Find Divorce Records Florida

Choose proof of the divorce or the actual judgment

Florida offers a state dissolution-of-marriage certificate and a county court judgment. The certificate is an abstract confirming that the divorce or annulment was finalized; it is not the full judgment. Start with Florida Health’s dissolution-certificate service for that event record. If you need the court’s terms or the judgment itself, request it from the clerk in the county that granted the dissolution.

Florida’s vital-record statute permits issuance of the dissolution certificate to a requesting person upon request and payment, subject to confidential-information limits. That does not promise unrestricted access to every document in a divorce court file. Tell the clerk which judgment or filing is needed and whether the recipient requires a certified copy.

Check the date before choosing the state route

The Bureau of Vital Statistics covers recorded Florida dissolutions from June 6, 1927 onward. Earlier divorces must be requested from the granting county’s clerk. For recent events, Florida Health says the clerk’s report takes approximately 60 days to reach permanent state filing. If the divorce is less than 60 days old and immediate proof is needed, use the county clerk rather than assuming the state search will already find it.

Use both spouses’ names as they appeared in the record and the approximate finalization date to narrow an uncertain search. The granting county matters, not simply the county where someone now lives. If that county or date is unclear, explain the uncertainty to Vital Statistics at 904-359-6900 or to the likely filing clerk before ordering a broad search.

Complete DH260 or supply the same information in writing

Florida Health links DH260, Application for Dissolution of Marriage. Supply both spouses’ full recorded names, the dissolution date and the county where it was granted. Include the requester’s full name, mailing address, phone number, relationship to the person on the record and signed application. Use the final dissolution date if known, rather than the date the divorce petition was first filed.

When the exact year is unknown, identify the years to be searched instead of leaving the time period unexplained. Ask the Bureau how to handle a missing county or an uncertain name. Additional searches carry a charge, and a negative result under incomplete identifying information should not be taken as proof that the marriage was never dissolved.

Calculate the direct Bureau order

For example, a routine direct mail order for one known year and one copy is $6 using the published $5 search/copy fee plus $1 shipping and handling, before any requested rush or extra-year charge. The $5 search fee is nonrefundable. Additional-copy fees when no record is found can be refunded on written request; do not assume the entire payment will automatically be returned.

Send mail to the Bureau or visit its Jacksonville office

Mail the application and a check or money order payable to Vital Statistics to Florida Department of Health, Vital Statistics, P.O. Box 210, Jacksonville, FL 32231-0042. Do not mail cash. International payment must be in U.S. dollars by cashier’s check or money order from a U.S. bank. Florida Health lists an additional $15 service charge for dishonored checks.

Walk-in service is at 1217 N. Pearl Street, Jacksonville, FL 32202, weekdays 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. The office lists cash, check, money order, Visa and Mastercard, but does not accept contactless or tap-to-pay transactions. For pre-1970 records, same-day walk-in service, when available, requires the $10 rush charge.

Allow processing and mailing time separately

Normal processing for computer certificates from 1970 onward is three to five business days, excluding shipping. Older records take longer. A rush request receives priority processing for an extra $10; mark the envelope RUSH. Standard USPS mailing still applies unless you provide a special prepaid delivery envelope, so rush handling is not automatically overnight delivery.

Compare the authorized online option

VitalChek is Florida Health’s only contracted online vendor. Enter through the link on the state dissolution page or order by phone at 877-550-7330; outside the United States, the listed number is 1-615-372-6800. The state page lists $15 for the first certificate, including its search and rush charges, plus $7 VitalChek processing: $22 before optional shipping or additional items.

Regular USPS may be selected without an additional shipping charge; UPS costs extra and requires a signature. Extra certifications and uncertain-year searches also affect the total. Compare those choices with the direct Bureau route, and check the final order before payment. Ordering through an unrelated site can add costs without changing which government office holds the record.

Use the correct jurisdiction when a record is missing

If a Florida search is unsuccessful, revisit the names, years and county with the Bureau or granting clerk. Keep the distinction between an event certificate and the judgment when following up. The CDC Florida vital-record entry provides another official route to the state office. For a divorce granted elsewhere, use that state’s vital-record service or the granting court; USAGov’s divorce-record guidance explains which document to request.