Judicial Council of California · United States

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Form FL-120: Response—Marriage/Domestic Partnership (Family Law)

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Quick answer

Form FL-120 is the Response—Marriage/Domestic Partnership adopted for mandatory use by the Judicial Council of California. The current edition is FL-120 [Rev. January 1, 2020], a free fillable PDF from the Judicial Council. It is how the served spouse or domestic partner answers the petition within 30 calendar days of service: it states your position on the legal grounds and sets out the orders you want the court to make on custody, parenting time, child support, spousal support, separate property and community property. You file the original with the court (the 2026 fee is $435, or file form FW-001 for a fee waiver) and have another adult mail a copy to the petitioner. With JustFill you upload the blank FL-120 PDF, the AI auto-detects every field and checkbox, you type or dictate your answers, and the first clean completed PDF download is included at no charge.

Form
FL-120
Issued by
Judicial Council of California
Country
United States
Free allowance
First clean download
Official edition
FL-120 [Rev. January 1, 2020] — Judicial Council of California, form adopted for mandatory use (Family Code § 2020); the Judicial Council form page lists "Effective: January 1, 2020" and no later revision
Source checked

What is FL-120?

Served with a California divorce petition? FL-120 is your answer. The official three-page Judicial Council PDF (Rev. January 1, 2020) is already fillable in Adobe Acrobat Reader; it is built on Adobe XFA, which browser and phone PDF viewers often render as blank or read-only, so JustFill opens the same blank in your browser and lets you type or dictate every item and checkbox. It rests on Family Code section 2020. The structure deliberately mirrors FL-100 — legal relationship, residence, statistical facts, minor children — so the court can read the two side by side. Item 5 is where they diverge: you may contend the parties never legally married or registered a partnership, deny the grounds stated in the petition, or state your own request. Items 6 to 11 are your requests, in the same order as the petition. The original response must be filed with proof that a copy was served on the petitioner.

Download the FL-120 form PDF — free

The blank FL-120 PDF (Rev. January 1, 2020) is free from the Judicial Council of California at courts.ca.gov/documents/fl120.pdf, and the form page at selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/jcc-form/FL-120 links Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Arabic translations for reference. It is already a fillable PDF with Print, Save and Clear buttons, so there is nothing to buy: print it to fill by hand, fill it in Acrobat Reader, or open the same blank in JustFill to type or dictate every item and checkbox in any browser — the first clean completed PDF download is included at no charge. Print the finished response, sign it, and take the original plus two copies to the clerk (or mail them with the fee and a stamped return envelope; some courts also accept e-filing).

Get the official FL-120 PDF from Judicial Council of California

Who fills out FL-120?

  • A spouse or domestic partner served with a petition (form FL-100)
  • A respondent who disagrees with the grounds or the orders requested
  • A respondent who agrees the marriage should end but wants different orders
  • Self-represented respondents filing within the 30-day window
  • Anyone filing an amended response — the form has an AMENDED checkbox

Field-by-field breakdown

What each section of FL-120 asks for. JustFill’s AI will detect these fields automatically when you upload the PDF — review the breakdown below so you know what to enter.

Items 1–4 — mirror of the petition

Legal relationship, residence requirements, statistical facts (dates of marriage or registration and separation, and the elapsed time), and minor children. Deliberately the same structure as FL-100 so the court can compare answers.

Item 5 — legal grounds

Three distinct positions: that the parties never legally married or registered a partnership; that you deny the grounds set out in item 5 of the petition; or your own request for divorce, legal separation or nullity, with the same grounds available as on the petition.

Item 6 — custody and parenting time

Legal custody, physical custody and visitation, each to petitioner, respondent, joint or other, with detail on FL-311, FL-312, FL-341(C), FL-341(D), FL-341(E) or an attachment.

Items 7–8 — support

Child support, and spousal or partner support: payable to, terminated, or reserved for future determination. The form notes that overdue support carries interest at the legal rate, currently 10 percent.

Items 9–10 — property

Separate property to be confirmed and community and quasi-community property to be divided, listed on the form or on a Property Declaration (form FL-160).

Item 11 — other requests

Attorney fees and costs, restoration of the respondent’s former name, and anything else, with room on Attachment 11c.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • 1Missing the 30 calendar days. The summons gives 30 days from service, not from when you read it.
  • 2Filing the response without serving a copy on the petitioner, or mailing that copy yourself. The form states the original must be filed with proof of service; the copy must be mailed by another adult who is not part of the case, by regular first-class mail, and that person signs Proof of Service by Mail (form FL-335), which you then file.
  • 3Leaving item 5 blank. Silence is not a denial — the form gives you three explicit positions to choose from.
  • 4Copying the petitioner’s dates without checking them. Items 3a and 3b are your statement of the same facts and the court reads any difference.
  • 5Requesting nothing under items 6–11 because you agree with the divorce itself. Agreeing to end the marriage is separate from agreeing to the orders.
  • 6Forgetting the UCCJEA declaration (form FL-105) when there are minor children.

FL-120 example — what a filled-out form looks like

A fictional respondent, Jordan Sample, was served a divorce petition filed by Casey Sample in the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento. They have one child, agree the marriage should end, want joint custody, and want the court to divide the community property.

Caption — party without attorney

JORDAN SAMPLE — 200 Example Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95814 — jordan@example.com

The respondent completing the form without a lawyer puts their own contact details here and leaves the State Bar number blank.

