Access Free Kern County Divorce Records on Anyone (California)

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Free Kern County Divorce Record Search

Find out if someone in Kern County, California is divorced, free of charge.

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Search free Kern County divorce records to obtain official dissolution documents or to verify someone’s marital history.

Citizens can retrieve divorce records since they comprise public data under the California Public Records Act and the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Members of the public have several options when it comes to acquiring these records from official agencies — including state, county, and local channels. In many cases, searchers can view divorce records for free in Kern County.

How To Find Free Kern County Divorce Records

Persons seeking divorce papers in Kern County may do so at the records’ custodians; these are the Superior Court of California – County of Kern.¹

Pursuant to the laws found in the California Public Records Act, the Superior Court gives the public access to dissolution records.²

The Kern County Case Search Tool is the fastest and most convenient way for citizens to view divorce records online. While this instrument has no cost for use, it requires free registration.

Users can search for court records using several criteria, including case number, party name, attorney name, etc. Select Family Division from the “Filter By Location” to access court records under which divorce documents fall.

Moreover, interested parties may need to obtain copies of court records online, by mail, or in person.³ If the case number is unknown, patrons may visit the courthouse to confirm for free or have the clerk do so for a charge on this fee schedule.⁴

Mail requests must include the records’ details needed, a self-addressed envelope, and research and copy fees. There is a $15.00 charge for certified copies of the judgment of dissolution.

Applicants can mail their requests to the courthouses in Delano, Bakersfield, Mojave, Ridgecrest and Shafter—they can expect to receive their documents in 10 business days.⁵ In-person requests can also be performed at the addresses below:

Superior Court of California – County of Kern
325 Central Valley Highway 
Shafter, California 93263 

Phone: 661.610.7200

Superior Court of California – County of Kern
132 East Coso Avenue 
Ridgecrest, California 93555 

Phone: 661.610.7450

Superior Court of California – County of Kern
1773 State Highway 58 Business 
Mojave, Califiornia 93501 

Phone: 661.610.7400

Superior Court of California – County of Kern
1122 Jefferson Street
Delano, California 93215 

Phone: 661.610.7300

Common law marriages are forbidden in California. As a result, citizens cannot search for common law divorce records from the Superior Court or any other agency in the state since couples from these unions are not granted dissolutions.

Search Cities for Divorce & Dissolution of Marriage Records in Kern County

Patrons may turn to local jurisdictions to find divorce records, particularly the municipal courts. County-level searches provide interested parties with the widest search scope since they consider all documents recorded in cities in the county. This is helpful if the requestor does not know where the record originated.

Searching for public divorce records from local jurisdictions may be helpful to citizens since these offices tend to serve smaller populations; as a result, orders are processed much quicker, and the staff will be more attentive to requestors’ needs.

The most populated centers will be used to showcase the search for divorce records in cities. Kern County’s top 5 are Bakersfield, Delano, Wasco, Ridgecrest, and Shafter.

Residents of Bakersfield can seek public records online, or they may also submit a request for public documents.⁶ The cost of copies is $0.10 per page.

Citizens may also inspect public records at the City Hall during office hours, Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM, at the address below. Call 661.326.3000 for questions and inquiries.

City of Bakersfield
1600 Truxtun Avenue 
Bakersfield, California 93301

Delano permits its citizens to make public records requests, and they may do so in person or by email. Responses from the city are made in 10 business days. Applicants will need to fill out this public records request form; the cost of copies is $0.10 per page.⁷

Email and fax requests are sent to [email protected] and 661.721.3269. In-person and mail requests are sent to the City Clerk in Delano, whose address is below:

City of Delano
City Clerk
1015 Eleventh Avenue
Delano, CA 93215

Patrons may also request public records from the City of Ridgecrest via the Office of the City Clerk. These requests can be made through fax, phone, online, and in-person. Online requests are initiated by filling out a request form—the searcher will need to create a free account to perform this.

Fax and mail requests are completed using a request for public records form and sent to 760.499.1520 and the address below. Call 760.499.5002 or email [email protected] for inquiries. In-person requests can be done Monday through Thursday, 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM.

