How do I Obtain a Copy of an Egyptian Divorce Record?

Obtain a record of an Egyptian divorce through an Egyptian consulate.

Obtaining records from Egypt on your own is difficult because it is not a member of the Hague Convention, which would have made things easier. Divorce records are issued through the Egypt Interior Ministry's Civil Status Department (see Reference 1). Unless you can read and write in Arabic, it will be very difficult to navigate on your own. The best way to obtain a divorce record from Egypt if you are living in the United States is to contact the Egyptian Embassy or one of their Consulates that are located around the country.

Things You'll Need

• Form 40
• Identification
• Applicable fee

Instructions

1. Go to your nearest Egyptian consulate. The Egyptian consulates are located in Washington D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, Houston and Chicago. They will be able to guide you smoothly through the process of acquiring an Egyptian divorce record.

   Embassy of the Arabic Republic of Egypt

   3521 International Ct. NW

   Washington DC 2008

   202-966-6342

   www.egyptembassy.net

   Consulate General of A.R.E. in New York

   1110 Second Ave, Ste 201

   New York, NY 100022

   212-759-7120

   Consulate Genera of A.R.E. in Chicago

   500 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1900

   Chicago, IL 60611

   312-828-9162

   Houston Consulate Office

   1990 Post Oak Blvd, Ste 2180

   Houston, TX 77056

   Consulate General of A.R.E in Los Angeles(former San Francisco)

   As of July 19, 2010, the Consulate closed in San Francisco and will reopen at an undetermined date in Los Angeles. If you live closest to the Los Angeles or San Francisco, contact the New York Consulate for help.

2. Fill out appropriate forms. The Egypt Department of Civil Status requires you to fill out Form 40 in order to get a transcript of birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates. You must provide proof of relations to the names listed on the divorce document, whether you are the person or you are requesting on behalf of a relative. Your local Egyptian Consulate will send the application to the civil registry where the divorce was registered in Egypt, and they will send back a transcribed divorce document.

3. Pay applicable fee. The consulates will handle divorce proceedings for Egyptian nationals abroad, and there is a $100 fee associated with that where both parties receive a copy of the divorce certificate. The fee to obtain a record only varies depending upon the delivery method and location and you will have to contact your local consulate for accurate pricing.

Tips & Warnings

• Although you may not need it, it is best to bring as many identifying documents with you as you can to the consulate to avoid any identification issues.

• The U.S. Consulates to Egypt handle divorce proceedings for Egyptian Nationals who are Muslims; therefore, obtaining these records is a fairly simple process. For Egyptian Nationals who are Christians, the process may be more complicated as the consulates do not handle divorce proceedings for Christian Egyptians and they may have to contact other departments for additional help.

References

• Egypt Ministry of the Interior (using translation)
• Embassy of Egypt: Washington D.C.
• Egypt State Infomaiton Service: Civil Status in Service of Egyptian Expatriates
• Consulate of Egypt in New York: Divorce

Resources

• Embassy of Egypt