Divorce Certificate vs Divorce Decree: What Each One Is and Which You Need

The difference at a glance

Details change from state to state, as the next section shows.

What three states say

California. The state vital records office keeps divorce records for only 1962 through June 1984. Those records consist only of the face sheet of the divorce action, not the decree. The state can issue a Certificate of Record with the names of the parties, the filing date, the county and the case number. Copies of the actual decree can only be obtained from the Superior Court in the county where the divorce took place.

Texas. The state vital statistics office cannot issue a certified copy of a divorce decree. You must get that from the district clerk's office in the county where the divorce was granted. The state does keep an index of Texas divorces since 1968 and can send a verification letter, but it says these letters are not certified and are not a certification of divorce.

Florida. The Department of Health issues a dissolution of marriage certificate for divorces from June 6, 1927 to the present that were recorded by the clerk of court. The certificate is an abstract of the information from the judgment and is acceptable as evidence that a dissolution was finalized and granted. The actual judgment comes from the clerk of court in the county where the dissolution was granted. After a divorce is recorded, the clerk forwards a report to the state for permanent filing, which takes about 60 days.

Which one do you need?

The answer depends on who is asking and why.

• Social Security name change. Social Security lists a divorce decree among the documents it may accept as proof of a legal name change. It requires original documents or copies certified by the agency that issued them, and it does not accept photocopies or notarized copies.
• Passport name change. The State Department lists a divorce decree among the examples of a document showing a name change. If less than a year has passed since both your passport was issued and your name was legally changed, you can submit Form DS-5504 by mail with an original or certified document. After a year, you may be eligible to renew by mail, and you must provide a certified copy of your legal name change document.
• Remarriage. County offices that issue marriage licenses often ask for proof that a prior marriage has ended. Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, requires divorced applicants to provide an original or certified true copy of the divorce decree showing the date the divorce was finalized. Philadelphia requires divorced applicants to present their original divorce decree.

The agencies above name the decree, so ask any other office whether it will accept a certificate before you order one.

How to request each one

1. Work out where the divorce was granted. Both records follow the place of the divorce, not where you live now.
2. Decide which document you need. Ask the agency or office requesting it whether a certificate is acceptable or whether it must be a certified copy of the decree.
3. For the decree, contact the court clerk. Use the county court clerk, such as the Superior Court in California, the district clerk in Texas or the clerk of court in Florida. Ask for a certified copy.
4. For the certificate, contact the state vital records office. Check that your state issues one and that your divorce year is covered. California's coverage, for example, ends in June 1984.
5. Give the details the office asks for. Florida's written request asks for both spouses' full names as shown on the record, the date of dissolution and the county where it was granted, along with your own contact details.
6. Allow for processing time. A recent divorce may not yet be filed with the state. Florida notes that a recorded divorce takes about 60 days to reach the state, and says to contact the county clerk if you need evidence sooner.

Common mix-ups

A Texas divorce verification letter is not a decree, and the state says so. A California Certificate of Record is not a decree either. If an agency asks for a "certified copy of your divorce decree," a summary will not do, so go back to the court that granted the divorce.