David Arquette Files for Divorce From Courteney Cox

David Arquette has officially filed legal documents to finally divorce his estranged wife, Courteney Cox ... TMZ has learned.

Arquette cites "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for the divorce. David filed the documents on Friday ... right before he went to Israel and got Bar Mitzvah'd.

He is asking for joint legal and physical custody of their daughter, Coco, who turns 8 tomorrow.

He did not ask for spousal or child support. There is no mention of how the property will be divided.

According to the docs, David is representing himself in the divorce -- he does not have a lawyer.

David signed the divorce documents on March 23, 2012 ... so it appears he's been holding them for nearly 3 months.

The couple married on June 12, 1999 -- exactly 13 years ago -- after meeting on the set of "Scream" back in 1995.

David and Courteney first announced their separation back in October 2010 ... with both sides saying they were "best friends" who were committed to raising their daughter together.

At the time of the initial separation, the couple released a joint statement saying, "The reason for this separation is to better understand ourselves and the qualities we need in a partner and for our marriage."

David and Courteney appeared on the Howard Stern radio show together last year-- and when Howard asked if they would ever reconcile David made it clear he WANTED to ... but Courteney insisted they were better off apart.