In Alaska, a husband or wife may obtain a certified copy of their own divorce certificate. Divorce certificates may also be furnished to a legal representative on furnishing a certified copy of the legal document authorizing the person to collect the certificate. Requests must be made on the Alaska Divorce Certificate Request Form(available online.) The form can be used to get a copy of the certificate of divorce that occurred only in the State of Alaska.
Requests for divorce certificates must be accompanied by a copy of the government issued picture ID of the applicant. The copy must be enlarged and lightened so that the details in the picture ID are clear and readable. The applicant has to sign under the copied picture ID. A unexpired driver’s license or official identification card issued by another state in the U.S., jurisdiction or territory, unexpired, or expired not more than one year; an unexpired U.S. or foreign passport; U.S. military identification, military dependent identification or veteran’s identification; or a BIA or tribal identification card will be accepted as a picture ID.
Completed request forms accompanied with the signed copy of the picture ID must be mailed to Alaska Bureau of Vital Statistics. Vital records requests contain confidential information. Therefore, it is advised that the request be mailed or faxed. E-mailed requests are not secure and may be subject to fraud.
To access a copy of the divorce certificate, a non refundable fee must be paid. The fee to be paid is $30. If the requested certificate is not found, the fee will be used for a 3 year search. After conducting the search, a statement of search will be issued. Upon paying an additional $1 per year for an extended search will be conducted. Divorce Certificates requiring authentication for a foreign country have additional fees. The additional charge is $30.00 for the first record, with $25.00 added for each additional copy of the same record. The country that the record is being sent to must be noted on the request. All NSF checks will be sent to a collection agency, and will incur a charge of $30. Purchase by credit card requires an additional fee of $11.
Divorce certificates can be obtained quickly by paying an additional fee of 11 dollars. Expedited requests must be sent by fax only. Expedited requests will be processed within three days.
Requests sent by regular mail will be processed approximately 4 weeks after the Bureau receives it. Faxed requests submitted with credit card payment will normally be processed within 5 working days after receipt.
Divorce Certificates may also be ordered electronically through a service provider called VitalChek.
For divorces which occurred outside of Alaska, requests must be sent directly to the appropriate state. Addresses for vital record offices outside of Alaska can be obtained from the National Center for Health Statistics.
