Iddah maintenance in Iraq and the length of the waiting period

In briefUnder article 50 of Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959, a living husband owes maintenance for the waiting period ('idda) to the wife he divorced, even if she was recalcitrant, and no maintenance is due for the waiting period after a husband's death. The maintenance lasts as long as the waiting period: three menstrual cycles after consummation, three full months for a woman who has never menstruated, and if the former husband dies during it, it becomes a widow's period with no maintenance. The period starts immediately on divorce or separation, even if she does not know of it.

Two practical questions follow a divorce almost immediately: is the divorced wife owed support, and until when? Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959 answers both through the waiting period ('idda) itself: when it applies, how long it lasts and when it starts. The office of lawyer Ali Barakat focuses here on waiting-period maintenance alone. Support during the marriage and for children is covered on the maintenance claim page.

The core rule in article 50

Article 50 states that maintenance for the waiting period is owed to a divorced wife by her living husband even if she was recalcitrant, and that there is no maintenance for the waiting period following death. That short sentence carries three rules:

It belongs to the divorcee. The right is tied to a separation that happens while the husband is alive.
Recalcitrance does not remove it. Even if a court ruled during the marriage that the wife was recalcitrant (nashiz), she keeps waiting-period maintenance after divorce. That is a real difference from marital maintenance, which is lost in the cases listed in article 25; see nushuz and the obedience claim.
A widow's waiting period carries no maintenance. A widow observes a waiting period but has no maintenance for it; her rights lie in the estate under the inheritance rules.

When is there a waiting period at all?

No waiting period, no waiting-period maintenance. Article 47 requires a waiting period in two cases: a separation after consummation, whether by revocable talaq, minor or major irrevocable talaq, judicial separation, mutual abandonment (mutaraka), annulment or the option at puberty; and the husband's death, even before consummation. A woman divorced before consummation has no waiting period on divorce and therefore no waiting-period maintenance.

Because article 47 lists judicial separation expressly, and article 46 treats khul' as an irrevocable talaq, both lead to a waiting period when they take place after consummation.

How long does it last?

Article 48 sets the periods, and maintenance runs alongside them:

after a talaq or annulment following consummation: three menstrual cycles (qurū');
for a woman who has reached maturity but never menstruated: three full months after a talaq or separation;
for a widow who is not pregnant: four months and ten days; a pregnant widow waits for whichever is longer, the birth or that period;
if the former husband dies while his divorcee is still in her waiting period, she starts a widow's waiting period and the time already passed is not counted.

The last rule has a direct financial effect. When the husband dies during the waiting period, it becomes a waiting period of death, and article 50 gives no maintenance for that.

Separately, paragraph Four of article 43 sets a waiting period of four months and ten days for the wife of a missing husband after the court grants separation.

When does it start?

Article 49 provides that the waiting period begins immediately after the talaq, separation or death, even if the woman does not know of the talaq or the death. This matters when a husband pronounces talaq outside court and registers it later. Article 39 requires a husband who could not go to court to register the talaq within the waiting period.

Revocable and irrevocable talaq

In a revocable talaq, article 38 lets the husband take his wife back during her waiting period without a new contract. After a minor irrevocable talaq they can only reunite by a new contract, and after a major one he may not remarry a wife he has divorced three separate times once her waiting period has ended. In every case, waiting-period maintenance remains owed by a living husband for as long as the waiting period runs. The kinds of talaq are explained on the divorce registration page.

Not the only right after divorce

Waiting-period maintenance stands apart from the divorcee's other rights. The deferred dower is claimed separately, and article 32 provides that accumulated unpaid maintenance from the marriage is not lost on divorce. Where the court finds that the husband divorced abusively and the wife was harmed, paragraph 3 of article 39 allows it to award her compensation in proportion to his means and the degree of abuse, assessed as a lump sum that may not exceed two years of her maintenance, on top of her other established rights.

Making the claim

Waiting-period maintenance is claimed before the Personal Status Court, and because the period is short it is sensible to act promptly. It is often brought together with claims for the deferred dower, for maintenance arrears or for abusive-divorce compensation. The key documents are the marriage certificate and proof of the talaq or separation judgment with its date, since the date fixes when the waiting period begins and ends. Judgments are enforced through the Execution Directorate.

If both parties opted for the rulings of the Ja'fari school under paragraph 3 of article 2, added by Law No. 1 of 2025, the court applies those rulings to them on the points they deal with.

The text applied in the Kurdistan Region

A note in the Iraqi Legislation Database records that article 50 was suspended in the Kurdistan Region by Law No. 15 of 2008 and replaced by a text that grants waiting-period maintenance to a divorcee from her living husband without the words "even if she was recalcitrant".

Legal basis and sources

Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959, as amended, articles 32, 38, 39, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49 and 50 (Official Gazette, issue 280 of 30/12/1959)

Frequently asked questions

Does a widow receive waiting-period maintenance?

No. Article 50 states that there is no maintenance for the waiting period after death.

Does a wife ruled recalcitrant during the marriage lose it?

Not under the federal text: article 50 grants it to a divorcee even if she was recalcitrant.

When does the waiting period start if the wife did not know of the divorce?

From the date of the talaq itself, under article 49, even without her knowledge.

Always check the text in force and its amendments in the official source.

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Waiting-period ('idda) maintenance in Iraqi law: who is owed it and for how long