Can you legally separate without divorcing?
Marriage Act · sources read 3 Oct 2026
Yes, if you married in a civil marriage. You can agree to live apart for one year, and the agreement is valid and enforceable once filed with the court; after the year, either of you can ask the court to decide your status.
- Deadline
- You cannot petition for separation until 3 years have passed since the civil marriage was celebrated.
- Deadline
- The court can decide your status only after the one-year period from the date of the agreement.
- Where
- Magistrate's court (the court named in the Marriage Act for matrimonial matters)
Steps
- Agree with your spouse to live apart for one year and file the agreement with the court.
- After the one year, either of you can apply to the court to decide your status.
- You can instead petition the court for separation on grounds such as adultery, cruelty, exceptional depravity, desertion for at least 3 years, or irretrievable breakdown.
- When granting a decree of separation, or after it, the court can order maintenance for a spouse.
Watch out
- The court can change or cancel the agreement if circumstances have changed a lot since it was made.
- Being separated for at least 2 years, by choice or by court decree, counts as irretrievable breakdown, which is a ground for divorce.
Who this covers
- Couples married in a civil marriage (for example at the Registrar's office).
Official sources (1)
- Marriage Act, No. 4 of 2014 (Cap. 150) new.kenyalaw.org · read 3 Oct 2026