The Council will send a maximum of three letters to the husband of an applicant.

A form is sent to all divorce applicants making an intial request to the Council for a divorce. Part of this process will involve an applicant being required to send to the Council specific supporting documents, along with any fully completed application forms. A nominal registration fee of £75.00 is required.

Once it has received an application, the Council writes to the applicant's husband, to request his views regarding the applicant's claim. If an answer is not received within a month of the date of this letter, a second letter is sent (after two months of the date of the intial letter, in cases where the husband lives outside of the UK), asking the husband to give his conditions for granting divorce. Where no answer is received within one month of the date of the second letter, a third and final letter is sent to the husband, giving him a notice of one month (after two months of the date of the intial letter, in cases where the husband lives outside of the UK) to reply to the Council's letter. If a reply is still not received the Council will attempt to contact the husband through any of his relatives - address(es) of relatives can be supplied by the applicant.

The final decision to issue a divorce is made during a monthly meeting; the applicant is interviewed before or during the meeting: if the husband replies to any of the Council's letters, his views are conveyed to the applicant so that she may respond to them. If any conditions have been stipulated by the husband and provided that these conditions are deemed to be reasonable, the applicant is required to comply with them.

Wherever possible, the Council seeks to effect reconcilliation between an applicant and her spouse. The following are grounds outside of reconcilliation, where the Council will consider issuing a divorce:

1. Where the husband suffers certain physical defects, which are well-known in the Shari'a and are considered to be legal grounds for nullification of the marriage.
2. Where the husband accuses the wife of unchastity: in such cases, the process of "li'aan" is to be applied (see the twenty-fourth chapter of the Quran).
3. Where the husband is untraceable.
4. Where an applicant embraces Islam but the husband refuses to do so.
5. Where the husband ill-treats the applicant or fails to fulfil his marital obligations or does not maintain her, despite having the means to do so.
6. Where the husband does not divorce his wife for one of the reasons mentioned, when so ordered by a judge.

Divorce can be denied to an applicant on the grounds that she has failed to comply with any reasonable preconditions stipulated by her husband.

The Council is a registered charity and its constitution empowers it to preside over cases where either party has been living permanently in this country and at least one of the parties has made an application, requesting the Council's judgement.

Once a judgement to grant divorce has been made by the Council, a divorce certificate is issued. A fee of £75.00 is payable by the applicant for two original copies of the divorce certificate; one of which is sent to the applicant and one is sent to the former husband.