How to Complete and Submit Form D81: Figures, Signing, and Filing

Form D81 is the statement of information that both parties file in England and Wales when asking a court to approve a financial consent order after divorce or civil partnership dissolution. To complete it, you collect current figures for every asset, debt, and income source on both sides, work through the numbered questions in order (jointly where you can), explain why the proposed settlement is fair, sign the statement of truth, and file it with your draft consent order through the MyHMCTS portal. The current version of the form is dated April 2025 and is a free PDF download from GOV.UK.¹ Without a properly completed D81, the court will not approve your consent order, and your financial agreement has no legal force.

Gather the Figures Before You Open the Form

The D81 asks for up-to-date numbers, and inconsistent or missing figures are one of the quickest ways to have your application returned. Pull everything together first, then start filling in.

Current market values for the family home and any other properties, less the outstanding mortgage on each. A recent estate agent’s appraisal or a formal RICS valuation is acceptable.
A Cash Equivalent Transfer Value for every defined-benefit and defined-contribution pension held by either party. Request these early — they can take up to three months to arrive, and the court treats a CETV as valid for only one year from the date it was issued.²
Recent statements for every current account, savings account, ISA, and investment holding, for both parties.
Income evidence: payslips, tax returns, or benefits statements showing net income from employment, self-employment, state benefits, child benefit, and any investment income.
Liability records: credit card balances, personal loans, car finance, and any other debts that aren’t already netted off against a property value.
Child maintenance details, whether that is a Child Maintenance Service assessment or a private arrangement. The form specifically asks about payments between the parties and payments to or from third parties.³

If either party owns a business, you may need a professional valuation. The court can accept a report from a single joint expert or from experts appointed separately by each side. Start this early because reports take weeks and often generate follow-up questions.

Working Through the Numbered Questions

The form is organized into numbered sections that move from your relationship history, through your current finances, to how things will look after the order takes effect.³

Questions 1 to 7: Background

Questions 1 to 5 cover the key dates: marriage or civil partnership, the date you began living together permanently, separation, and whether a conditional order (formerly decree nisi) or final order has been granted. Question 6 records dates of birth for both parties and any children of the family. Question 7 asks how you reached your agreement — direct discussion, solicitor-led negotiation, mediation or other out-of-court dispute resolution, or another route. Get the dates right. Discrepancies between the D81 and the consent order are a common reason for the paperwork to come back.

Questions 8 and 9: Current Capital and Income

This is the core of the form, laid out in parallel columns for Applicant and Respondent. Question 8 covers capital. Line A takes up to two properties and their net equity after mortgages. Line B covers other capital — bank accounts, savings, investments, ISAs. Line C is your gross capital total; Line D subtracts non-mortgage liabilities; Line E gives net capital. Pensions (the CETVs) go on Line F, Pension Protection Fund compensation on Line G if it applies, and Line H shows the total capital position.

Question 9 breaks down net income. Earned income after tax and National Insurance goes on Line A. State benefits including child benefit go on Line B. Pension income and any PPF payments go on Line C. Interest sits on Line D and other income on Line E. Further lines cover child support and spousal maintenance flowing between the parties (Lines G and H) and maintenance paid to or received from someone who isn’t a party to the proceedings (Lines J and K). Line M is the grand total.

Questions 10 and 11: Position After the Order

These mirror Questions 8 and 9 but show the picture once the proposed order has been implemented. This is where the judge sees whether the settlement actually works: whether both parties can house themselves, whether income covers reasonable needs, and whether the capital split makes sense alongside the maintenance arrangements. If the numbers here don’t follow from the terms of your draft consent order, the judge will notice.

Questions 12 to 18: Context and Explanations

Question 12 is a free-text box for anything the judge should know: medical conditions, expected changes in circumstances, or the existence of a pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreement. Question 13 is the one that most often lets applications down. It asks you to explain why the proposed division is fair. “We have agreed” or “it is fair” is not enough. The judge needs the reasoning: why one party takes more capital while the other keeps a higher income, how the children’s housing needs are met, why maintenance is being dismissed.

Question 14 asks each party to explain how they will support themselves if the order includes a clean break dismissing all maintenance claims. Question 15 covers current living arrangements and the basis of occupation (owner, tenant, living with family). Question 16 asks whether either party is in a new relationship, cohabiting, or intending to remarry. Questions 17 and 18 deal with property-transfer notices to mortgage lenders and pension-sharing order details.

