Look Up Free Kentucky Divorce Records & Decrees

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Free Kentucky Divorce Record Search

Find out if someone in Kentucky is divorced, free of charge.

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View and acquire free Kentucky divorce records without tedious searching.

These records can be used if you are curious and want to learn about the marital history of someone you know. Divorce records are also helpful for an individual if they want to learn about their family history through a genealogy search.

Access to divorce records is afforded to all citizens through Kentucky’s Open Records Act. While this statute provides broad access, it does not dictate how these records are made available. This resource will walk you through tracking down divorce records and helpful tools to obtain them.

This resource was written by Attorney Robert Bailey Jr, who holds a Juris Doctorate from Widener University School of Law.

Are Divorce Records Publicly Accessible in Kentucky?

In Kentucky, divorce records are available to anyone in the public as a result of the Open Records Act.¹

Unless a record has been sealed for some reason, an individual’s divorce is public knowledge once the Judge issues the decree.

Divorce records include the basic case information provided by the Kentucky Circuit Court that handled the matter. The divorce case information is accessible in most situations.

However, people often want access to the specific divorce decree or divorce certificate. A decree will typically contain the settlement terms and any requirements of the divorce (e.g., support payments, custody, assets etc.). The certificate of divorce is a document issued at the state level that provides basic information for the primary purpose of confirming a divorce occurred.

In Kentucky, there are no eligibility requirements for obtaining a certificate of divorce or decree. However, upon the request of a party, certain circumstances may allow for a judge to seal a portion or all of a divorce record. If this is the case, part or all of the record may not be accessible to the general public.

In addition to the actual divorce records, a citizen also has access to certain Kentucky divorce data. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, Kentucky has a divorce rate of 3.3 divorces for every 1,000 people (data from 2021). This is higher than the national average, which is 2.5 divorces for every 1,000 people.

How To Obtain Kentucky Divorce Records at No Cost

If you want to access public divorce records in Kentucky, you can do so through their online case record search tool. To use this search tool, a citizen can look up divorce records by case number or party name. If searching by a person’s name, follow the steps below.

First, under the “Case Category” drop-down menu, select the “Civil” option. Once you make that selection, you will have the option to choose “Domestic & Family” under the Case Type drop-down menu. Before you enter your search information, you can also decide if you want to search divorce cases throughout the state or in a particular county.

Now, you can enter the individual’s name and, if available, their date of birth. There is some flexibility with this search tool, which allows you to enter a partial name and include a range of 2 years before or after the inputted birth date.

Once you complete your search, you will be taken to the results page. Here, you will get a list of both active and inactive domestic cases.

The results page will include a brief summary with matching party names, the county where the case is or was held and the case number. If the case is still active, you can see information on the date and time of the next scheduled hearing.

There is also a link in the summary results to contact the Clerk of Court responsible for the particular case. When you click on the link, you can view the contact information for that court as well as other helpful information. To get additional information on a particular court record, you will have to make a request directly with that court.

How To Request a Certificate of Divorce in Kentucky

If an individual would like to request a certificate of divorce, they can do so through the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services Vital Statistics Branch.⁴

You can obtain a certificate of divorce from the Vital Statistics Branch for any dissolution from June 1958 to the present.

To request a certificate of divorce, you will need to provide both parties’ full names and the exact date of their divorce. In addition, you will need to provide the county where the decree was issued. You will also need to provide information identifying yourself and your address if you are having the certificate mailed to you.

A citizen can complete an Application for a Certified Copy of a Certificate of Divorce and either mail it, place it in their drop box or bring it to the office in person. The Office of Vital Statistics is located at the address below:

Office of Vital Statistics
275 E. Main Street, 1E-A
Frankfort, Kentucky 40621

If you are dropping it off or mailing it, do not forget to include an acceptable payment (check or money order) and a self-addressed stamped envelope. Processing time is approximately five to seven business days but can take as long as thirty days.

The cost for a certificate of divorce is $6.00 per copy, and the initial fee is collected, regardless of whether the requested record is found. If you are planning to go to the Office of Vital Statistics to drop off your application, they are open Monday through Friday, from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. However, there is no guarantee for same-day service if you come in after 3:45 PM.

If you are looking to make a request online or by phone, you can do so with a third-party vendor that has partnered with the Office of Vital Statistics, VitalChek. Note: VitalChek charges fees, in addition to the $6.00 charge, for using their services.

Searching County Agencies in Kentucky for Divorce Records

There are other options besides accessing divorce records at the state level in Kentucky. A citizen can also perform a free public divorce records search with the record custodian at the county level. Depending on your situation and what you are looking for, this may be a better option.

Searching at the county level may also provide you the opportunity to ask specific questions or view the records in person. Or, you may not have found the divorce record at the state level, and you want to double-check with the county where you believe the divorce occurred.

Below, you’ll be provided with information on how to access divorce records in the three most populous counties in Kentucky. Use this information to search for divorce records with these counties, as well as a general guide on how you can find this public information with other counties throughout Kentucky.

The largest county and home to the state’s largest city (Louisville) is Jefferson County. To access divorce records in Jefferson County, you can make a request with the Archives & Records Division of the Office of the Jefferson County Circuit Court Clerk.^{6, 7} They provide access to all closed court cases (archived and recent), including divorce matters.

To access a copy of a decree or related divorce records, you can make a request by email to [email protected]. You can also mail a request to the address below:

Jefferson County Circuit Court Clerk
Archives & Records
514 West Liberty Street
Ste. 100
Louisville, Kentucky 40202

The cost is $0.25 per page in person or $10.00 for up to 18 pages delivered through the mail. The cost for a certified court record is $5.00.

