Review Free Alameda County Divorce Records on Anyone

Search free Alameda County divorce records conveniently once you know where to look and what to ask for.

Though few official agencies offer free divorce records in Alameda County, some do exist; other helpful sources require a nominal fee but can be useful and make for a more efficient lookup nonetheless.

This streamlined resource provides guidance for understanding where to look for divorce details in Alameda County, California, who to contact, and what to expect.

How Do I Look Up Free Alameda County Divorce Records?

The most helpful place to begin looking for this information is the Superior Court of Alameda County, which provides records upon request via the online portal, in-person, or by mail.¹ The quickest option would be to use the eCourt Public Portal to search and access public records such as civil cases and family law.

All users will be directed to create a login to use this portal, and searches will come with some associated fees, starting at $1 for a single name search (users can look up up to 10 cases per one name search credit).²

There is an eCourt Public Portal reference guide available for any citizens needing assistance using this tool.³ The downfall with this option is that information on family law cases is limited, and there’s no guarantee that the certificate being searched for will be available through this platform.

Certified copies of divorce records can be requested through the superior court, either in-person or by mail. The George E. McDonald Hall of Justice is the courthouse in Alameda County that houses all divorce papers. For either option, start by filling out the county’s civil records request form.⁴

Fees associated with a records request are listed on the first page of the form and also on this records fees list provided by the superior court.⁵

The request form also has information regarding what to include in the mail-in option (such as a check or money order) and what will be needed for the search to be conducted, like the case number. If the case number is unknown, the search can still be conducted using the names of both parties for an additional $15.

For either an in-person or a mailed request, the address of the courthouse is as follows:

George E. McDonald Hall of Justice
2233 Shore Line Drive
Alameda, California 94501

The George E. McDonald Hall of Justice is open from 8:00am – 2:30pm, Monday to Friday. The Records Division can be reached at 510-891-6005, or by email at [email protected].

Note: If opting to mail in the record request form, requests are handled in the order received, and there may be a 2-3 week wait period.

Individual cities, towns, and municipalities within Alameda County do not house divorce records, and therefore cannot process requests for them. Many cities have portals on their websites to help citizens access and obtain copies of public records, but do not use these tools for divorce paperwork – that is only accessible via the George E. McDonald Hall of Justice or the county superior court.

How To Access & Search Divorce Records in California as a Whole

Often when searching divorce indexes, searchers will realize that the event may have occurred in another area of the state. In these cases, county courthouses will not have the divorce decrees on file. However, there is also a statewide database that can be utilized in a few instances.

The California Department of Public Health – Vital Records Office houses divorce records from 1962 to June 1984. The office cannot give actual copies of the record, only a certificate with names of both parties, date of the event, county where it took place, and the case number.

To obtain an actual copy of the divorce documents, citizens will still need to contact the county superior court where the case was filed.

The public can contact the Vital Records Office by mail, phone, or email. To mail in a request for a certificate of divorce, fill out the CDPH records request form and include a check or money order for $16 (the price of one of the office’s unofficial certificates).⁶ Mail can be sent to the following Post Office Box:

California Department of Public Health
Vital Records – MS 5103
P.O. Box 997410
Sacramento, California 95899-7410

Currently, the office does not have an in-person desk or window that is available to the public. Email any questions and inquiries about obtaining copies of records to [email protected], or call at (916) 445-2684 Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:00pm.

To locate Alameda County divorce archives, the county library offers an online search tool; Ancestry Library Edition is available for in-library use only, and houses various historic public records for Alameda County.⁷

While this tool won’t let a user search for a certified copy of a divorce record, they can do a keyword search through archived resources such as newspaper articles or census indexes for information on the event, such as when it occurred.

Additionally, the state legally recognized common law marriages up until 1895, so any divorces from common law marriages would potentially be in this database as well (common law divorce does not exist; any couple wishing to absolve a common law marriage follows the same procedure as a legal marriage).

Are Details of Divorce Accessible to Everyone in Alameda County?

Divorce records are completely accessible to the public in Alameda County, and there is no wait time for these certificates to become available; as soon as the divorce is ordered, anyone can view it or obtain copies.

The Superior Court of Alameda County offers both certified and noncertified copies; certified copies are needed for any legal matter and the only copies recognized officially. Non-certified copies cannot help in legal matters, but could come in handy for personal matters, and only cost 50 cents (as opposed to $15 for a certified copy, according to the record fees list from the county superior court).

There are differences between a divorce certificate and a decree: a decree is the official order from the court to absolve the marriage, whereas a certificate is the proof that the divorce was finalized. In Alameda County, the official public divorce records are the actual decrees.

With all this information accessible and resources outlined, hopefully the matter of locating and obtaining Alameda County divorce records seems like much less of a hassle.

The George E. McDonald Hall of Justice is the only place to request these records either in-person, by mail, or over the phone, and the Superior Court of California – County of Alameda is the only custodian with any information on these files available online.⁸