1. What Is Form UD-4?

Form UD-4 is the Sworn Statement of Removal of Barriers to Remarriage. It is a document filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York as part of an uncontested divorce action. In it, the Plaintiff states — under penalty of perjury — that they have taken all steps solely within their power to remove any barriers to the Defendant's remarriage following the divorce.

In plain language: before a court will grant your final judgment of divorce, you have to promise that you have not done anything — and are not withholding anything — that would prevent your spouse from being able to remarry under the rules of their faith.

This form exists because of a specific provision in New York law — Domestic Relations Law § 253 — which we will break down in full below.

2. Does This Form Apply to You?

Form UD-4 only applies if your marriage was solemnized by a religious officiant — a minister, clergyman, rabbi, imam, or leader of the Society for Ethical Culture.

If you were married in a civil ceremony— by a judge, justice of the peace, city clerk, or court officiant — you do not need to file this form. When you complete your Verified Complaint (Form UD-2), you will indicate that your marriage was “not” solemnized by a clergyman or minister, and the UD-4 requirement does not apply.

If your marriage was performed by a religious officiant, you must either file the UD-4 with proof of service (Form UD-4A), or have the Defendant waive the requirement by checking the appropriate box on the Affidavit of Defendant (Form UD-7). There is no third option. The court will not enter a final judgment of divorce without one or the other.

3. The Law: DRL § 253 — Removal of Barriers to Remarriage

Form UD-4 is the court's implementation of Domestic Relations Law § 253. This statute applies to any marriage solemnized by a person specified in DRL § 11(1) — which covers clergy, ministers, and leaders of the Society for Ethical Culture.

The statute operates at three stages of the divorce:

The statute is clear: a final judgment will not be entered without compliance. This is not a suggestion. It is a gate.

4. Why This Law Exists: A Brief History

DRL § 253 was enacted by the New York State Legislature in 1983. It was commonly known as the “Get Law” — a direct reference to the Jewish religious divorce document called a Get.

Under Jewish law (Halacha), a civil divorce does not dissolve a religious marriage. For a Jewish marriage to end in the eyes of the faith, the husband must voluntarily grant his wife a Get. Without it, the woman is considered an Agunah — literally, a “chained woman.” She cannot remarry within the faith. She cannot date. And the consequences extend beyond her: under traditional Jewish law, children born to a woman who remarries without a Get may be classified as mamzerim — a status that restricts their ability to marry within the Jewish community for multiple generations.

This created a problem that civil courts could not ignore. Husbands were using the Get as leverage — withholding it to extract concessions in custody, support, or property division. In some cases, the refusal was simply vindictive. The wife had her civil divorce, but she remained religiously chained.

The Governor's 1983 Memorandum of Approval described the situation as “tragically unfair” and signed the bill into law despite acknowledging open constitutional questions about the separation of church and state. The statute was deliberately written in religiously neutral language — it never mentions Judaism, the Get, or any specific faith by name. But its legislative history leaves no ambiguity about what it was designed to address.

In 1992, the Legislature went further. Finding that DRL § 253 alone was not a sufficient deterrent, New York enacted a second provision — DRL § 236B(5)(h) and (6)(d) — which allows a court to consider a party's failure to remove barriers to remarriage when deciding equitable distribution and maintenance. In other words: if you refuse to cooperate with a religious divorce, the judge can factor that into how property and support are divided.

Together, these two statutes represent one of the most significant intersections of civil and religious law in American family law. New York remains one of the only states to address this problem directly by statute.

5. What “Barrier to Remarriage” Actually Means

DRL § 253(6) defines the term broadly. A “barrier to remarriage” includes any religious or conscientious restraint or inhibition that is imposed on a party to the marriage, under the principles held by the clergyman or minister who solemnized the marriage, by reason of the other party's commission or withholding of any voluntary act.

The statute also includes important limitations. It is notconsidered a barrier to remarriage if the restraint cannot be removed by the party's voluntary act. And it is not a barrier if removing it would require expenses that the other party refuses to reasonably cover.

