Search Free San Diego County Divorce Records (Obtain Decrees)

Track down free San Diego County divorce records through online databases, indexes and other convenient resources today.

People may look up a potential partner to see if they have been married before (even in a domestic partnership or common law marriage). Citizens may also seek a certified copy of their divorce record for official reasons, such as changing their name or applying for a new marriage license.

Whatever the purpose of the search — personal or official — this streamlined resource provides clear guidance on accessing divorce records in San Diego County, California.

How To Find San Diego County Divorce Records (Free)

The Superior Court of California, San Diego Family Law Division handles cases of divorce and other associated matters such as annulment, legal separation, custody of children, parentage and visitation rights etc.¹ There are several options to search and view basic information about most divorce cases filed within the county. A search may be conducted online, in person and by mail.

Online: If a divorce occurred after 1974, the case may be located through the Superior Court’s Online Court Case Search Tool for free by using either a case number or party name(s).

Users can find a divorce record by entering a specific docket number/case number on the Case Number Search tool. Even if the divorce case number is unknown, it can be found by running a search based on a person’s name.² No user registration or payments are required to use this public access portal.

These steps may be followed to look up divorce cases in San Diego, CA for free:

1. Go to the Online Case Search (Index Lookup) – Superior Court of CA
2. Select the location where the divorce might have taken place, keep party type as “Unknown-All”
3. Specify a date range or leave it as it is, 1974-2023 if the date of the event is unknown.
4. Enter the name of the person to be searched
5. View the list of cases that have been filed with the Superior Court in San Diego. Select any case number to see details.
6. Case Category will show whether the parties were married or in a registered domestic partnership, and they filed for divorce, legal separation or an annulment. For example, it may display Category: A55201 “Dissolution of Marriage”.

A short brief can be found for each case including:

• Case number
• Names of the persons getting divorced
• The filing date
• Case location (to identify the court facility that has the file)
• Access details and file format e.g., whether available on microfilm (for older records)

Some recent divorce documents are publicly available for ordering online.³ To seek detailed history of a recent divorce case online (only those filed on or after on or after 24th August 2015), use a specific case number and run a search through the Family Register of Actions.⁴

If the record is already stored as an “imaged” family case, the following information may be found through the Case Register of Actions.

• Any of the documents filed or the complete divorce files
• Names of judicial officers, attorneys appointed for this case
• Detailed history of the case, including the list of orders that were issued by the judge

To order a record online, viewers may select the papers/documents they are interested in, then click the Add to Cart option. Fill out the required fields (the requester’s name, address etc.) and specify whether a certified or exemplified copy is required.

San Diego Superior Court accepts payments online through credit/debit card. Costs for copies may vary; the base fee starts at $.50 per page.

If a divorce occurred before August, 2015, it cannot be found through the Family Register of Actions (ROA). The complete case data and documents can be obtained only in person.

In Person: To view a file in person or get copies of a divorce record (decree, judgment), residents may visit the courthouse where the case was heard.

For recent divorce cases (since 1974) in San Diego, finding the case number online is recommended before visiting the courthouse. Having the docket number readily available will help identify the record.

Alternatively, a search may be requested based on the names of the divorced couple, which may take longer. In any case, the requester should provide as much information as possible.

More current divorce files in San Diego County are available for viewing at the following address:

San Diego Central Courthouse
Family Business Office
1100 Union St., 4th Floor, Room No. 450
San Diego, CA 92101

Phone: 619-844-2777

People searching for older or archived divorce records may visit the Older Records section located in the same building. This facility has hardbound books with a county-wide divorce index (up to 1974).

Central Courthouse – Older Records Division
1100 Union Street, 14th Floor
San Diego, CA 92101

Phone: 619-844-2761

The rest of the court locations and contact info, as well as their hours of operation are listed on the San Diego Superior Court’s website.⁶

Mail: Those who wish to get a copy of a divorce decree or judgment, may also send a postal mail to the court’s business office which has the custody of the specific case file.

A certified copy of a divorce record in San Diego costs $15 dollars. The base fee starts at 50 cents for each page.

