Where Can I Get Divorce Records?

There are a variety of reasons why you may need divorce records. Whether the record is your own, you are confirming a divorce of another individual, or conducting genealogy research, you can perform a search and oftentimes request divorce records if you have the right resources.

Starting with the County Courthouse

Divorce records are considered “vital records,” which also include birth, death, and marriage records.  However, a divorce record is a legal document, and thus, you will usually be able to find them in the courthouse records in the county in which the divorce was finalized.

If you know the exact county in which the divorce took place, you can contact that county courthouse clerk to find out the fees and procedure for requesting divorce records. Perform a simple online search with the county name and state to find a contact for that specific county.

You will most likely find the contact information you need.

If that doesn’t work, you can find a list of county courts and their contact information on each official state page. Simply type the URL: www.state.XX.us, where ‘XX’ is replaced by the actual state code. For instance, to bring up the official state website for South Dakota, enter www.state.SD.us. Official state websites have a variety of helpful information. Look for links to courts or state agencies to find the county you seek.  

Information to Supply to the County Clerk

When you find the county contact you are searching for, you will need to provide information to help the clerk search for the divorce record you need. You will usually be required to complete a form and include information such as the divorce file number, names of individuals, and a reason you are requesting the record.

Since official divorce files contain private and sensitive information, many states only grant official copies to the individuals identified on the divorce decree. You may be able to simply confirm that a divorce record exists, however. Other states, however, consider divorce records public records, and anyone may obtain a copy.

Online Resources to Access Divorce Records

You also have many resources available online to search for divorce records. Many private agencies and businesses perform vital records searches. Most will charge a fee or provide only limited information for free. You can perform a free public record search for individuals.

Enter the name of an individual, and this service will provide a list of potential matches. If you want further information, you can pay for their service to provide the records.

You may also get valuable information from www.vitalchek.com, which is a LexisNexis company. LexisNexis is the most trusted global leader in information research. VitalChek provides easy directions and step-by-step instructions for ordering vital records, including divorce records. VitalChek also provides helpful guides to determine whether divorce records are public or ID-only in each state.

Your search for divorce records can be successful. Use the resources provided here, or do a more specific search online to get the information you need.

Divorce records can be particularly helpful for a number of reasons. Here are just a few:

• You are a party of the divorce and need a copy for your records.

• You need to verify whether an individual is divorced.

• Check divorce records for previous criminal history,

• You are performing genealogy research and need to find information on a family member.

• States that Provide Divorce Records to the Public

• Divorce records are legal documents found in county courts, therefore they are considered to be public records. However, can anyone access divorce records and can they be requested for free?

The answer is: it depends. Although divorce records are court records, they are not always available to the general public, and they are not always available for free. Because divorce records often contain sensitive information about an individual, including income, criminal, and other private information disclosed during the divorce proceedings, the records are often released only to individuals involved, and only if they provide proper identification. However, some states do release records to any person who requests them.

To get a better picture if divorce records are available to anyone and if there is

a charge, you can visit http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w.htm.

Here you can find state vital records agencies and information on how to

contact for search and payment information.

“Free” Online Divorce Records

However, if you wanted help obtaining divorce records, are there resources that explain how you can obtain a divorce record for free? Yes, there are online websites that do offer information on whether you can order divorce records for free. But be careful – most websites that promote “free” divorce records only perform free searches. If a record is found, you then must pay a fee for it.

However, most websites that advertise free divorce or public records offer only limited information, such as confirmation that a divorce record exists for an individual in a specific county. This type of information may be all you need.  To get more detailed information, you will generally be required to pay a fee for searches and copies of records.

Many websites offer free genealogy records searches, and some will provide divorce records as well. At Archives.com, you can get a free 7-day trial and access over 1 billion records from all states. Archives.com not only conducts searches and provides record information on the individual you are looking for, but it also provides a host of other state, vital records, and genealogy resources for you to use in your search for divorce records.

If you are doing research and need information about a specific divorce, look to the resources provided here. Free information is available if you have the right resource to access.

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