California Divorce Records

To begin, add a divorce record or view a list of locations and resources for California divorce records.

As important as birth, death, and marriage licenses are in conducting thorough genealogical research, many people overlook the importance of divorce records in determining your family history. In many cases, learning when a couple split up is almost as important as knowing when they got married.

For those looking for divorces in California, there are several guidelines that can help make your search more fruitful. Though California has very few rules governing other public records such as birth and death certificates, divorce decrees are not instantly available to anyone interested. Like birth and death records in California, divorce records come in two forms: certified ones, and certificates of record, which are kind of like purely informational copies. Certified copies are only available through the Superior Court, while the Vital Records department can issue a certificate of record for any divorce occurring between 1962 and June 1984.

Certificates of record contain the names of the people involved, as well as data such as the data and county in which it was filed, but it will not indicate whether the divorce was ever finalized in court. Nonetheless, divorce records are still public records and can help make any family research more complete.

To receive a divorce record fill out the California Divorce Certificate Mail-in Form. Mail your application to:

California divorce certificates are available to the public as a certificate of record only. This would be information which provides the names of the couple, the county applicable to filing, and the court case number. The years of information available are from 1962-1984. The fee is $13.00. and would offer you the information listed, not a certified copy or information about the divorce being completed. It can take as long as 3 years to obtain this process. For more information visit: California Department of Public Health