Are Colorado Divorce Records Public? How to Get Them

Colorado divorce records are public. Once a dissolution case is filed in a Colorado district court, the documents in that file are generally open for anyone to inspect through the Colorado Judicial Branch’s records system, with sensitive personal information redacted and a narrow set of materials restricted by court rule or sealing order.¹

How to Get a Copy

Online

The Colorado Judicial Branch runs an online Record/Document Request Form for copies of divorce decrees and other case documents. You’ll be asked for the case number if you have it, the year the case was filed, the county of filing, and the names of the parties. The court aims to respond within three business days.²

If you don’t know the case number, start with the Judicial Branch’s docket search. It lets you look up cases by name and shows a summary of case events, which is enough to confirm the case exists and pull its number before you submit the records request.³

In Person

You can also go to the Clerk of the District Court’s office in the county where the divorce was filed. Most courthouses have public access computers for pulling up electronic files, and a clerk can help you locate the record. Bring full names of both spouses, the approximate year of filing, and the case number if you have one. Without the case number, expect a $5 name search fee.⁴

Older Records at the State Archives

The Colorado State Archives holds historical divorce records from a limited set of counties, mostly from the early 1900s through mid-century: Adams, Bent, Boulder, Conejos, El Paso, Garfield, Park, and Pitkin. Anything outside those counties and date ranges stays with the district court that handled it.⁵

What It Costs

Regular copies: $0.25 per single-sided page, $0.50 per double-sided page. If you’re a party to the case or that party’s attorney, the total copy cost is capped at $15.
Certified copy: $20 per document, on top of per-page charges.
Name search: $5 when you don’t have the case number.
Research and redaction: $30 per hour, billed in 15-minute increments after the first hour, when a request takes extra staff time.
Certified copies for Veterans Administration benefits determinations: free.⁴

Decree or Certificate: Which One Do You Need?

These are two different documents from two different agencies, and asking for the wrong one is a common reason applications get held up.

A divorce decree is the court order that ended the marriage. It contains the terms: property division, debt allocation, custody, and support. You need the decree whenever you’re enforcing those terms or proving specifics of the settlement. Decrees come from the district court that handled the case.⁶

A divorce certificate is a shorter vital record confirming that a divorce happened. It lists both spouses, the date, and the location, but none of the underlying terms. A certificate is usually enough when you just need to prove you’re no longer married, like changing your name or remarrying. In Colorado, certificates are issued by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), and the fee schedule changed in January 2026, so check CDPHE for current pricing.⁷

What’s Redacted or Off-Limits

Even in a public file, some information is stripped before release. Under Colorado’s Chief Justice Directive 05-01, courts redact Social Security numbers (including partial numbers), tax identification numbers, driver license numbers, financial account numbers (except the last four digits), and personal identification numbers like passport or state ID numbers.⁸ Medical and mental health information, drug and alcohol treatment records, and psychological evaluations are also blocked from public access. For records pulled remotely, addresses, phone numbers, and other contact information for the parties are restricted as well.⁹

Some pieces are off-limits by default without any sealing order. If the divorce case involves related juvenile proceedings, mental health evaluations, or paternity determinations, those portions are excluded from public access under the judicial access policies.⁸

How Long Records Last

The core documents are permanent: the decree, separation agreements, parenting plans, and final orders including support orders and qualified domestic relations orders. Everything else in the court file, including motions, discovery, and correspondence, is kept for 25 years from the year of filing and then destroyed. Electronic records are retained permanently until further notice.¹⁰ If you need something beyond the decree and final orders from an older case, don’t wait.

Can You Keep Your Divorce Record Private?

Colorado courts begin with the presumption that court records belong to the public, and the bar for overriding that is deliberately high. To seal a divorce file, you file a written motion with the court that handled the case, and the judge weighs your privacy interest against the public interest in open records.¹

General embarrassment or a preference for privacy won’t carry a sealing motion. Judges are more receptive when sealing protects a domestic violence victim, shields children from identifiable harm, or keeps genuinely sensitive business information out of competitors’ hands. The motion should name the specific danger that public access creates. A judge can seal all or part of a file, so it helps to point to the particular documents that contain the harmful information rather than ask to lock down the whole case.

1
Colorado Judicial Branch. Access Guide to Public Records
2
Colorado Judicial Branch. Record/Document Request Form
3
Colorado Judicial Branch. Docket Search
4
Colorado Judicial Branch. List of Fees
5
Colorado State Archives. Divorce Records
6
USAGov. How to Get a Copy of a Divorce Decree or Certificate
7
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Order Certificate Now
8
Colorado Judicial Branch. Public Record Access Policies
9
Supreme Court of Colorado. Chief Justice Directive 05-01 – Public Access to Court Records
10
Colorado Judicial Branch. Colorado Judicial Department Records Management