To get a pension valuation for divorce, write to each pension provider and ask for a cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) for divorce purposes.
The valuation is the figure both of you and the court will work from, so it is worth asking early and asking in the right words. This page sets out how to request one, how long providers have to reply, when a provider can charge, and why the number sometimes needs a second opinion. Several valuations to chase at divorce? Readers who want to go through the order of requests with an FCA-authorised adviser can complete the form on this page, which brings a free call-back.
How do I get a pension valuation for divorce?
Ask each provider or scheme separately, and make clear that the valuation is for divorce. The steps below follow the order that Advicenow's guide to pensions on divorce uses.
- List every pension. That includes old workplace schemes and personal pensions. If you have lost track of one, the GOV.UK Pension Tracing Service can help you find the provider.
- Ask for a CETV for divorce purposes. MoneyHelper's wording is to "ask each pension provider for a cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) for divorce or dissolution purposes". Advicenow says the request goes on a Pension Inquiry form, known as Form P, one for each pension, and that your spouse uses the same form for theirs.
- For a final salary or other defined benefit pension, also ask for a benefit statement. It lists what comes with the pension, such as a set retirement income or a death-in-service payment.
- Keep a note of the date you asked, and chase if nothing arrives.
An annual pension statement does not do the job. Advicenow says a pension summary, entitlement letter or annual statement is "not the same as a cash equivalent and so will not be enough". While you wait, MoneyHelper suggests logging in to your provider's online account or looking at recent statements for a rough idea.
The regulations behind all this treat a request from the member as the trigger: a provider must give the member a valuation of the rights built up, a summary of how it is calculated, which benefits it covers, what it offers a former spouse who receives a share, and its schedule of charges (Pensions on Divorce etc. (Provision of Information) Regulations 2000, regulation 2). A spouse can ask for the general information, but the valuation itself comes on the member's request or by a court order. Scheme-specific routes are covered for the NHS, teachers', armed forces, civil service and local government pensions.
How long do providers have to send a valuation?
A provider normally has three months from receiving your request. That drops to six weeks if, on the day you ask, you tell the provider the valuation is needed for court proceedings over money and property on the divorce or dissolution that have already started.
Regulation 2 gives the first limit as "within 3 months beginning with the date the person responsible for the pension arrangement receives that request". The six weeks apply only where the member gives that notice on the date of the request, and a court ordering the valuation can set a shorter period still. In practice Advicenow says providers "can take around three months", so it pays to ask well before any court timetable starts.
Once issued, MoneyHelper says a CETV "will be valid in a Court for up to one year". If the figures go stale during a long negotiation, a fresh one may be needed, and the cost rules below then matter. What follows the valuation, stage by stage, is in how long a pension sharing order takes.
Is a pension valuation for divorce free?
Usually you can have one without charge, but the free allowance is one per pension in a 12-month period, and some situations carry a fee.
Under the Charging Regulations a provider may charge for it in only four cases: it supplied the same information to either of you or the court within the last 12 months; the member is already at normal pension age; the member is less than a year from that age; or a valuation inside three months has been demanded (Pensions on Divorce etc. (Charging) Regulations 2000, regulation 2). MoneyHelper summarises the practical result: a fee may apply to a second request inside 12 months, or to a pension that has already started paying. Advicenow adds that valuations of personal pensions are normally free and provided quickly.
A valuation can be charged for only if the provider's written schedule of charges lists it, and even then the provider may recover only its reasonable administrative expenses. Ask for that schedule with your request. Sharing a pension later has its own fees; see what a pension sharing order costs.
How do I get a State Pension valuation for divorce?
The State Pension is valued separately, on DWP's form BR20NSP ("Pensions and divorce or dissolution: application for a valuation"), which GOV.UK says was last updated on 9 January 2026.
GOV.UK says "both people involved in the divorce or dissolution need to complete a separate version of the form". Whether any State Pension can be shared depends on when the person reached State Pension age; MoneyHelper says it usually cannot, unless that was before 6 April 2016. State Pension after divorce explains what can be divided.
Why a CETV may not show what a pension is really worth
A CETV is a snapshot of the pot's transfer value, not a promise of the retirement income, and MoneyHelper notes that providers "might also use different calculations to value your pensions".
Advicenow makes the same point: "the cash equivalent doesn't tell you anything about what income you will get when you retire or what other benefits the pension may give you". For final salary pensions, the Pension Advisory Group's guide warns that the cash equivalent can understate what the member will actually receive. Whether a pension on divorce expert's report is worth paying for, and what it costs, is in the pension on divorce expert guide; how a transfer value is calculated is in pension transfer values explained.
Final salary figures need care: an FCA-authorised adviser can point out what the CETV misses once you request a call-back with the page's short form.
In Scotland the valuation works differently. MoneyHelper says the provider needs to know the length of your marriage or civil partnership to calculate the CETV. Under section 10 of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985, only the share referable to the marriage up to the relevant date (the earlier of the day you stopped living together and the day the divorce summons was served) counts as matrimonial property. Pensions on divorce in Scotland has the detail.
Pension valuation snags: quick answers
Can I get my spouse's pension valued?
A spouse can ask a provider for the general information about the scheme, which must arrive within one month, but the valuation itself is requested by the member or ordered by the court. Advicenow says that if your spouse will not cooperate, you can ask the court to order them to provide all their pension information.
Does a pension already being paid need a valuation?
Yes. Advicenow says that an annuity being paid to you now still needs a valuation from the company that pays it, and that you are likely to pay for a cash equivalent once a pension is being paid.
Does the court need a CETV?
Advicenow says the court "must have the cash equivalent information for all the pensions in your case if you ask for a court order", whether the order is by agreement or not. The wider process is in what happens to a pension on divorce.
How is an NHS pension valued for divorce?
NHS Pensions runs its own request process and schedule of charges. The details are in NHS pension and divorce.
Do I need a valuation if we agree everything ourselves?
The figures are still needed to know what you are agreeing to share, and an order made by consent also goes to the court. Three schemes, three envelopes, three different dates? Once this page's form has your details, the CETVs can be sorted through, envelope by envelope, with an FCA-authorised adviser; that call is free.