Updated July 28, 2026. Quick answer: IRC §414(p)(2) requires the order to clearly specify four things: the names and addresses, the amount or percentage or the method of determining it, the number of payments or period, and each plan covered. And §414(p)(3) bars an order that would create benefits the plan does not offer — which is the reason most rejected orders are rejected.
The four specifics
| §414(p)(2) | Must clearly specify |
|---|---|
| (A) | Name and last known mailing address of the participant and each alternate payee |
| (B) | The amount or percentage to be paid, or the manner in which it is to be determined |
| (C) | The number of payments or the period to which the order applies |
| (D) | Each plan to which the order applies |
What a QDRO cannot do
Section 414(p)(3) blocks an order that requires a benefit type or form “not otherwise provided under the plan”, requires “increased benefits (determined on the basis of actuarial value)”, or requires payments already assigned to another alternate payee under a prior order.
The first of those causes most rejections, and it is a drafting failure rather than a legal one. A decree that promises a form of payment the plan simply does not offer cannot be honoured, however clear the parties’ intention. **Get the plan’s own procedures before drafting**, not after the order is signed — every plan is required to have them, and they will tell you what the plan can actually do.
The gap that catches people
A divorce decree is not a QDRO. It becomes one only when it satisfies §414(p) and the plan administrator determines that it does. Assuming the decree alone divides the account — and discovering otherwise years later, possibly after the participant has remarried or died — is a common and largely irreversible failure.
And note what a QDRO does not reach: an IRA is divided under a different provision entirely.
Sources
IRC §1041(a), (b), (c) and Temp. Reg. §1.1041-1T(b) Q&A-7; §414(p); §72(t)(2)(C) and §72(t)(3)(A); §408(d)(6); §121(a), (b), (d)(3); §7703(a) and (b); §152(e); §2(b)(1)(A)(i); §32(c)(3)(A); §21(e)(5); the repeal of §§71 and 215 by Pub. L. 115-97 §11051 and its effective-date note; IRS Form 8332 (current revision). All read July 2026.
This states what the cited authority says. It is not tax advice, and retirement-plan design turns on facts about your business and your other entities that no page can see. Every dollar limit referenced here is indexed and changes annually.