Guidance

Apply for a conditional order – sole application

Updated 19 November 2024

Applies to England and Wales

This guide is for solicitors dealing with a divorce or dissolution under the new law. If your case was issued before April 2022 you should follow the guidance for applications submitted before April 2022.

1. Before you start

Before you can use MyHMCTS, you and your organisation must have completed other steps.

1. Registered your organisation with MyHMCTS.

2. Set up your MyHMCTS user account.

Read the MyHMCTS registration guidance for further information and instructions. If your organisation has an account already, contact the existing administrator to arrange for your account creation.

Once you have a MyHMCTS account, you can sign in to manage a case using your email address and password.

Make sure you are using the solicitor portal, not the citizen portal, In MyHMCTS you can:

• manage your organisation from https://manage-org.platform.hmcts.net
• access your divorce application through https://manage-case.platform.hmcts.net

If you cannot find your organisation when entering your details or have issues registering with the service, contact MyHMCTSsupport@justice.gov.uk to make sure your organisation has been set up correctly.

2. When you can apply for a conditional order

A conditional order is a document that says the court does not see any reason why an applicant cannot divorce.

You can apply for a conditional order from 20 weeks after you submitted the divorce application and either when:

• you have received an acknowledgement of service (AoS) or certificate of service
• your bailiff or alternative service, or deemed or dispensed with service, application has been successful

When you apply for conditional order you will either be shown the respondents answers if the AoS has been completed, or the order from the judge if it is a bailiff or deemed or dispensed application.

Once the 20 weeks have passed, you’ll be sent a notification to invite you to apply for a conditional order. The link to the case will be within the email.

3. Find the case

You can either follow the link within the email to take you directly to the case, or log in to find a case.

1. Log in and select ‘Find a case’. Select the following filters:

• Jurisdiction – Family Divorce
• Case type – New Law Case
• CCD reference – use the 16-digit reference number for your case. This can be with or without the hyphens but it needs to have no space at the end of the number

2. Select ‘Apply’ to find the list of cases. If you have entered the full CCD reference, only that case will be listed.

3. Alternatively, from the case list, select the following filters:

• Jurisdiction – Family Divorce
• Case Type – New Law Case
• State – Awaiting conditional order

4. Select ‘Apply’ to show you all cases within your organisation that are assigned to you as a solicitor and awaiting a conditional order.

4. Draft the conditional order

1. Select the link for the case you want to open.

2. The history tab will show that the case is ‘Awaiting Conditional Order’.

3. Select ‘Draft conditional order’ from the next step dropdown and then select ‘Go’.

4. On the first ‘Draft conditional order’ screen you can follow a link to see the respondent answers. If you select this link it will open the answers on a new tab.

5. Select ‘Yes’ to the question about continuing with the divorce and applying for a conditional order. Then select ‘Continue’. If you select ‘No’ you will not be able to continue.

6. On the next screen you can follow a link to see the divorce application. If you select this link it will open the answers on a new tab.

7. Select if the information in the application is still correct. If you select ‘No’, you will be given a text box where you can add details of any information that needs updating.

8. Select ‘Continue’.

9. You will be shown a summary and asked to check your answers. If you need to make any changes, select the relevant ‘Change’ link. If you are happy with the information, select ‘Save conditional order’.

10. You’ll see ‘Draft conditional order’ in the events on the history tab. You will also see a green box at the top of the screen that says the case ‘has been updated with the event: Draft conditional order’.

5. Submit the conditional order

1. Select, ‘Submit Conditional Order’ from the next step dropdown menu. Then select ‘Go’.

2. On the first ‘Submit Conditional Order’ screen, select ‘Yes’ to say that applicant believes that the facts stated in the application for a conditional order are true.

3. Enter your name and the name of your firm.

4. Add any additional comments that you might need to make.

5. Then select ‘Continue’.

6. On the next screen, select ‘Save Conditional Order’. This will fully submit the conditional order and send it through to the legal advisor.

7. You’ll see ‘Submit Conditional Order’ in the events on the history tab. You will also see a green box at the top of the screen that says the case ‘has been updated with the event: Submit Conditional Order’. The end state will say ‘Awaiting legal advisor referral’.

The conditional order will now be in the queue for the legal advisor to review.

If the legal advisor grants the conditional order, you’ll receive an entitlement order with a date and time of the conditional order hearing.

6. Get help with MyHMCTS

Managing cases and case access in MyHMCTS

If you need support with case details or with managing a case in MyHMCTS, contact the court and tribunal service centre (CTSC):

Webchat
Telephone: 0300 303 0642
Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm
Closed on bank holidays
Online form

Find guidance for case administration tasks in MyHMCTS

Accessing your MyHMCTS account

If you are having trouble accessing MyHMCTS, make sure you are using the correct link. To manage a case, you must use https://manage-case.platform.hmcts.net.

You should also make sure you:

• check your internet browser is up to date – we recommend you use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge (you cannot use Internet Explorer or Apple Safari)
• clear your cookies and your cache
• check your firewall and security settings

We recommend that you bookmark or favourite MyHMCTS in your internet browser. You should only create the bookmark or favourite once you have signed in and are on the homepage. Do not create it from the sign in or verification pages, or while you have a case or organisation open.

If you are still having trouble accessing MyHMCTS, try using a different device to sign in.

If you have an IT support team, they will be able to help with any device, browser and security issues.

If you have an issue with your MyHMCTS account, you should contact an account administrator in your organisation.

If you need additional support with your MyHMCTS account, email MyHMCTSsupport@justice.gov.uk. We aim to respond within 5 working days.