Divorce Records

Just as with marriage, divorce - the end of the married condition - is officially noted and recorded, and thus generates public records which are thereafter available to any interested party. Divorce records are retained permanently by the state where the divorce takes place in the case of the United States, and by the appropriate authority in other countries, meaning that all searches eventually draw on this body of official information.

It is important to know both what divorce records contain and what they do not contain. The information that a divorce record offers includes the names of the respondent and petitioner (that is, the person who was divorced and the person who initiated the divorce), the date and state of filing, the unique filing number of the legal proceeding, and a few similar details, such as the legal personnel involved in the divorce. It does not provide marriage information (which is contained in a separate document) or other details about the persons involved.

The Internet provides an easy, readily-accessible way to find divorce records. Although these records are not as legally admissible as official documents, they are adequate for finding information on the divorce, which can then be used as a springboard for more thorough investigation. For some uses, the Internet divorce records may be enough - for example, validity in a court of law is not necessary for a document which is meant to build a clearer picture of genealogical history for a private individual. In this case, the date and details of the event are enough.

Internet searches are a good starting point for more legally serious investigation of divorce records as well. The reason for this is that only a few details of the divorce may be known, and more information may be needed before government records offices can be contacted. Generally, records offices in the United States will not refund a search fee even if the search is fruitless, so it is best to have a solid handful of facts before approaching the Vital Records Office to obtain official divorce records.

An Internet search will reveal the full names of the participants in the divorce, the date, the location (very important, since the legal records are stored at the appropriate state record office, and it is useless to contact the Wisconsin Vital Records Office if the divorce took place in California), and the filing number - also an extremely useful piece of information. Learning the filing number will give the searcher the key to finding exactly the document that they need. The Vital Records Office will find the desired records much faster if they have a filing identification number with which to search their files.

If it is necessary to obtain official divorce records - as, for example, if some legal use is intended for the documents - then the Vital Records Office will eventually need to be contacted. State government websites in the United States will provide the address and contact information of their Vital Records Office, and often printable request forms as well. The searcher will need to present a signed request form - either in person, by fax, or by regular mail, since an 'electronic signature' is not sufficient for this purpose. A non-refundable fee will also need to be paid - but all these processes will soon lead to receiving a copy of the divorce records desired, and proof, for whatever purpose, of the broken marriage of the past.