The Catholic Church usually does not use the word “annulment.” Instead, it calls the process a “nullity case” or “declaration of nullity.
This is because the Church is not “canceling” a marriage or pretending it never mattered. Rather, it is formally examining whether a valid sacramental marriage was present from the beginning. If the Church determines something essential was missing, it declares that the marriage was not valid in the way the Church understands marriage.



A Church Petition for a Declaration of Nullity consists of 3 parts:
The Formal Petition Form must be filled out as follows:
Along with the Formal Petition Form, the following documents must be submitted:
Please always download forms from the website to ensure that you are using the most current ones.
B. As with all petitions the allegations must be substantiated through acceptable means. The cooperation of Person B and Person C is absolutely necessary in this process. Therefore, the following MUST be established from the testimony of both Person B and Person C whose testimony will be obtained by the Tribunal Office:
C. The above states the simplest requirements to the process. However, the Prior Bond/Ligamen petition can be complicated. Following are some problems which will delay the processing of a prior Bond/Ligamen petition or which will require Person A (Petitioner) to file a Formal Church Petition for a Declaration of Nullity:
If these conditions exist, the Pauline Privilege Petition, including the following information and documents, are necessary:
The Favor of the Faith is a special process that exists for non-sacramental marriages in which one of the parties in a former marriage was not baptized. Please read our brief introduction to this process below. If the conditions that govern this process apply to your former marriage, please fill out the Favor of the Faith Petition Form with the help of a Case Sponsor. Be sure to follow all instructions carefully to avoid any delays in the acceptance and progression of your case. If you choose to fill this Petition out by hand, please make sure to write legibly.
Download the Favor of the Faith Petition Form (PDF - to print and fill out by hand)
Download the Favor of the Faith Petition Form (.doc file - to fill out electronically) *Make sure you are in "Print Layout" mode in order to maintain the correct formatting when printing.