You can contact the Archives & Records Division at 502-595-3042. They are available from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday.

Fayette County is the second largest county in Kentucky. If you want to search for divorce information here, you can do so by contacting the Clerk of the Fayette County Circuit Civil Division.⁸

A citizen can submit a Record Request, or you can call them at 859-246-2141 if you have questions about searching records at the courthouse. The Circuit Court’s Civil Division is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. They are located at the address below:

Fayette County Circuit Civil Division
Robert F. Stephens Circuit Courthouse
120 North Limestone
Ste. C-103
Lexington, Kentucky 40507

The third largest county in Kentucky is Kenton County. If a citizen wants to access records in Kenton County, they can make a request with the Circuit Court Clerk.⁹ A record seeker can contact the Clerk’s Office to ask them about their process for both searching and requesting divorce records.

You can contact the Kenton County Circuit Court Clerk by phone at 859-292-6523. Their office is located at the address below:

Kenton County Circuit Court Clerk
230 Madison Ave. 
Third Floor
Covington, Kentucky 41011

Reminder: The Kentucky Court’s Case Record Search Tool can be used to search divorce records within any specific county throughout the state.

Tracking Family Heritage & Genealogy Through Divorce Archives of Kentucky

If you are tracing your family roots or performing a genealogy search, you will need to find a way to access archived divorce records.

For divorce records prior to 1958, your primary option is to request the records from the record custodian, which is the Clerk of Court in the county where the divorce was finalized.

However, if you are not sure where the divorce occurred or you are performing a general genealogy search, you will need another way to find this information. One option is to perform a search with the Kentucky Historical Society.¹⁰ You can search their online library catalog by a person’s name and other options.

You can also submit a single record or general research request. A single record search is $21.20, and a general search costs $53.00 per hour.

If you want to perform a search in person, you can go on Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. For questions, you can call them at 502-564-1792. They are located at the address below:

Kentucky Historical Society
100 West Broadway Street
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601

If you are still searching for divorce records, you can try other historical societies, libraries and churches. You may find a divorce index or old records that these types of places maintain or even by looking through random items such as old newspapers. When looking for archived divorce records, you will sometimes have to be creative and persistent with your search efforts.

How To View Dissolutions of Marriage in Kentucky

In Kentucky, a dissolution of marriage is the same as a person getting a divorce. If you want to access information on a dissolution, you have three primary options:

• Search divorce case information using the Kentucky Court’s Online Case Search Tool.
• Requesting a certificate of divorce through the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services Vital Statistics Branch.
• Search or make a request with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the County where the dissolution occurred.

Common law marriages are not authorized in Kentucky. As a result, there is no such concept as a common law divorce in Kentucky. Only individuals who were legally married and received a marriage license in Kentucky can obtain a divorce.

If you want access to records on a legal separation, you can use the above options to see what information is available. In Kentucky, civil unions and domestic partnerships are not authorized by state law. As a result, divorce records for these types of relationships do not exist.

How To File for Divorce & Address Served Divorce Papers

Ending a marriage is a major life event, whether you are the person who decided to file or you are on the receiving end of divorce papers from your spouse. Getting started may be the hardest part, as each state has different processes and requirements for initiating a divorce.

If you are looking to end your nuptials before you file for divorce, it’s important to know that you have two options: dissolution of marriage or annulment. A dissolution is what most people understand as a divorce. When a Kentucky court grants an annulment, they are saying that the marriage was never valid.

Reasons for an annulment include the following:

• One party lacked the capacity to consent to marriage (e.g., mental incapacity, alcohol, drugs)
• A party was wrongfully induced to enter the marriage (e.g., fraud, force, duress)
• One party, unaware of the other at the time of marriage, lacks the capacity to engage in sexual relations
• Other marriage prohibitions (e.g., age, familial relationship etc.)

If you are ready to file for divorce, you must confirm that you meet the state’s residency requirements. In Kentucky, the requirement is you or your spouse must have been living in the state for at least 180 days. If this requirement is met, you can file your Petition for Dissolution along with a certificate of divorce or annulment.

This Petition must also be served on your spouse so that they are fully aware and have the opportunity to respond.

The Petition does not have to indicate that the other party is at fault. Kentucky is not an at-fault divorce state. As a result, the only ground for divorce is that at least one party holds that the marriage is irretrievably broken.

If you are filing the petition, you will want to address how you would like various important matters to be resolved.

Some examples of what items to address in your petition include:

• Division of marital assets
• Child support
• Alimony or spousal support
• Custody
• Marital debts
• Insurance
• Name change

The Respondent (the person who received the Petition) will then have an opportunity to provide an answer in response. A person has 20 days from when they received the petition to provide a response. Here, you can contest any of the statements made in the petition and present how you propose the divorce to be resolved.

Depending on the complexity and level of agreement between the spouses, other steps may need to be taken along the way. For instance, if parties disagree over how the assets are valued, you may need a divorce appraisal.

If you are considering a divorce, you should consult with an attorney. They can help guide you through the process and provide advice specific to your situation. For instance, you may find out that you can get a legal separation instead of a divorce and that it is a better fit for your current situation.¹³

A legal separation (Mensa et thoro in Latin) is where the parties live separately, but you are still legally married. A decree of legal separation can address issues such as assets, spousal support and more. If you decide you want to be divorced, after one year, you can convert your legal separation into a dissolution of the marriage.

The information provided here gives you a general understanding of the Kentucky divorce process. You also now know how to find a variety of divorce records at both the state and county level. Use this resource when you need a refresher on the dissolution process and to guide you when searching for Kentucky divorce records.