Your spouse has not responded to your California annulment petition. That may let you move forward without their participation, but it does not make the annulment automatic. You still need proper service, your court's nonresponse procedure and evidence that the marriage qualifies for annulment.
The most useful next step is to identify which of those requirements is unfinished. A filed proof of service does not prove the marriage was invalid. An entered default does not amount to a judgment. This guide explains what to check before you assemble your final papers.
First check what was actually filed
Get copies of your filed Petition, the Summons, your proof of service and any later orders. Check the court's case record for a Response rather than relying only on whether your spouse has spoken to you.
The standard Petition in form FL-100 distinguishes nullity from dissolution and legal separation. It also identifies the grounds and relief you requested. Read your own filed version before preparing the next form. Do not assume a request for annulment also asks for divorce if annulment is denied.
If you are the petitioner, you do not complete a Response on your spouse's behalf to make up for their silence. A Response is the other party's pleading. A request to enter default serves a different purpose.
Here are the documents that are easiest to confuse. This is a guide to their roles, not a complete filing packet.
| Document | What it does |
|---|---|
| FL-100 Petition | Starts the case and states the requested remedy and orders |
| FL-115 Proof of Service of Summons | Records how the starting papers were served |
| FL-165 Request to Enter Default | Asks the clerk to enter default after the response deadline passes without a filed Response, subject to applicable requirements |
| Nullity declaration and supporting evidence | Explain and support the legal reason for annulment |
| FL-180 Judgment | Records the court's final decisions when approved and entered |
Confirm service before counting the response period
California Courts' annulment-start instructions say the respondent has 30 days to respond after service. For the ordinary personal-service route, another adult who is not a party delivers the required papers. You cannot serve the starting papers yourself.
The server completes FL-115, which records the documents, person, date and method involved. File the proof and keep a filed copy. Check the service date against the form rather than using the day you filed your petition or the day your spouse first learned about the case.
If service involved mail, substituted service, publication or an address outside the country, do not apply a personal-service timeline without checking that method's rules. Not knowing where your spouse is does not excuse service. Ask the court's self-help center what procedure applies before requesting default.
Also check for any extension or court order affecting the response deadline. When service is disputed or the deadline is uncertain, resolve that issue first; submitting more judgment forms will not repair defective service.
Check the default procedure before requesting it
Ask your county which procedure it uses for a nonresponse in a nullity case. Where entry of default is the appropriate next step, FL-165 is the request. The court must still act on the request. Keep track of whether it was submitted, rejected for correction or actually entered.
Use the current form and follow its mailing, financial-information and military-status requirements, together with your court's instructions. Do not make a statement about military service simply because your spouse has not replied. Military service or unknown military status can trigger additional protections before a default judgment. Ask the self-help center how to address that situation.
If your spouse has filed a Response, the ordinary no-response default route is no longer the right assumption. If a default has already been entered and your spouse wants to participate, they may need court relief. Either development changes what you should prepare next.
Tell the self-help center whether there is a signed agreement and whether a Response has been filed. Silence, agreement and a filed Response are different facts; calling the case “uncontested” does not answer those questions.
Prepare proof of the annulment ground
A short marriage, a breakup or a spouse's refusal to participate does not itself establish a legal ground for annulment. California Courts explains the recognized grounds and their limits in its legal-reasons guide. Some grounds have filing deadlines or can be affected by what happened after the problem was discovered.
Review the ground stated in your petition. Then make a private preparation sheet with these questions:
- What facts must be established for this particular ground?
- What happened, and on what dates?
- Which facts do you know personally?
- What records or witnesses support those facts?
- Are there facts that seem inconsistent with the requested annulment and need to be addressed?
Organize relevant records chronologically and keep originals safe. A prior marriage record, for instance, and a prior divorce judgment answer different questions. The existence of an earlier marriage alone does not tell you whether it had ended before the later wedding. Obtain the records needed to establish the sequence rather than drawing a conclusion from one document.
Follow the court's directions for declarations, exhibits, witness attendance and service of hearing papers. Gathering a record does not automatically make it admissible or mean it should be filed publicly. Ask about privacy requirements before attaching sensitive medical or financial records.
Fraud, incapacity and putative-spouse issues can involve difficult legal tests. If you are unsure whether your evidence fits the ground you pleaded, have that issue reviewed before treating your packet as ready. A neatly completed form cannot replace missing proof.
Ask your county how it handles nullity proof
Do not copy a divorce-by-default checklist and assume every instruction carries over to annulment. In particular, do not assume you can finish without a hearing.
Statewide annulment guidance tells filers to arrange a court date to prove their grounds. San Luis Obispo's default instructions specifically route annulment requests to a hearing. Other local instructions address written declarations and the court's discretion to require testimony. Tulare's nullity instructions expressly direct nullity cases away from its default route: attend the case management conference so the court can set a prove-up hearing. Follow that local route rather than selecting a generic default packet.
For example, Orange County Local Rule 710.1 requires a detailed declaration supporting nullity as part of its default process and allows the court to require a hearing. Its default packet requirements include FL-170, even though that form's statewide title refers to dissolution or legal separation. The lesson is not to add or omit FL-170 everywhere; it is to obtain your own county's nullity instructions.
Ask these questions before filing the final packet:
- Does this court require a hearing in my nullity case, and how is it scheduled?
- Is a separate factual declaration required, and what must it address?
- Which judgment forms and local attachments apply to my case?
- When and how must exhibits or hearing papers be delivered?
- If the papers are rejected, how will I receive the correction notice?
A hearing date is not a promise of an annulment. Be prepared to explain the evidence supporting your ground, not merely that your spouse did not answer.
Keep financial and child issues on a separate review list
Annulment does not make every related issue disappear. If you ask for property division or spousal support, the court may need to determine whether you qualify as a putative spouse: someone who believed in good faith that the marriage was valid. The California Courts annulment overview explains why that finding matters.
If you seek division of property and debts, check the financial-disclosure requirements for your case. A nullity-only case and a petition that also requests dissolution may not call for identical handling. Our California divorce financial-disclosure guide explains document roles in divorce; use your court's nullity instructions to determine what applies here.
Having children does not, by itself, prevent an annulment. Custody, support and other child-related orders can require additional forms and jurisdiction checks. Do not leave them out because the principal request is to annul the marriage.
Also compare every proposed final order with the relief requested in the served petition. A default packet is not a shortcut for adding new demands without the required notice.
Check the judgment rather than assuming the case is finished
FL-180 has separate choices for dissolution, legal separation and nullity. The judgment and its attachments must match what the court actually decides.
After submission or a hearing, check for the signed, filed judgment and any required follow-up. Keep the entered judgment, notice of entry and incorporated orders together. Do not treat an unsigned proposed judgment, a default entry or the passing of 30 days as proof that an annulment has been granted.
Your immediate task is usually concrete: fix service, confirm default status, prepare the required evidence or obtain the county's judgment instructions. Start there instead of downloading another generic packet.
If you want help organizing documents, review GetDivorcePapers.com's document-preparation options and confirm whether the service covers your particular nullity case and county requirements before ordering.
