce or dissolution. The supporting notes say this can affect inheritance, so they suggest legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Using this petition when an ordinary divorce with the last known address would do.
- Sending it without evidence that supports the presumption of death.
- Expecting it to provide a death certificate or allow probate.
Common questions
Do I have to use the paper form?
No. Most people apply and respond through the online divorce service on GOV.UK, which guides you through each step. The paper form is for people who cannot or would rather not use it, or for steps GOV.UK says are done on paper.
What is the fee?
This page does not state a fee because fees change. The current fee is in leaflet EX50, and you may be able to get help with fees if you have a low income or receive certain benefits.
Where these facts come from
These are the official rules and pages this page is based on. They are listed so you can check a detail for yourself; you do not need them to use Wren. They are outside Wren and open in a new tab.
- GOV.UK: Divorce or end a civil partnership if your partner is missing (external source, opens in a new tab)
- GOV.UK: Form D8D publication page (external source, opens in a new tab)
- GOV.UK: Civil and family court fees (EX50) (external source, opens in a new tab)
- Pinned template D8D (04.14) (external source, opens in a new tab)