Georgia divorce records come in two forms from two different offices. The complete divorce decree, with every term the judge ordered, is kept by the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where the divorce was granted. A shorter verification confirming only that the divorce happened is available from the Georgia Department of Public Health’s State Office of Vital Records. Which office you contact depends entirely on what you need the record to prove.
Decree or Verification: Which One You Need
A divorce decree is the full court judgment signed by the judge. It spells out how property was divided, whether alimony was awarded, custody arrangements for children, and any other orders the judge made. Because it comes directly from the court that handled the case, it is the most complete record of what happened.
A verification is much thinner. The State Office of Vital Records can confirm a divorce took place, but the document does not include the terms of the settlement. Georgia law requires each superior court clerk to file a record of every divorce with the Department of Public Health, and that record has to be completed and submitted before the court will grant the final decree. Clerks forward these records to the department by the tenth of each month for divorces granted the month before.1Justia. Georgia Code 31-10-22 – Record of Divorces, Dissolutions, and Annulments
A verification works when you only need proof a marriage ended, such as for a government benefit application. If you need the actual terms, like what the court ordered about property, support, or custody, only the decree will do.
How to Get the Decree from the Superior Court Clerk
The only place to obtain a divorce decree in Georgia is the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where the divorce was finalized. The Department of Public Health is explicit that all requests for divorce records must go through the superior court.2Georgia.gov. Request Vital Records
Contact the clerk’s office in the correct county for a certified copy. Most offices accept requests in person or by mail. You will generally need to provide:
- Full legal names of both spouses as they appeared on the case, including any maiden names
- The year the divorce was finalized, or at least a rough timeframe
- The case number if you have it, which speeds the search considerably but is not usually required
Fees vary by county because each clerk sets its own schedule. Expect a per-page copying charge plus a certification fee. In-person requests are usually fastest and sometimes handled while you wait. Mail requests take longer and depend on each office’s backlog.
How to Get a Verification from Vital Records
If you only need confirmation that a divorce occurred, request a verification from the State Office of Vital Records at the Georgia Department of Public Health. The office keeps the records that superior court clerks forward from across the state, and you can request a verification by mail or in person.
Georgia law allows the department to charge fees for searching its records and issuing certified copies, with the amounts set by the board rather than fixed in statute.3Justia. Georgia Code 31-10-27 – Fees for Copies or Services Fees are non-refundable once a search has been performed, even when no record turns up. Check the Department of Public Health’s current fee schedule before sending anything in.
One limitation to know about: ROVER, Georgia’s online ordering system for vital records, only handles birth and death certificates. Divorce verifications and decrees cannot be ordered through ROVER.
Who Can See Georgia Divorce Records
Georgia’s Open Records Act creates a strong presumption that government records should be available to the public without delay. The law defines public records broadly to cover documents, papers, and computer-generated information held by any government agency.4Justia. Georgia Code 50-18-70 – Legislative Intent; Definitions Divorce records in the superior court clerks’ offices fall within that definition, so anyone can request to view or copy them.
The exception is a case file sealed by order of a judge. Sealing typically happens when the record contains information that could harm someone if released, such as sensitive details about minor children or financial account numbers. Unless a sealing order exists, the file is open. The bar for sealing is deliberately high because Georgia law directs that exceptions to public access be interpreted narrowly.
Practically, this means a non-party can walk into the clerk’s office and ask to see a divorce file by the parties’ names, subject only to the office’s search and copy fees. It also means that your own divorce file is visible to others unless a court has ordered otherwise.
Using a Georgia Divorce Decree in Another Country
If you need your Georgia divorce decree recognized abroad, for remarriage, immigration, or a foreign legal matter, you will usually need an apostille. An apostille is a standardized certificate under the Hague Convention that authenticates a document for use in member countries.
In Georgia, apostilles are issued by the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority (GSCCCA), not the Secretary of State. You will need an official certified copy of the decree from the county clerk first, and the GSCCCA charges $3 per document for the apostille.5GSCCCA. Apostille Documents – General Apostille Information For countries that have not joined the Hague Apostille Convention, authentication runs through the Georgia Secretary of State, which issues a Great Seal Certification. Additional authentication by the destination country’s embassy or consulate is sometimes required after that.
Order the certified copy from the clerk before anything else. Both the apostille process and the Secretary of State process start with a certified decree in hand, and the clerk’s office is the only place to get one.