How to Find Filed Divorce Papers in Georgia

Divorce records are public records

There are 159 counties in the state of Georgia, and divorce paperwork can be filed with the clerk of the superior court in all of them. All divorce actions are public record unless a judge orders otherwise. Different counties have different case management systems. Some counties make family law case information available online. In others, you will need to make a trip to the courthouse yourself.

Instructions

1. Determine where the Georgia divorce papers you are seeking to find were filed. With rare exception, they will be filed in the county where one of the two parties lived at the time of the divorce. The Georgia Superior Court Clerk's Cooperative Authority's (GCCA) website lists the addresses and phone numbers of every superior court clerk in the state.

2. Make sure you have the correctly spelled first and last name of either the husband or the wife. While filed divorces are usually tracked by the case number they receive when the action is opened, most courts can find them via the parties' names.

3. Estimate the year when the case was filed. Pending cases will usually be somewhere around the courthouse, but older closed cases may be at an off-site storage facility. Having a date will help courthouse personnel locate the paperwork more quickly.

4. Call the clerk of the superior court in the county where the divorce was filed. Explain that you are looking for a filed divorce action and ask about requesting the paperwork. Some counties will ask you to send a letter with the pertinent information. Others still will ask you to come down to the courthouse to perform the search.

5. Follow the clerk's directions for requesting the Georgia divorce records. Sometimes the clerk will request a retrieval and copying fee to search for you. Depending on the age of the case, paperwork can usually be located within a week or two.

Tips & Warnings

• If you need certified copies of Georgia divorce papers, the clerk's office can do this for you for an additional fee.

References

• GSCCCA: Superior Court Clerks