Explore Free New York County Divorce Records (Check Status)

Check out free New York County divorce records today to find details of anyone’s legal separation within the state.

Divorce, often referred to as a dissolution of marriage, is documented by local courts. Use this streamlined resource and the links, advice, and steps explained throughout it to find information on any divorce that occurred within New York County, New York.

How To Access New York County Divorce Records for Free

In the state of New York, divorce documents aren’t public documents, and only authorized people can request them. The New York court system distinguishes divorce papers as two separate records: the decree and the certificate. A decree for divorce is a court document signed off by a judge that details the conditions of the separation, and the applicant can request it from the county clerk via written request in the county where the plaintiff resides.

A certificate used to confirm a divorce contains basic information about the parties and when the marriage ended. This is not kept with the county clerk but rather the New York State Department of Health. This record is only available to divorces that took place from January 1st, 1963, and onwards.

While there are 62 counties in New York, New York County refers to Manhattan, which is one of the city’s five boroughs. Public divorce records aren’t available in New York state due to their confidential nature, and only authorized persons can access them.

For those who are authorized, New York uses a unified court system, which means that the New York County Clerk’s Office oversees all divorce records for the county, including divorce decrees and judgments and divorce certificates.¹

These records are available by appointment only.

• Divorce decrees and judgments:

New York County Courthouse
60 Centre Street
New York, NY 10007

Phone: 646-386-5955

• Divorce Certificates:

New York State Department of Health
Vital Records Certification Unit
P.O. Box 2602
Albany, NY 12220-2602

Phone: 855-322-1022

There is a nominal fee of $10 to conduct a search, a charge of $0.65 cents per page for the results, and an additional $10 fee for certified copies.

Two government agencies are available to source divorce records in New York County. For a divorce decree or judgment, applicants can approach the New York County Clerk’s Office in Manhattan. All applicants need to make an appointment to access the records room.³

New York seals divorce proceedings for 100 years, and thereafter, the information becomes public unless the parties apply for a permanent seal.

Examples of instances where a permanent seal might apply include political figures and where the exposure of the information might compromise the well-being of individuals. The county clerk’s office stores digital information online and non-digital documents off-site and on-site, depending on the age of the information and whether microfilm or e-file rendering took place.

Room 103B in the basement storage facility of the New York County Courthouse houses the hard copies of divorce judgments. Mail applications can take between 10 and 12 weeks for fulfillment.

New York County Courthouse
60 Centre Street
New York, KY 10007

Phone: 646-386-5955

Attorneys and the parties to the divorce can access the documents once approved by the courts and upon presentation of required documentation, such as approved identification.

The files kept at 60 Centre Street include:

• 2004 to the present day (except for 2009, which is off-site)
• 1955 up to 1984 is available on microfilm only
• 1985 through to 1997 only include recent updates

The New York City Records & Information Services houses hard copies for the following periods:

• 1998 up to 2003 all files
• 1985 up to 1992 divorce files beginning with the numbers 6, 7 or 8, except those for 1985
• 1993 up to 1997 for divorce files starting with 3

New York City Records & Information Services
31 Chambers Street
New York, NY 10007

Email: [email protected]

An off-site warehouse houses the hard copies from 1910 to 1954, and there’s a two-day wait for retrieval.

Attorneys can access the divorce index through the New York State Courts Electronic Filing System (NYSCEF) for documents rendered in electronic format.⁴

Electronic Filing Resources Center
Phone: 646-386-3053
Email: [email protected]

For a divorce certificate, applicants can approach the New York State Department of Health. Applications can request the information by mail or online. Requests by mail cost $30.

New York State Department of Health
Vital Records Certification Unit
P.O. Box 2602
Albany, NY 12220-2602

Phone: 855-322-1022

VitalChek is a government-endorsed third-party service that fulfills the New York County online divorce record requests.

Look Up Divorce or Dissolution of Marriage Details via the New York County Clerk

Since divorce records are considered to be confidential, there isn’t a readily available database of divorce records in New York County. Rather, individuals will have to contact the New York County Clerk’s Office.

Information about divorce decrees and judgments can be obtained from:

New York County Courthouse
60 Centre Street
New York, NY 10007

Phone: 646-386-5955

These records are available only to authorized parties (such as divorcees and their legal representatives), and requests are available by appointment only. There is a nominal fee of $10 to request a search, which is payable whether or not records are found.⁵ There is also a charge of $0.65 cents per page for any records and an additional $10 fee for certified copies.

The New York County Clerk’s Office can assist with divorce records for divorces in New York City, including:

For divorces outside of New York City, applicants will need to approach the relevant city, county or state records.

Are Divorce Records in New York County Publicly Available?

New York State classifies all divorce records, including divorce decrees, divorce judgments and divorce certificates, as confidential, under the Domestic Relations statute Article 13, so they aren’t available publicly.⁷ Only the parties to the divorce, their attorneys and those who have received a court order may apply for copies of any of these documents.

Divorce decrees contain sensitive information such as:

• The assets and liabilities of both parties
• Agreed spousal maintenance and allowances
• Custody, child support and visitation orders

Divorce certificates don’t detail sensitive financial information but include:

• Full names of the applicants
• Their identification numbers
• The date of the divorce

Authorized individuals can request non-certified copies for their own reference, or pay an additional fee for certified copies, which are suitable for use for official purposes.

It’s also worth noting that New York doesn’t acknowledge common law marriages except in certain circumstances, which can complicate common law divorce proceedings. Common denial reasons when applicants request divorce records include providing incorrect details, not having the relevant authority to request the documents or failure to provide adequate forms of identification.

Those looking for historic divorce information may be able to find records on genealogy websites or via public libraries, although the confidential nature of divorce records means this kind of information is limited compared to historic information in some other states. However, any information from these sources is not government-endorsed and cannot be used for official purposes.

For authorized applicants, accessing New York County divorce records happens directly with the county clerk’s office; for more information, applicants can contact the relevant county court in their respective areas.