City of Ridgecrest 
Attn: City Clerk 
100 W California Avenue 
Ridgecrest, California 93555

Persons residing in Wasco can make a public records request electronically.⁸

The city has 10 days to respond to a request and determine if the records will be available. The applicant will be contacted as to the costs and they will make payment by cash, credit card check, money order payable to “City of Wasco.” Contact the Wasco City Clerk by calling 661.758.7214 or emailing [email protected]. Mail payments to the address below.

Wasco City Clerk
746 8TH Street 
Wasco, California 93280

Citizens in Shafter can also make public record requests. They may do so by downloading and printing a public records request form and submitting it in person at the address below, through email to [email protected] or faxing the order to 661.746.0607.⁹

City of Shafter
336 Pacific Avenue 
Shafter, California 93263

How To Retrieve Divorce Records in All of California Through the Department of Public Health

Citizens may often need to search for divorce records beyond Kern County lines—in these situations, they will need to contact the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). The CDPH Vital Records Office has a divorce index for the state for records between 1962 through June 1984.

However, the Vital Records Office does not issue actual dissolution decrees; rather, it provides a Certificate of Record. This record is only the face sheet of the divorce and its information; it cannot serve as identification. Data found in these documents include party names, filing dates, cases, and county numbers.

Citizens can seek divorce records by mail by downloading and completing an application for a dissolution certificate of record of divorce (Spanish version).¹⁰ The fee is $16.00 per copy and is paid via check or money order payable to the “CDPH-VitalRecords.”

Requesters can expect these processing times for requests. Additional fees can also be seen here.¹¹

Patrons need to send requests to the Sacramento Office at the following address:

California Department of Public Health – Vital Records
MS 5103 Post Office 997410 
Sacramento, California, 95899-7410

Call 916.445.2684 or email [email protected] for any questions.

Moreover, citizens who need to find older divorce records than those in the Superior Court and Vital Records Office can contact the California State Archives & Libraries.

The California State Archives has older court records that date back to the 1800s; the research room is open to the public Monday through Friday, 9:30 AM to 4 PM.¹² Contact the State Archives by emailing [email protected] for information and assistance.

Lastly, family history centers provide genealogy resources; their addresses and contact information appear below:

Los Angeles Family History Center
10741 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90025 

Phone: 310.474.9990

San Bruno Family History Center
975 Sneath Lane 
San Bruno, California, 94066 

Phone: 650.873.1928

Orange Family History Center
674 South Yorba Street 
Orange, California 92693 

Phone: 714.997.7710

San Diego Family History Center
4195 Camino del Rio 
South San Diego, California, 92108

Phone: 619.584.7668

Are Divorce Records in Kern County Publicly Accessible?

The California Public Records Act makes divorce records mostly available to the public. Consequently, anyone can view divorce records and request informational copies of dissolution decrees. These documents provide scant details of the divorce, such as the party’s name, the date filed, and the county where the event occurred.

Only authorized individuals can acquire certified copies of divorce records from public agencies—these include the party of the record, immediate family members and legal representatives.

Dissolution certificates are certified records, whereas information copies are non-certified records. Certified records – also known as authorized copies – are more than a copy of the actual decree document at the Superior Court.¹³ They’re true copies with an embossed seal of the state and can be used for official government business, such as when applying for Social Security benefits.

Informational copies or non-certified records have similar information to an authorized copy, but may have certain items redacted; requesters should know that these copies can’t serve as identification. In California, they have a legend across the face with a statement showing they are informational.

In addition, there’s a distinction between divorce decrees and certificates. Judges issue decrees at the courts when couples petition for a divorce—they are detailed documents providing specifics on the annulment. Conversely, divorce certificates are documents proving that dissolution took place and contain mostly rudimentary data on the separation.

Citizens can seek divorce records from third-party vendors instead of official channels in Kern County. This takes the hassle out of searching for records, particularly if the county of record is yet to be determined. Nevertheless, if state agencies don’t authorize these companies to issue documents, they cannot be used for official purposes.

The option to search for Kern County divorce records is important for citizens to conduct official business and for personal reasons such as verifying the status of married couples. This resource provides useful information to help interested individuals navigate official channels in the search for these documents.