New York City Divorce Decree Records
New York City divorce decree records are spread across five boroughs, each with its own County Clerk. If you need a copy of a divorce decree from a case filed in the city, you have to know which borough handled the filing. Manhattan uses the New York County Clerk. Brooklyn goes through Kings County. Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island each have their own County Clerk as well. Searching for a New York City divorce decree starts with figuring out which county court granted the case. From there, you contact the right clerk to get your copy.
New York City Divorce Decree Overview
Which County Handles New York City Divorce Decrees
New York City sits across five counties. Each one has a separate County Clerk who stores divorce decree files for cases heard in that borough. The Supreme Court in each county has its own clerk's office. You must go to the right one. A divorce case filed in Brooklyn cannot be picked up in Manhattan. The County Clerk in Kings County holds Brooklyn cases. The New York County Clerk holds Manhattan cases. It is that simple, but people get confused by this all the time.
Here is each borough and its county. Manhattan is New York County, with the County Clerk at 60 Centre Street, Room 141B, New York, NY 10007. Call (646) 386-5935 for questions. Brooklyn is Kings County, with the clerk at 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201, phone (347) 404-9772. Queens has its County Clerk at 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11435, phone (718) 286-3000. The Bronx County Clerk is at 851 Grand Concourse, Room 118, Bronx, NY 10451, phone (718) 618-3300. And Richmond County in Staten Island has its clerk at 18 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NY 10301, phone (718) 675-7700.
All five offices are open Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM. They close on state holidays.
Getting a Divorce Decree in New York City
To get a copy of a divorce decree in New York City, you go to the County Clerk in the borough where the case was filed. Bring a valid photo ID. You need the names of both parties and the year the divorce was granted, or the index number if you have it. The clerk will search the files and pull the case for you. The fee for a certified copy is usually $5 to $8 for the first four pages, then $1.25 per page after that. Plain copies cost less, around $0.25 to $0.65 per page.
You can also search for case info through the WebCivil Supreme system. This free tool from the NYS Unified Court System lets you look up civil cases in any Supreme Court across the state. You can search by party name or index number. The tool shows basic case info but not the full divorce decree. It can tell you if a case exists and which county has it. That is helpful if you are not sure where the divorce was filed. Once you have the index number, take it to the right County Clerk to get the actual decree.
The NYC 311 portal has contact details for all five borough County Clerks. It confirms that divorce records in New York City are not open to public inspection. Only a party to the case or an attorney of record can get copies of the full divorce decree file. Documents other than the judgment itself also need party or attorney authorization.
The NYC 311 page below explains how divorce decree records work in New York City and lists each borough's County Clerk contact info.
That page is a good starting point for anyone in the city who needs to track down a divorce decree.
Divorce Decree Access Rules in New York City
DRL Section 235 controls who can see divorce decree files in New York. The law is the same across all five boroughs. Only the parties to the divorce or their attorneys can view the full file. Third parties need a court order. There is no way around this rule. The County Clerk will check your ID before handing over any records.
One thing any person can get is a certification of disposition. This short document confirms that a divorce took place and what the outcome was. It does not include the terms of the divorce or any testimony. The fee is $5 for every two-year period searched. Under Judiciary Law Section 255, the clerk must search the files and provide copies when asked by an eligible person and paid the right fees.
Note: The Freedom of Information Law does not apply to court records in New York, so FOIL requests for divorce decrees will be denied.
New York City Divorce Certificate vs Decree
People mix these up a lot. A divorce decree is the full court judgment. It has all the terms, the property split, custody arrangements, and everything the judge ordered. The County Clerk keeps this record. A divorce certificate is a short form from the NYS Department of Health. It just shows the names of the spouses and when and where the marriage ended. The Department of Health only has certificates for divorces granted on or after January 1, 1963.
For divorces before 1963, the divorce decree from the County Clerk is the only record that exists. The mail order fee for a divorce certificate from the state is $30. Online or phone orders cost $45 plus a processing fee. Only the spouses or someone with a court order can request a certificate. Call the Vital Records line at (855) 322-1022 if you have questions about which document you need.
Filing a Divorce Case in New York City
Divorce cases in New York City are filed in Supreme Court. The plaintiff usually files in the county where they live. So if you live in Brooklyn, you file in Kings County Supreme Court. The NYSCEF system handles electronic filing for some case types, though matrimonial cases have special rules. In New York County, e-filing is mandatory for most case types, but matrimonial matters are excluded from that rule.
The court system provides free forms and instruction booklets for people who want to file on their own. Even so, the court strongly suggests hiring a lawyer. The New York State Bar Association has a referral line at 1-800-342-3661. For those who cannot afford an attorney, the Ask a Law Librarian service can answer basic questions. The Collaborative Family Law Center also offers reduced-fee services for New York City area residents.
Note: After the court grants a divorce, the decree is filed with the County Clerk and a certificate is sent to the NYS Department of Health for cases from 1963 onward.
Historical Divorce Decree Records for New York City
New York City divorce decree records go back to 1847. For cases filed before July 1, 1847, the records for downstate counties are at the New York County Clerk's Office at 31 Chambers Street, Manhattan. You can call (212) 374-4376 to ask about very old records. The NYS Archives has info on where to find historical divorce decree files. After 100 years from the final decree date, the records become open to the public. This matters mainly for genealogy research.
The New York State Library has resources for people doing family history work. The library's vital records guide explains how to access older records. For genealogical copies of vital records, the fee is $22 per copy from the Department of Health. Mail requests go to the Vital Records Section, Genealogy Unit, P.O. Box 2602, Albany, NY 12220-2602.
Nearby Cities
Other major cities near New York City also have divorce decree records handled at the county level. Check these pages for details on nearby locations.