Apostille of a US Divorce Decree
A divorce decree is an official court record that orders the termination of a marriage.
A divorce decree apostille is often requested abroad for “vacation marriages” where spouses opt to get married abroad, or when trying to renew identifications that bear outdated marital status information. Other international procedures may require the apostille of your divorce decree.
A divorce decree is the only decree not on file with a government agency, but rather the county clerk or circuit court clerk where your divorce was finalized. It’s possible that some state agencies may have a Dissolution of Marriage Record on file, but this is not a divorce decree. A divorce decree contains:
Full names of the spouses.
Personal information (such as social security numbers and residences).
Full names of children of the marriage.
Grounds of divorce and
Stipulations of divorce (such as alimony, child support, or orders of protection).
Not sure if your certificate is the correct one? Request a quote and use our upload document feature so that our team can provide guidance for your documentation and apostille needs!
NYC Divorce Decrees
New York City Divorce Decrees are recorded and maintained by the individual county clerk office where the divorce was finalized. There is one county clerk office for each borough, located within each county. You can get more information on each individual office on www.nycourts.gov.
Global Apostille Group can help obtain your record within 4-7 business days, or same day if needed. Contact us and we can provide step-by-step instructions on how to get your divorce record and its apostille, if needed.
Apostille Requirements for a New York City Divorce Decree
Your certificate must be a certified copy of your divorce decree with the raised seal of the issuing county clerk office. Plain or “xerox” copies are not accepted.
Some certificates lacking a raised seal may still be acceptable if the presence of a “rainbow stamp” is on the record. This is common on records issued before 2005.
Divorce decrees are one of the few NYC records that do NOT require a county clerk authentication.
Failure to comply with any of the above requirements will result in a rejected application from the New York Department of State.
Confused? Global Apostille Group can assist with your NYC divorce decree apostille within 5 business days or within the same business day. Contact us today for a quote!
True Copy Apostille
What if my record does not comply with the above requirements?
What if I do not want to give up my original record? It’s my original record!
Or what if I simply no longer have the original record and obtaining a certified copy will take months? I need my apostille now.
Global Apostille Group can provide a “true copy” apostille of copies of your record. We can attach an affidavit to your document, certifying the record as a true copy of the original, and notarize the affidavit. This process bypasses the need to have the original, as the apostille will certify the notary’s signature, not the signature on the official record. The apostille of this notarized true copy will be done in New York State.
Before opting for this process, please contact the authorities who are receiving your document if they will accept the apostille of your document via a notarized copy. If the country of destination:
Requires the apostille to certify the official signature of the record,
Will not accept a notarized copy of your record, or,
Requires the apostille to be issued by the official Department of State where the document was issued (i.e. if your document is from the State of Virginia, the apostille is from Virginia).
If any of the above apply, please obtain a correct, certified copy of your record prior to submitting for apostille.