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1. Where Can I Get Divorce
Records?

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. • 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?

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. “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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. END