Do you still need a cooling-off period after three years apart?

After three years of separation, divorce needs a cooling-off period, which is mandatory. The Civil Code stipulates that the cooling-off period for divorce is within 30 days, and either party can withdraw the divorce application from the registration authority; Within 30 days after the date of applying for divorce registration expires, if both parties fail to apply to the marriage registration office for a divorce certificate, it shall be deemed that the divorce application has been withdrawn. The reason for setting a 30-day cooling-off period for divorce is to find a balance between protecting the divorce freedom of the parties and preventing rash divorce, which not only avoids the damage to the divorce freedom of the parties due to the long cooling-off period, but also avoids the effect that the cooling-off period is too short to achieve the "cooling-off period". There are two 30 days in the cooling-off period system of divorce, but these two 30 days have different effects and constraints on the behavior of the parties and the marriage registration office, so the legal consequences are different. The cooling-off period of the first 30 days remains unchanged, that is, the marriage registration office will not handle the divorce registration formalities within 30 days after receiving the divorce registration application, during which either party may withdraw the divorce registration application.

Therefore, it belongs to the typical cooling-off period of divorce. The second 30 days is a variable period, that is, within 30 days after the expiration of the 30-day cooling-off period for divorce, if both husband and wife personally apply to the marriage registration authority for a divorce certificate, the marriage registration authority will issue a divorce certificate if it meets the requirements for divorce registration after examination; If both men and women fail to file an application during this period, it shall be deemed that the application for divorce registration has been withdrawn, and the marriage registration authority shall not handle the divorce registration for them based on their initial application. The above two provisions make it clear that if both men and women want to register for divorce, they need to go through a 30-day divorce cooling-off period after submitting an application for divorce registration, and they need to go to the marriage registration office in person to apply for a divorce certificate within 30 days after the expiration of the divorce cooling-off period. If either party fails to apply for confirmation on the spot, it is deemed that the two parties have not reached an agreement, and the administrative procedure of divorce by agreement is not applicable.

Legal basis:

People's Republic of China (PRC) Civil Code

Article 1076 If a husband and wife divorce voluntarily, they shall sign a written divorce agreement and apply for divorce registration in person at the marriage registration office. The divorce agreement shall specify the expression of the will of both parties to divorce voluntarily and the consensus on matters such as child support, property and debt disposal.

Article 1077 If either party is unwilling to divorce within 30 days after the marriage registration office receives the application for divorce registration, it may withdraw the application for divorce registration from the marriage registration office. Within 30 days after the expiration of the time limit specified in the preceding paragraph, both parties shall personally apply to the marriage registration authority for a divorce certificate; Those who fail to apply shall be deemed to have withdrawn their application for divorce registration.