One Joint Form or Two Separate Ones

The form is designed to be completed jointly, and the instructions encourage that unless there is a good reason not to.³ If you genuinely disagree over the value of a specific asset — for example, one party puts the house at £350,000 and the other at £320,000 — you can each submit a separate D81. Family Procedure Rule 9.26 requires that when separate forms are used, each party signs the other’s form to confirm they have read it.⁴ Separate forms without those cross-signatures will be returned.

Signing the Statement of Truth

The D81 ends with a Statement of Truth that each party signs to confirm the figures are accurate to the best of their knowledge. The court’s ability to approve the order depends on that honesty. Under Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, a judge must consider the income, property, financial resources, and needs of both parties, and can only do so on an accurate picture.⁵

Hiding assets or inflating debts can unravel the settlement years later. In Sharland v Sharland [2015] UKSC 60, the Supreme Court held that where a consent order was obtained through fraudulent non-disclosure, the burden falls on the person who committed the fraud to show it would not have made a difference; if they can’t, the order can be set aside and the financial proceedings reopened.⁶ Dishonesty on a form signed with a statement of truth can also draw adverse costs orders or, in extreme cases, contempt proceedings. If anything changes between signing the form and filing it — a redundancy, a house sale falling through, a new asset coming to light — update the D81 before submission.

Filing the Form With Your Draft Consent Order

The D81 is not filed on its own. Under Family Procedure Rule 9.26, you submit it alongside two copies of the draft consent order, one of which must be endorsed with a statement signed by the respondent signifying agreement.⁴ You also upload a copy of your conditional order or final order.⁷ Your case must have reached at least the conditional order stage before you can submit.

Most applications now go through the MyHMCTS online portal. Create a new case, select “Financial Remedy Consented” as the case type, upload PDF copies of the signed consent order and D81, complete the on-screen prompts, digitally sign the statement of truth, and submit. Uploaded PDFs must not be password-protected or encrypted, and the consent order PDF should be unflattened so the court can process it.⁷

The court fee for a financial consent order application is £60.⁸ If you can’t afford it, you may qualify for a remission through the Help with Fees scheme. For fees under £1,420, savings must generally be £4,250 or less, and monthly income at or below £1,420 (single) or £2,130 (with a partner), with additional allowances of £425 per child under 14 and £710 per child aged 14 or older. Receipt of certain means-tested benefits — Universal Credit with earnings under £6,000 a year, or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance — qualifies automatically.⁹ Apply for Help with Fees before submitting the consent order, and enter the reference number when MyHMCTS asks for it.

What Happens After You File

The application goes to a district judge for a paper review. Rule 9.26 provides that neither party needs to attend unless the judge asks for a hearing.⁴ The judge reads the D81, cross-checks the figures against the draft order, and weighs the proposed settlement against the Section 25 factors — income, needs, standard of living, age, duration of the marriage, and each party’s contributions.⁵

If satisfied, the judge approves and seals the order. This typically takes between four and ten weeks depending on court workload. If not satisfied, the application comes back with written observations or a request for a short hearing. The most common reasons for a return:

Figures on the D81 don’t match the schedule in the draft consent order.
Question 13 says nothing meaningful, so the judge cannot assess fairness.
The D81 is missing a signature, or (for separate forms) the cross-signature boxes are unchecked.
One party walks away with very little, or a wide income gap is unexplained, or the children’s housing needs appear unaddressed, without context in Question 12 or 13.
CETVs are missing or expired, or property values don’t reflect the outstanding mortgage.

A returned application isn’t a permanent rejection. You fix the issues, update the D81 if needed, and resubmit. Each round trip adds weeks, which is why the time spent getting it right the first time is time well spent.

1
GOV.UK. Provide Information About the Parties’ Financial Situation to Support Your Application for a Consent Order – Form D81
2
MoneyHelper. How to Split Pensions in a Divorce or Dissolution
3
GOV.UK. D81 – Statement of Information for a Consent Order in Relation to a Financial Remedy
4
Justice UK. Part 9 – Applications for a Financial Remedy
5
Legislation.gov.uk. Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 – Section 25
6
Supreme Court UK. Sharland (Appellant) v Sharland (Respondent) – Judgment
7
GOV.UK. Lodging an Application – Consent
8
OLS Solicitors. 2025 Family Court Fee Increases Explained
9
GOV.UK. Get Help Paying Court and Tribunal Fees