Missouri Free Divorce Records

By Ben Kingsley


The state of Missouri is one of the many states that have implemented the Freedom of Information Act. This act mandates the local government to allow its residents to access any of their personal documents. One of the documents they can access is the Missouri Divorce records.

The retrieval of a divorce certificate in the state of Missouri is done for a number of reasons. Those who want to make sure that they are dating an unmarried or a legally separated individual may look into the other person's divorce file. From there, one would be able to determine that marital status of the person they are dating. Additionally, if a divorced individual has a plan to tie the knot, one of the required documents that have to presented is a copy of the official divorce papers. Furthermore, the document is also one of the sources of information for genealogy. It may cause major confusion for the next generations to come if the divorce of a member of the family is not updated on the family tree.

As the name suggest, a divorce certificate would reflect the basic details of the separation that took place. One would know who separated and when and where the divorce was finalized. Unfortunately, a public divorce record only contains the basic details of the separation. One would not be able to see the reasons for the separation as well as the agreement on the children's custody and the division of the couple's assets, properties and liabilities. All of that information is kept confidential to respect the individual's privacy.

The Department of Health in Missouri does not issue a copy of a divorce record. Only the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where the divorce was filed is where one can request for such document. The state office can help by identifying which county the document can be requested from. A $15 verification fee has to be paid in the state office while a separate processing fee is needed when the request is made at the county office. In order to get a copy of the document, the requesting individual has to fill out the application form in provided in the office. It should contain the personal information of the requesting individual because it will be used to verify their relationship with the divorcees since the document can only be given to the person whose name is on the file and their immediate family. One has to indicate their reason on the application form for obtaining the document.

Requesting it personally at the county office is recommended, however, if this is not known, one may need the help of the Department of Health in Missouri to identify the county of separation. Sending a mail request is also accepted by both office but this can take days before the requested document can be sent back. When sending a mail request, it is recommended that one provides all necessary information and required documents on the mail request to avoid any problems.

Online retrieval of a divorce certificate can now be done. There are websites that allows its users to conduct a free divorce records search. Residents of Missouri still opt to do a paid search because of the quality of the results they can get from it.




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