Caption — court and case number

Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento — Case No. 26FL•••••

Copy the court address and case number exactly from the petition (FL-100) and summons (FL-110) you were served.

RESPONSE — type of case

Response to Dissolution (Divorce) of: Marriage (AMENDED left unchecked)

Tick the same case type the petitioner chose unless you are asking for something different in item 5.

Items 1–2 — legal relationship and residence

1a We are married; 2a Respondent has been a resident of California for six months and Sacramento County for three months

For a divorce at least one spouse must meet the six-month state and three-month county residence requirement.

Item 3a — statistical facts

(1) Date of marriage 06/20/2015; (2) Date of separation 03/01/2026; (3) 10 years 8 months

State the dates as you know them — the court reads any difference from the petition.

Item 4b — minor children

A. Sample — born 04/2018 — age 8

With a minor child, a completed FL-105 (UCCJEA declaration) must be attached (item 4d).

Item 5c — legal grounds

(1) Divorce, based on (a) irreconcilable differences

This respondent agrees to the divorce; boxes 5a and 5b are for contesting the marriage or the grounds.

Item 6 — custody and parenting time

a Legal custody: Joint; b Physical custody: Joint; c Visitation as requested in form FL-311

The detail of the parenting schedule goes on the attachment form, not on FL-120 itself.

Items 8–10 — support and property

8c Reserve for future determination the issue of support payable to Respondent; 9a no separate property to confirm; 10b Determine rights to community assets and debts, listed on Property Declaration (form FL-160)

Reserving support keeps the issue open; the property list itself goes on FL-160.

Item 11b and signature

11b Former name restored to: Jordan Example — Date 09/02/2026 — JORDAN SAMPLE (signature)

The declaration is signed under penalty of perjury. Print, sign, then file the original with two copies.

These values are made up. They are here to show what belongs on each line, not to be copied — every name, number, and address on your own FL-120 has to be your own.

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Related forms

Judicial Council of California

FL-100

Form FL-100: Petition—Marriage/Domestic Partnership (Family Law)

Judicial Council of California

FL-110

Form FL-110: Summons (Family Law)

Judicial Council of California

FL-150

Form FL-150: Income and Expense Declaration

Judicial Council of California

FW-001

Form FW-001: Request to Waive Court Fees

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Frequently asked questions

30 calendar days after the summons and petition are served on you, per the notice on form FL-110 — counted from service, not from when you read the papers. A letter, phone call or court appearance does not protect you. If more than 30 days have passed but the petitioner has not yet asked for a default, the self-help guide says you can still file the response; check with the clerk first.
The petitioner may request that your default be entered (form FL-165) and ask the court to grant the orders requested in the petition.
Yes. Item 5 covers the grounds; items 6 to 11 are where you set out the orders you want, independently.
Yes. The form states the original must be filed with proof of service of a copy on the petitioner. You cannot mail it yourself: ask an adult who is 18 or over and not part of the case to send a copy of the filed response (and anything filed with it, except a fee waiver) to the petitioner or their lawyer by regular first-class mail, then have that person complete Proof of Service by Mail (form FL-335). File the original FL-335 with a copy at the same court.
Yes. The Statewide Civil Fee Schedule effective January 1, 2026 sets $435 for a response or other first paper filed in response to a petition for dissolution, legal separation or nullity (Government Code section 70670(d)); some courts add local fees, which is why the self-help guide quotes $435 to $450. If you cannot afford it, ask for a fee waiver on form FW-001 when you file — you may qualify if you receive public benefits such as CalFresh or SSI, your income is low, or paying would leave you unable to meet basic needs. The court can later order you to repay waived fees.
Yes. The Judicial Council publishes FL-120 as a fillable PDF with Print, Save and Clear buttons, which works in Adobe Acrobat Reader. It uses Adobe's XFA technology, so the built-in PDF viewers in Chrome, Safari and most phones may show it as blank or refuse to save your entries. JustFill works from the page image instead, so you can fill every item and checkbox in any browser, and the first clean completed PDF download is included at no charge.
There is no separate instruction sheet. The form points you to Legal Steps for a Divorce or Legal Separation (form FL-107-INFO) and the California Courts self-help guide at selfhelp.courts.ca.gov ("Respond to divorce papers"). The key points: file within 30 calendar days of service; attach FL-105 if there are minor children; file the original plus two copies and pay $435 or file FW-001; have another adult mail a copy to the petitioner and file FL-335; then serve your preliminary declaration of disclosure (forms FL-140, FL-142 or FL-160, and FL-150, with FL-141 filed to confirm service) within 60 days of filing the response.
Check the AMENDED box in the caption next to RESPONSE, complete the whole form again rather than only the items that changed, file it with the court, and have another adult serve a copy on the petitioner with a new FL-335. Ask the clerk or your court's self-help center whether you need the court's permission to amend at your stage of the case.

Official source: FL-120 on Judicial Council of California’s website

Edition checked: FL-120 [Rev. January 1, 2020] — Judicial Council of California, form adopted for mandatory use (Family Code § 2020); the Judicial Council form page lists "Effective: January 1, 2020" and no later revision. Verified against the official source on .

Form FL-120 is published by the Judicial Council of California. JustFill is not affiliated with the Judicial Council or any California court.

JustFill is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Judicial Council of California or any government agency. Always verify your completed form on the official version before signing or submitting.