The divorce records are accessible to everyone for free. But, if that is the case, why do most of the people pay money to get the same? Whether you need to pay for accessing these records or not, is totally dependent on the situation you are in. Therefore, it would be better for us to understand the process in detail so that we can make a wise choice.

The divorce records are considered to be records of vital importance. These records form the core of all the department of public records in the country, along with the records of death, birth and marriage. States started centralizing these records from mid 60s. Before that period, these records were maintained at the county where the divorce was obtained.

It was in 1966, when the divorce records became a part of public domain due to the Freedom of Information Act. According to the act, people can access any public record unless it is sealed off by the government for security or protection related concerns. One can request access to these records either by appearing at the respective office in person or through mail, fax or phone.

The introduction of internet and the progress made in information technology, has pushed all the government agencies to maintain their records online. There are websites that have a complete list of all divorce records and they form the largest source for such information too. While these records might look scattered, they are accurate and up to date. There is no centralized database for the country. So it may not be easy to gather data from all the states, the person has resided in. It would require accessing the websites for the different states separately.

The option to pay for the divorce records is entirely up to you. You just need to find a service provider and consider the work done. While these service providers would also be using the same database as you, they would also have access to some private and proprietary databases. Reviews can help you find a reliable service provider.