It is thought that approximately 40% of marriages in the U.S. end in divorce. This startlingly high statistic proves that public divorce records are not only important, but also that many people will have an interest in accessing them.
In accordance with the law and the Freedom of Information Act, divorce records are made available to the public by the state offices that handle them.
Today, accessing public records is neither unusual nor difficult thanks to the internet. A search can be conducted through government agencies' websites or specific online companies that handle the search and retrieval of public records.
Why Search Public Divorce Records?
There are many reasons that individuals may have for searching divorce records. For obvious reasons, the most common motive is to ensure that a divorced person is in fact official divorced, especially if you are about to marry.
However, a records search can be used for a number of other reasons, including ancestral and genealogical investigations.
Whatever your reason for wanting to find a divorce record, it should be relatively easy. However, as with any matter of public record, the process will vary from state to state.
How to Find Divorce Records
If you intend to conduct your search via an official state website, you will probably be able to obtain the information for free. However, the name of the office that holds divorce records will vary depending on the state. For example, in Texas, it is the Texas Department of State Health Services.
It should not be difficult to ascertain which department carries the information you require, but you may have to wait up to 15 working days until you receive the details you have requested.
If you would like to receive the records quickly, you will need to take a different tack: online professional record providers. Online records search providers are doing big business and it is no wonder, as they offer a convenient, swift and accurate way of obtaining the information you are looking for. Of course, these services will charge a fee, but the faster service is often worth a nominal charge.
Moreover, if you are searching your family history or would like to find out more about a new partner, then it may be helpful to conduct a multi-state search. To do this for free via state websites would be incredibly time-consuming. Therefore, an online search provider, which will be able to conduct searches in several, if not all, states, is ideal in this situation.
However, when looking for a professional records search site, it is advisable to be cautious. As with any online transaction, it is wise to read all of the terms and conditions to ensure you know exactly what to expect from the service. Moreover, there are a handful of unscrupulous sites that attempt to sell software that will provide unlimited access to public divorce records.
This 'software' usually turns out to be information that is widely available about how to recover easily accessible records. Therefore, it is a good idea to do some homework before submitting your personal or payment details to any online service provider.
To easily access comprehensive public divorce records as well as criminal, birth, and marriage records, click here now.
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