To find an old divorce record, start with the clerk of the court in the county where the divorce was finalized. That office is the original custodian of the case file and can issue plain or certified copies. If the county is unknown, the case is very old, or the courthouse no longer has the file, you can work outward through the state vital records office, state and county archives, and genealogical databases like FamilySearch and Ancestry.
Start With the County Court
Divorce cases are filed and decided at the county level, and the county court that granted the divorce holds the full case file, including the final decree. Contact the clerk of that court first. Many courts run online case-lookup portals where you can search by party name, but older records often aren’t indexed online and require a phone call, a mailed request, or an in-person visit.
Once the clerk locates your case, you’ll fill out a request form and choose between a plain copy and a certified copy. A certified copy carries the clerk’s seal and signature and is what you need for legal proceedings, government agencies, and official transactions. A plain copy is fine for personal reference or genealogy.
Fees usually run between $5 and $30 for a certified copy, with some courts adding a per-page charge for lengthy files. Turnaround ranges from a few business days to several weeks; older files may sit in off-site storage and take longer to retrieve.
What to Gather Before You Call
A little preparation shortens the search considerably. Have these details on hand:
- Full names of both spouses, including maiden names and any prior surnames. Courts filed the case under the names in use at the time.
- The county and state where the couple lived when they divorced. This is the single most important detail.
- An approximate date. Even a five-year window helps the clerk narrow the search.
- The case number, if you can find it on old paperwork or correspondence. This makes the lookup nearly instant.
If you don’t know the county, think about where the couple was living during the separation. Old addresses, holiday cards, and city directories from the era can point you toward the right jurisdiction. For searches going back generations, census records often list a person’s county of residence around the relevant time.
Decree or Certificate: Know What You’re Asking For
Which document you need shapes where you should look. A divorce decree is the court order that ended the marriage; it sets out how assets and debts were divided, whether spousal support was awarded, and any custody arrangements. If you’re enforcing or modifying those terms, you need the decree, and that means going to the court.
A divorce certificate is a shorter vital record confirming that a divorce happened. It lists the names of both parties, the location, and the date the divorce became final. A certificate is usually enough for changing your name or applying for a new marriage license. Not every state issues divorce certificates, so check with the state vital records office before you plan around one.
State Vital Records for Certificates
If a certificate will do, the state vital records office is often easier than the courthouse. These offices maintain statewide indexes and can issue certificates without your having to identify the specific county court. Contact the vital records office in the state where the divorce took place to confirm availability, cost, and how to order.
The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics publishes a directory of every state and territory vital records office, with contact information and links to application forms.
Most offices require a completed application and a copy of your government-issued photo ID. Some states restrict who can order a divorce certificate to the parties named in the record, their legal representatives, or certain family members. Fees and turnaround vary; expedited processing is sometimes available for an extra charge.
Many state vital records offices use VitalChek as their authorized online ordering partner. VitalChek processes the application and forwards it to the agency, which prints and ships the certificate. The service adds a convenience fee on top of the state’s fee but avoids the paper-and-mail step.
Records From Decades or Centuries Ago
Finding a divorce from the 1800s or early 1900s is a different problem than finding one from the last few decades. Old case files may have been transferred from the courthouse to a state or county archive, and some records were damaged or destroyed in courthouse fires, floods, or simple neglect. The National Archives does not hold divorce records, since those are created by state and local authorities rather than the federal government.
State and County Archives
State archives are often the best starting point for historical divorce records. Many hold court case files back to the mid-1800s and publish searchable catalogs online. You’ll typically need the county, and ideally the case number, though some archives can search by name. Contact the state archives directly to learn what collections they hold, what finding aids exist, and whether you can request copies remotely or need to visit in person.
Genealogical Databases
FamilySearch, the free genealogical database run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, hosts digitized divorce records and indexes from many states, some reaching back to the early 1800s. Ancestry.com carries substantial historical collections as well, though it requires a paid subscription. Both are useful when you don’t know the county or even the state, since they let you search across jurisdictions at once. What you find online is usually an index entry or a scanned image, not a certified copy; for an official document, you’ll still need to contact the issuing court or archive.
When the Original Records Are Gone
If a fire or disaster destroyed the courthouse records, the divorce may still be traceable through other paper trails:
- Duplicate filings. Land transactions sometimes reference a divorce in a neighboring county’s records.
- Newspaper notices. Divorce proceedings were often published in local papers in the 1800s and early 1900s, and digitized newspaper archives can turn them up.
- Legislative journals. Early in American history, some divorces required an act of the state legislature; state house and senate journals from that era may contain the record.
- Church and community records. Parish registers and community organizations sometimes noted changes in marital status.
- Appellate court records. If any part of the divorce was appealed, the appellate court may hold a separate copy of the file.
These sources won’t produce a certified decree, but they can confirm that a divorce took place and give you enough detail to keep searching.
Sealed and Restricted Records
In most states, divorce records are public by default and anyone can request a copy from the court. A few states take the opposite approach and restrict access to the parties, their attorneys, and anyone with a court order. Access rules also depend on the record type: certificates from vital records offices tend to have stricter eligibility rules than court case files.
Even in public-access states, courts routinely redact Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, and information about minor children. Some states redact automatically; others require a party to request it.
A judge can also seal the entire file. This typically happens when the case involves minor children, domestic violence, sensitive business information, or a showing that public access would cause serious harm. If the record you want has been sealed, you’ll need to file a motion with the court explaining why you need access. Courts decide these requests case by case, and there’s no guarantee of success.