For other relevant papers (e.g., settlement agreement, petition) for a dissolution of marriage or domestic partnership, legal separation or annulment, fees are listed on the Court’s Fee Schedule.⁷

The following items/information should be included in the mail-in request:

• Case number of the divorce, which can be found either by calling the respective Superior Court business office, by searching online using the Online Case Search Tool (by following the online search method discussed earlier), or by visiting the Court’s Central Division.
• Specify whether certified or non-certified/plain copies are requested
• The correct fees using the accepted methods of payment
• A self-addressed stamped envelope (to get the hard copies by mail)

San Diego Superior Court business office addresses and phone numbers are provided at the bottom of the Divorce FAQ section.

Execute a Divorce & Dissolution of Marriage Search via Cities in San Diego County

The City Clerk’s office is the place to go when looking for official records of any city. However, in most instances, vital records, such as marriage licenses and divorce documents are kept by governments at state or county level, not at city or township levels.

For example, the city of San Diego, which is the second-largest city in California, does not maintain divorce records.⁸ These records can be accessed through the San Diego Superior Court.⁹

Similarly, divorce records for the rest of the major cities can be found through the regional branches of the Superior Court:

• North County Metro Subregion (cities of Escondido, San Marcos, Carlsbad, Vista and Oceanside, as well as communities of Hidden Meadows and Twin Oaks) – North County Superior Court
• The South Bay/Cities of Chula Vista, East Otay Mesa, Imperial Beach, Lincoln Acres, National City – South County Division of San Diego Superior Court
• City of San Diego – Central Courthouse San Diego Superior Court
• The eastern suburbs such as the city of El Cajon – San Diego County Superior Court – East County Regional Center

The court record location may also depend on several factors, e.g., where the person/ex-spouses live (court area or jurisdiction) or where the divorce occurred (court area or jurisdiction). Call the family law filing/records section ahead of the visit to inquire about their available records.

Online search tools, mail, in-person request methods as well as applicable fees are the same as explained in the previous section of the article.

How To Use the State Vital Record Office for Finding Divorce Information Throughout California

If a county-level search does not yield the desired results, the state’s vital records office can be contacted to run a statewide search.

If a divorce took place between 1962 – June 1984, a certificate of the record can be requested through California Department of Public Health – Vital Records (CDPH-VR).¹⁰

A divorce certificate copy costs $16.

Mail a properly filled Application for a Certificate of Record for a Divorce along with the appropriate fee to the address below:¹¹

California Department of Public Health – Vital Records
MS 5103, Post Office Box 997410
Sacramento, California 95899-7410

Phone: 916-445-2684
Email: [email protected]

However, the records obtained through the CDPH-Vital Records office contain a basic case information sheet (less detailed than a decree of divorce). The only way to get copies of the actual divorce papers (e.g., the decree/final judgment) is by contacting the Superior Court in the county where the event occurred.

Are Divorce Records in San Diego County California Publicly Accessible?

Public court case records and documents are typically maintained by the courthouse where the case was filed. Under the California Rules of Court Rule 2.400, these records are open to the public.¹² Anyone can visit the court clerk’s office and request to view them during regular working hours.

A divorce record is generally public in San Diego, California, but with certain restrictions. For example, if a divorce case record is confidential or sealed, or purged by court order, it is exempt from disclosure.

Furthermore, not all court case records in the state of California are available on the Internet. Under Rule 8.83. Public Access, the public does not have the right to remotely access an electronic court case record for a divorce proceeding (online). To do so, they have to visit the courthouse.

On the internet, the actual papers filed concerning divorce cases are not available for viewing in San Diego County. Only the court index data and the “Registers of Action” (a brief summary of the case) are made publicly accessible online.

Even when a record is public, sensitive personal information, such as the social security numbers may be redacted. Redacting or hiding the information from a public document, whether it’s filed in paper or electronic form, helps protect privacy of the parties involved. Only the parties involved in divorce cases or their attorneys can use the full remote access to view an electronic court case record online.

Furthermore, if a couple is cohabiting in San Diego County without doing any formal marriage paperwork, there is no legal proof for their union. So, a common law divorce will not be found through a court system or vital statistics office.

However, a domestic partnership, when filed according to the state’s law, is a legal relationship.¹³ So, if a domestic partnership ends, it will show up in divorce records filed in this county.

As per Local Rule 5.1.9, San Diego County, CA divorce records (filed since August, 2015) that have been stored electronically as “imaged cases”, are open for the public to view and purchase online.

Thus, an increasing availability of public information ensures that San Diego County divorce records can be accessed by anyone; it doesn’t make a difference whether the searchers have a personal or legal interest in obtaining them.