How to Get a Copy of Your Divorce Decree in Orange County, CA

To get a copy of a divorce decree in Orange County, CA, you request it from the Family Law Records office at the Lamoreaux Justice Center. A certified copy of the Judgment of Dissolution costs $15, plus $0.50 per page for any additional documents from the file.¹ In person, an electronically stored record can often be produced while you wait. By mail, phone, or online, plan on 30 to 45 days.

Where to Go

Every family law record request in Orange County goes through the Lamoreaux Justice Center at 341 The City Drive South, Orange, CA 92868, regardless of where your hearings happened.² The Family Law Division Clerk’s Office sits on the 7th floor and is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.¹

What to Bring or Look Up First

Your case number is the single most useful piece of information. If you were a party to the divorce, it appears on any paperwork you received during the proceedings. With that number, the clerk can pull your file immediately.

Don’t have it? Use the court’s online Case Access tool, or the public terminals at the courthouse, both of which search family law cases opened in 1968 or later.¹ You’ll need the full names of both spouses as they appeared on the original filing and the approximate year the judgment was finalized.

If your case doesn’t turn up in the online index, the clerk can run a manual search. The statewide fee is $15 per name.³

Certified or Uncertified — Which You Need

An uncertified copy is a plain photocopy of the document on file. It’s fine for personal reference, but no government agency or financial institution will accept it as proof.

A certified copy carries the clerk’s signature and an official raised seal confirming it matches the original record. That’s the version you need for remarrying, changing your name on a passport or Social Security card, transferring retirement accounts, or refinancing real estate. When in doubt, get the certified copy. The price difference is small, and going back for the correct version costs far more time than the upfront fee.

Fees

Orange County uses California’s statewide fee schedule:

Uncertified copies: $0.50 per page.³
Certified copy of a dissolution record: $15 per document, which includes the per-page copy cost for that specific record.⁴
Certified copy of other documents in the file, such as a Marital Settlement Agreement: $25 per document for the certification, plus $0.50 per page.⁴
Manual record search: $15 per name if the clerk needs more than 10 minutes to locate your file.³

Payment must be by check or money order payable to “Clerk of the Court.” If you don’t know the exact total, write a “not to exceed” amount on your check and the clerk will fill in the final figure.

If You Can’t Afford the Fees

California offers a court fee waiver. You qualify if you receive public benefits like Medi-Cal, CalFresh, SSI, or CalWORKs; if your household income is below 125% of the federal poverty guidelines; or if you can show that paying court fees would keep you from meeting basic household needs.⁵ Submit Request to Waive Court Fees (Form FW-001) with your copy request. Income thresholds are printed on the form.

How to Submit the Request

Start with the court’s local Copy Request form (Form L-0696), available on the Orange County Superior Court website or at the clerk’s office.¹ The form asks for your case number, the specific document you want, and whether you need it certified.

In Person

Walk-in requests go to the 7th floor of the Lamoreaux Justice Center. This is the fastest route for electronically stored records, which the clerk can often produce while you wait. Expect a wait during busy periods. For older files stored off-site, even in-person requests take about four business days to retrieve.¹

By Mail

Mail the completed Form L-0696, your payment, and a self-addressed stamped envelope to:

Lamoreaux Justice Center
Attn: Family Law Records
341 The City Drive South
Orange, CA 92868¹

Forget the return envelope and the court will add postage to your payment. Mail requests take 30 to 45 days from the date of purchase.¹ Plan accordingly if you have a deadline for remarriage paperwork or a financial closing.

By Phone or Online

The court also handles copy requests by phone and through its online services, with the same 30-to-45-day turnaround as mail orders.¹ For phone requests, call Family Law Records at (657) 622-8457.² For online requests, check the court’s website for current instructions; the process may require creating an account.

Who Can Request a Copy

Divorce records in California are public court records, so any member of the public can request copies, not just the former spouses. Exceptions are files a judge has ordered sealed and records that are confidential by law.⁶ Parentage cases are confidential. If your divorce file is intertwined with a separate parentage case, accessing that portion requires filing a Declaration and Order for Inspection of Confidential Parentage File (Form L-1038) and getting a court order.¹

A judge will not seal a divorce file just because both spouses agree. Sealing requires a motion and a court order, and the court applies a balancing test weighing your privacy interests against the public’s right of access.⁷

If You Need the Decree Recognized Abroad

A certified copy alone usually isn’t enough for use in another country. Countries in the Hague Apostille Convention require an apostille certificate attached to the document, which authenticates the clerk’s signature for international acceptance.⁸

Because a divorce decree is a state court document, the apostille comes from the California Secretary of State, not the federal government. The fee is $20 per apostille. Apply in person at the Sacramento or Los Angeles offices for same-day service, or mail your certified decree to the Sacramento office with a cover sheet identifying the destination country, a $20 check or money order payable to “Secretary of State,” and a self-addressed return envelope.⁹ In-person requests carry an additional $6 special handling fee per signature authenticated. For countries outside the Hague Convention, you’ll instead need full authentication from the U.S. Department of State, which costs $20 per document and requires Form DS-4194 with the certified decree.¹⁰ Either route starts with the certified copy from Orange County.

1
Superior Court of California | County of Orange. Family Law Records and Copies
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Superior Court of California | County of Orange. Lamoreaux Justice Center Facilities and Services
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Judicial Branch of California. How to Get a Copy of a Court Record
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Judicial Branch of California. Superior Court of California Statewide Civil Fee Schedule
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Judicial Branch of California. Ask for a Fee Waiver
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Judicial Branch of California. Public Records
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Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 2.551 – Procedures for Filing Records Under Seal
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U.S. Department of State. Preparing Your Document for an Apostille Certificate
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California Secretary of State. Request an Apostille
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U.S. Department of State. Requesting Authentication Services