In California, the Office of Vital Records maintains a permanent central registry that registers all dissolution certificates for marriage dissolutions/divorces that occur in California.  Upon making a request for divorce records, the Office of Vital Records issues only a Certificate of Record and not a certified copy of the actual divorce decree.  Certified copies of actual divorce decrees may be obtained only from the Superior Court in the County where the divorce was filed.

Requests for divorce certificates may be made to the Office of Vital Records.  Requests may be made only by mail by following five steps:

1. Find out if the requested divorce record is available in the Office of Vital Records.

The Office of Vital Records can issue Certificate of Records only for divorces that occurred between 1962 and June 1984.  A Certificate includes details such as: names of the parties to the divorce; county where the divorce was filed; date of filing; and the court case number.  A Certificate of Record is not a certified copy of the divorce decree, and does not show if the divorce was ever finalized in court.

1. Download pamphlet for making an application for divorce certificate.

Pamphlet for obtaining divorce certificates is available online; requests may be made by referring pamphlets.

1. The application form for requesting a Certificate of Record for marriage dissolution is available online; requests can be made by filling in the required details.
2. Determine certified copy fee

All requests for divorce records must be accompanied by certified copy fees of $15. Requests received without enclosing the fees will be returned to the sender.  Payment may be made by checks or money order payable to the Office of Vital Records.  Cash must not be sent.  Checks must be drawn on a United States Bank; and money orders must be drawn on a United States bank or issued by the United States Postal Service.  If the requested record is not found after conducting a search, a Certificate of No Public Record will be issued and the fees paid will be retained as search fee.

1. Send the completed application form along with the certified copy fee to the California Office of Vital Records either by mail or by courier service.

The processing time for divorce records may exceed six months.  Therefore, before making the request make sure that they are acceptable to your needs.

After receiving and evaluating the request, the Office of Vital Statistics will take one of the following steps:

• Send a post card to the applicant acknowledging receipt of the request and reminding the processing time that would be taken.
• Return the documents to the applicant for correction if the request is not accompanied by the required fees or details.