What to write in empty boxes on divorce forms: blank, "None" or N/A?
The most common piece of advice online — "write N/A in every box you don't use so the clerk knows you didn't skip it" — is not what the court forms say. We read the current Colorado, Connecticut and Texas packets line by line. None of them asks for blanket N/A, and two of them tell you exactly when to write "None" instead.
Updated October 14, 2026 · Based on the current official forms: Colorado JDF 1011 and JDF 1111, Connecticut JD-FM-242 (Rev. 4-26) and JD-FM-6, Texas Supreme Court Divorce Set 1 and Texas DSHS VS-165. Page references are to the court PDFs.
The four kinds of empty box
Every blank on a divorce form is one of these. Treat them differently and you avoid most intake-desk returns.
Kind of box
What to do
Why
A fact you don't know yet (a date, an account balance, a spouse's employer)
Find it out. Do not file with a guess, "unknown", N/A or 0.
Every form is signed under penalty of perjury or sworn before a notary. An invented answer is a false statement; a blank where an answer is required gets the packet returned.
A category the form asks you to confirm is empty (assets, debts, separate property)
Use the form's own word — usually None, sometimes 0 — only where the form directs it.
Colorado's JDF 1111 (page 5): "By indicating 'None', you are stating affirmatively that you … do not have assets in that category." It is a statement, not a placeholder.
A box that doesn't apply to you (an "if different from above" line, an unchecked option, an unused row)
Leave it blank.
Connecticut's JD-FM-242 labels these fields "if different from above" — blank means "same". Unused continuation rows are space, not questions.
A box that belongs to someone else (court use only, docket or case number, judge's signature and date, notary block)
Leave it blank. Never N/A, never a placeholder.
The clerk assigns the number; the judge signs the decree; the notary completes the acknowledgment. Anything written there can void the page.
Colorado
JDF 1011 Petition and JDF 1115 Separation Agreement: the box at the top right is marked "This box is for court use only." Case number, division and the clerk's event code stay empty.
JDF 1111 Sworn Financial Statement, section 5 (page 5): "You MUST disclose all assets correctly. By indicating 'None', you are stating affirmatively that you or the other party do not have assets in that category." Check "None" only when it is true; otherwise list the item and its value.
JDF 1019 Decree and JDF 1117 Support Order: the JDF 1010 guide tells parties to complete the caption only. Findings, orders, date and signature are the judge's.
JD-FM-242 Joint Petition (Rev. 4-26): the instruction is "Complete this form and have it notarized." The COURT USE ONLY block and the docket number are the clerk's. "Birth name … (if different from above)" stays blank when it is the same.
JD-FM-6 Financial Affidavit (SHORT or LONG): the form says to complete the value column "in each applicable section." Sections that do not apply stay blank; a section that applies must be completed. Choose SHORT or LONG by the form's own income and asset thresholds — the wrong version is a return.
JD-FM-243 Agreement: "Subscribed and Sworn before me" lines are completed by the clerk, commissioner or notary, not by you.
No Connecticut form we reviewed asks for "N/A".
Texas (Supreme Court Divorce Set 1, no children)
Set 1 instructions (packet page 3): complete the spaces unless directed otherwise. That is the opposite of "N/A everywhere".
Final Decree (packet pages 17 and 20): where a spouse has no separate property in a category, the form itself says to write none. That is the one place "none" is required.
Petition: the cause number and court number are assigned when you file. Leave them blank on the original petition; copy the real ones onto the waiver and decree later.
Waiver of Service: the respondent signs it before a notary after the petition is filed. A waiver signed early or without the notary block completed is returned.
Denton County: the four-page standing order is attached to the petition unchanged, and the district courts' AI-use order has a certificate (page 3) that the self-represented party completes and signs personally. Software cannot fill that in for you.
VS-165 (Texas DSHS): the instructions say to enter 0 for the number of children when there are none. That is a rule for that one agency form, not for every blank amount.
A simple rule you can apply anywhere
Ask three questions about an empty box: Does the form tell me to write something here? (then write exactly that). Is it mine to fill? (if it belongs to the court, the judge or a notary, leave it). Do I actually know the answer? (if not, stop and find out). "N/A" is almost never the answer to any of the three.
We built these rules into the software.
FilingFoundry transcribes your answers into the current official forms, leaves every court-only and signature box empty, writes "None" only where the form directs it, and refuses to produce a packet while a required answer is still unknown. Prepare free; pay $129 only when the packet is ready to download. You still sign, pay the court fee and file.