Religious communities and traditions often discuss the preconditions necessary for God to forgive a believer’s sin or transgression. This study examines adult American Christians’ beliefs about the preconditions for divine forgiveness (DF) and whether these beliefs differ based on features of a forgiveness-relevant situation or features of the individual Christian. We recruited a nationwide sample of 1,021 U.S. adult Christians (51.8% female, 44.4% racial minorities). Participants were 18 or older, lived in the United States, identified as Christian, believed in God, and were highly religious. They completed a vignette-based measure of perceived preconditions for DF, along with measures of trait-based God representations and several psychospiritual states (present-moment DF, connectedness with God, self-kindness, positive affect, depressive affect, and anxious affect). The most endorsed DF preconditions were confessing the transgression to God (64.0%), asking God for forgiveness (66.2%), taking responsibility (58.0%), feeling remorseful (50.9%), and repenting (51.2%). Christians who were Catholic, Pentecostal, and/or a racial/ethnic minority were particularly likely to endorse these preconditions. Benevolent God representations were associated with the belief that DF is contingent on asking God for forgiveness, taking responsibility, and repenting. Christians who presently felt forgiven by and connected with God were slightly more likely to view DF as contingent on asking God for forgiveness and repenting; Christians who presently felt depressed or anxious were slightly less likely. In conclusion, U.S. Christian adults often believe certain preconditions must be met before receiving DF. These perceptions differ based on sociodemographics (race, Catholic or denominational affiliation), God representations, and positive and negative psychospiritual states.