There is another critical carve-out: “all steps solely within his or her power” does not include applying to a marriage tribunal or similar religious body that has authority to annul or dissolve a marriage under the rules of that denomination. The law requires you to do what is within your personal power. It does not require you to petition a religious court.

This distinction matters. The statute is not asking anyone to obtain a religious divorce or an ecclesiastical annulment. It is asking you to remove barriers that you personally control — such as granting a Get, or signing a document that allows a religious process to move forward.

6. The Clergyman Safeguard

DRL § 253(7) contains a provision that is unique in New York divorce law. Even after the Plaintiff files their sworn statement, the court cannot enter a final judgment of divorce if the clergyman or minister who solemnized the marriage files their own sworn statement certifying that, to their knowledge, the Plaintiff has failedto remove all barriers to the Defendant's remarriage.

This provision applies only if the clergyman or minister is alive, available, and competent to testify at the time the judgment would be entered. It is, in effect, a safeguard — the religious officiant who married the couple retains the ability to tell the court: “This person has not done what they swore they did.”

7. The Penalty for a False Statement

DRL § 253(8) makes this explicit: any person who knowingly submits a false sworn statement under this section is guilty of making an apparently sworn false statement in the first degree under Penal Law § 210.40. This is a Class E felony. The form is not paperwork to rush through. The court treats it with corresponding weight.

8. The December 2025 Revision: What Changed

The current version of Form UD-4 is Rev. 12/23/25. This revision made a significant procedural change.

This change matters for practical reasons. The notary requirement was a real obstacle for pro se litigants — people filing without an attorney. Finding a notary, scheduling a visit, and paying a fee added friction to a process that was already difficult to navigate alone. The December 2025 revision removed that friction for the UD-4, just as earlier revisions had already done for other forms in the divorce packet.

It is worth noting what did notchange: the substance of the sworn statement remains identical. The Plaintiff still affirms, under penalty of perjury (a Class E felony for a false statement), that they have removed all barriers to the Defendant's remarriage. The legal weight of the document is unchanged. Only the mechanism of attestation — affirmation rather than notarization — has been updated.

9. Form UD-4A: Affirmation of Service

Form UD-4A is the Affirmation of Servicethat must be attached to and filed with the UD-4. It proves that the Defendant was served with a copy of the Plaintiff's Sworn Statement of Removal of Barriers to Remarriage.

The person who serves the document — who must be over 18 years of age and not a party to the action — affirms that they delivered a true copy of the Removal of Barriers Statement to the Defendant. Service can be completed in one of two ways: personally, or by depositing a true copy in a post-paid wrapper at an official U.S. Postal Service depository within New York State, addressed to the Defendant.

Like the UD-4 itself, the UD-4A was updated in the December 2025 revision. What was previously called the “Affidavit of Service” is now titled the “Affirmation of Service.” The notary requirement for the server has been removed. The server now affirms under penalty of perjury using the standard CPLR 2106 language.

There is also a third option on the UD-4A: the Defendant (or Defendant's attorney) can simply acknowledge service by signing the form directly.

10. The Waiver Option: When UD-4 Is Not Required

There are two situations where the UD-4 does not need to be filed:

Civil ceremony: If your marriage was not solemnized by a clergyman, minister, or leader of the Society for Ethical Culture, the UD-4 does not apply. Your Verified Complaint (Form UD-2) will reflect this, and you skip the form entirely.

Defendant waiver:If the Defendant waives the requirement, the UD-4 is not needed. The Defendant does this by checking Box 6b on Form UD-7 (Affidavit of Defendant), which states: “I waive the requirements of DRL § 253 subdivisions (2), (3), and (4).” In this scenario, both the UD-4 and the UD-4A are omitted from the filing.

11. How UD-4 Connects to the Rest of Your Divorce Packet

The UD-4 does not exist in isolation. It connects to several other documents in the Uniform Uncontested Divorce Packet: