Talaq Effective Date Calculator
Under Section 7 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961, a talaq does not take effect when it is pronounced. It takes effect when ninety days have passed from the day written notice is delivered to the Chairman of the Union Council, unless it is revoked earlier. If the wife is pregnant when the talaq is pronounced, it takes effect when the ninety days pass or the pregnancy ends, whichever is later.
This calculator gives general information about Pakistani law, not legal advice on your case. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or stored: the calculation runs entirely in your browser.
How the dates are worked out
- Notice. After pronouncing talaq in any form, the husband must give written notice to the Chairman of the Union Council and supply a copy to the wife (Section 7(1), MFLO). Failing to give notice is itself an offence under the section.
- Arbitration Council. Within thirty days of receiving the notice, the Chairman constitutes an Arbitration Council to attempt reconciliation (Section 7(4)).
- Ninety days. Unless revoked earlier, the talaq takes effect when ninety days have passed from the day the notice was delivered to the Chairman (Section 7(3)). The calculator counts the ninety days from the delivery date.
- Pregnancy. If the wife was pregnant when the talaq was pronounced, it does not take effect until the ninety days have passed or the pregnancy ends, whichever is later (Section 7(5)).
- Certificate. Once the talaq has taken effect, the Union Council issues the divorce certificate used for NADRA records and remarriage.
What this calculator does not cover
It is for a talaq notified under Section 7. Section 8 of the Ordinance applies the same procedure, with necessary changes, where a wife exercises a right of divorce delegated to her in the Nikah Nama (talaq-e-tafweez) or where a marriage is dissolved otherwise than by talaq. A khula decree runs differently: the Family Court sends a copy of its decree to the Union Council, and the timing runs from there. See divorce registration after talaq or khula.
Where no notice was ever given, the dates cannot be worked out this way at all, and the status of the talaq may itself be disputed. See talaq procedure under Section 7.
Common questions
When does a talaq take effect in Pakistan?
When ninety days have passed from the day written notice of the talaq is delivered to the Chairman of the Union Council, unless it is revoked earlier (Section 7(3), Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961). If the wife is pregnant at the time, it takes effect when the ninety days pass or the pregnancy ends, whichever is later (Section 7(5)).
What happens if the husband never sends notice to the Union Council?
Failure to give notice is an offence under Section 7. In practice the bigger problem is that the talaq is left undocumented, and its status can be disputed later, in exactly the situations where clarity matters: remarriage, inheritance and maintenance claims.
Can a talaq be revoked during the ninety days?
Yes. Section 7(3) provides that the talaq takes effect after ninety days unless it is revoked earlier, so a revocation within the period stops it taking effect.
Does this calculator work for khula?
No. A khula is granted by the Family Court, which sends a copy of its decree to the Union Council. The timing runs from that point, not from a husband's notice. Ask us to check the dates in a khula case.
Does maintenance continue during the ninety days?
The marriage subsists until the talaq takes effect. A wife's entitlement to maintenance during that period, and during iddat, is a separate question from the dissolution itself and can be claimed in the same proceedings.
Related guides
- Talaq procedure under Section 7 MFLOThe notice, the Arbitration Council and the ninety days.→
- Divorce registration after talaq or khulaThe certificate, NADRA records and remarriage.→
- Khula vs talaq vs mubaratComparing the three routes to end a marriage.→
- Divorce lawyer in KarachiKhula and talaq representation.→
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