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Get the court decree when you need proof of divorce

For a California divorce judgment or decree, request the record from the Superior Court in the county where the divorce took place. CDPH’s separate Certificate of Record covers only filings from 1962 through June 1984. It contains party names, filing date, county and case number, not the actual decree.

A state Certificate of Record does not establish whether the divorce was ever finalized. Use it as a finding aid when its date range and filing information help locate the court case. For proof of a completed divorce, keep the judgment and its effective date. For a former name restored in the judgment, California Courts says a certified judgment can be used to update identification records.

Locate the county and the correct court file

Collect both parties’ names as used in the case, approximate filing or divorce year, the county and any case number. The state VS113B form distinguishes current last names from names at birth. For a court request, California’s copy guide says at least a party name or case number is generally needed; the filing year helps. A county recorder’s marriage-record service is not the divorce court.

Use the Find My Court route linked from California Courts’ copy guide to reach the county Superior Court and its records instructions. If a public index is offered, retain the case number and document title rather than assuming the index entry is the judgment. For an older file, ask whether it is stored off-site: the state court guide warns that retrieval can take many weeks.

Ask for the right copy and fee category

Specify the Judgment of Dissolution, its date if known, and whether all incorporated attachments are required. Confirm with the receiving organization whether certification is needed. Courts accept copy requests in person or by mail and many offer online requests; the local court determines the actual delivery options. Access to confidential or sealed material requires proof that the requester is entitled to it.

Regular court copies typically cost $0.50 per single-sided page, and a search longer than ten minutes may cost $15. Check the specific dissolution-copy category rather than automatically using the general $40 document-certification figure: the published Superior Court schedule lists $15 for a certified dissolution record requested by an ordinary applicant under Government Code 70674, and $10 for a public agency. Confirm the court’s final copying and delivery total and any fee-waiver eligibility.

Order the limited state finding aid if it helps

For a covered 1962–June 1984 filing, complete VS113B with information for both parties, approximate date, California county, your mailing/contact information and reason for the request. Send the application and check or money order to CDPH Vital Records, MS 5103, P.O. Box 997410, Sacramento, CA 95899-7410. Do not send cash. This order will not supply the court’s final judgment.

The current CDPH divorce page and fee schedule charge $18 per copy, payable to CDPH-VR. Older versions of VS113B still say $16, and the CDC directory displays $14. Use the current 2026 CDPH fee rather than either older amount; an insufficient payment can cause the application to be returned.

Check the timing for this particular product

CDPH’s July 2026 processing page gives a general 4–6-week certified-copy average starting on receipt. The divorce-specific form and CDC entry warn that divorce-record processing may exceed six months. Because those publications do not give a reconciled divorce-specific estimate, do not plan an urgent decree deadline around the general average. The county court remains the source for the actual decree.

CDPH has no current public counter. For a state-order question, call 916-445-2684, Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–4 p.m. Pacific, or use [email protected]. Identify the application and the precise issue, such as missing payment, an incorrect address or the applicable divorce processing estimate. Court-copy status must be checked with the issuing court instead.

Resolve a missing match or a disputed detail

If the search does not identify the event, revisit the names, date range and county before submitting another paid request. A search outside CDPH’s limited period cannot answer whether a divorce occurred. If a returned judgment appears to identify the wrong parties or contains an apparent error, raise it with the court clerk using the case number and supporting paperwork; a copy request alone does not amend the judicial order.

Keep the case identifier, document date, certification and any requested attachments together. A petition, hearing entry or Certificate of Record answers a different question from the judgment. Ask the recipient which pages it requires so that you do not pay to reproduce a whole family-law file when a certified judgment is sufficient.

Related Record Guides

Sources

Official sources