UK Divorce Records: Contents, How to Request, and Fees

To obtain a copy of a UK divorce record in England and Wales, you apply to the court that handled the case if you know the case number, or submit Form D440 to the Bury St Edmunds Divorce Centre if you don’t. The document itself is called a Decree Absolute if the divorce was finalised before 6 April 2022, and a Final Order if it was finalised on or after that date, following changes brought in by the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020.¹ A certified copy is what proves your marital status for pension claims, property transactions, or remarriage.

What the Document Shows

A Decree Absolute or Final Order is short. It names both former spouses, identifies the court, gives the case reference number and the date the divorce was granted, and confirms that the marriage has been dissolved. It does not set out the grounds for divorce, the financial settlement, or any arrangements made for children. Those sit in the case file, which is a different thing entirely.

Who Can Request a Copy

The Final Order or Decree Absolute is a public record because it reflects a change in legal status. Anyone can apply, not only the former spouses, and no permission from either party is needed.²

The underlying case file is not public. Financial disclosures, witness statements, and settlement details are restricted under the Family Procedure Rules to the parties and their legal representatives. A third party can confirm a divorce happened; they cannot see how assets were divided or what was alleged.

Requesting a Copy When You Know the Case Number

This is the simplest route. Apply to the court or service centre that dealt with the case. If the case number is 16 digits long, the divorce went through the centralised Divorce Service Centre. Otherwise, contact the specific court that handled it. Send your name, address, and the case number, with payment of £11. That covers the search and one certified copy.²

Requesting a Copy Without the Case Number

If you don’t have the case number, you need Form D440, “Request for search for Divorce Decree Absolute.”³ The form asks for the full names of both parties, any known addresses, and an approximate date the divorce occurred. The court searches five years either side of the date you give. If you cannot give a date at all, it searches the most recent ten years of records.²

Where you send the form depends on when and how the divorce was processed. Online applications made after January 2019 and postal applications made after April 2022 go to the Divorce Service Centre. Everything else goes to the court that handled the divorce, or to the Bury St Edmunds Divorce Centre if you don’t know which court was involved. Bury St Edmunds maintains the Central Index of Decrees Absolute, the national database of finalised divorces in England and Wales, with records going back to 1858.⁴ Send Form D440 and payment to: Bury St Edmunds Divorce Unit, 2nd Floor, Triton House, St Andrews Street North, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 1TR. You can also apply online through GOV.UK.³

Fees and How Long It Takes

Fees are non-refundable, even if the search finds nothing. It’s £11 if you know the case number and the court. It’s £65 per ten-year period if you don’t, and the Central Index has to be searched. Pay by cheque or postal order made out to “HM Courts & Tribunals Service,” or by card online or by phone after you’ve submitted your form.²

For Central Index searches, expect your certificate and copy to arrive within about 45 days of the court receiving your payment.⁴ Requests made with a case number and court details tend to be faster, but turnaround depends on the court’s workload, and off-site archives can add further delay.

Civil Partnership Dissolutions

The same process applies to civil partnership dissolutions. Since April 2022, what was previously a dissolution decree is also called a Final Order.¹ Use Form D440 if you don’t have the case number, send it to the same address, and pay the same fees.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

The route above applies to England and Wales only. Scottish divorce records are held by the National Records of Scotland and can be searched through ScotlandsPeople; the statutory register of divorces covers records from 1 May 1984 onward, and earlier records usually mean contacting the court that granted the divorce.⁵ Scotland still uses “decree of divorce” rather than “Final Order,” because the 2020 Act applies only to England and Wales.

In Northern Ireland, you apply to the Matrimonial Office to search for a Decree Absolute if you don’t have the case reference number.⁶ Northern Ireland has not adopted the Final Order terminology, and its divorce process runs under separate legislation.

Using a UK Divorce Record Overseas

A certified copy is a UK court document. If you need to use it abroad, the receiving authority will almost certainly want it authenticated first.

For countries in the Hague Apostille Convention, including the United States and most of Europe, the document needs an apostille from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The apostille confirms that the court seal or signature is genuine. It does not verify the contents. If your Decree Absolute carries an original court seal or a district judge’s signature, you can send it to the FCDO directly. Without those features, or if you only have an electronic copy, a notary public has to certify it first.

FCDO fees vary by service. An e-Apostille is £35, standard next-day service is £40, and same-day urgent processing is £100. A standard postal application submitted directly by the public is £45. Government fees are exempt from VAT; a notary charges separately if notarisation is needed.

No federal treaty requires US states to recognise foreign divorces. Each state decides for itself, usually looking at whether both parties had notice and a chance to participate, and whether at least one party was living in the UK at the time.⁷ Most states do recognise UK divorces in practice, but expect to provide an apostilled copy along with a certified translation if any part is not in English.

Federal agencies set their own requirements. The Social Security Administration needs a certified copy of the decree to update records or process benefits claims; where the certified copy isn’t available, the SSA will consider other evidence, but you’ll need to explain why the standard document can’t be produced.⁸ The State Department advises contacting whichever federal agency you’re dealing with to confirm what they want.⁷

1
Legislation.gov.uk. Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020
2
GOV.UK. Get a Copy of a Final Order or Decree Absolute
3
GOV.UK. Request a Search for a Divorce Decree Absolute – Form D440
4
GOV.UK. HM Courts and Tribunals Service D440 – Request for Search for Divorce Decree Absolute
5
ScotlandsPeople. Divorces – ScotlandsPeople
6
Department of Justice Northern Ireland. Decree Absolute Search Application
7
U.S. Department of State. Divorce
8
Social Security Administration. Establishing Termination of Marriage