Locate Free Tarrant County Divorce Records (Confirm Status)

Look up free Tarrant County divorce records to unveil information about the dissolution of a particular marriage. You can often view these records for free if you know where to look.

Divorce records provide the names of the parties involved in the dissolution process and highlight the settlements reached afterward. These records can also provide personal information on finances, child custody, specifics about the children, and other sensitive information like domestic abuse.

This streamlined resource guides you on how to find insightful warrant details using search tools and record custodian requests in Tarrant County, Texas.

How Do I Run a Tarrant County Divorce Records Search for Free?

Anyone in Tarrant County, Texas can find divorce records online. The local government keeps a record of all cases filed in the district and provides an Online Case Search Tool to view these records.¹ These are open to the public and include civil, family, and probate court cases.

You can use this tool to search for divorce cases using a case number. If you don’t know the number, you can still search by typing the name of either of the parties involved in the divorce process or their attorney’s name.

There is also a section relating to the case status that lets you filter out ‘open’ or ‘closed’ cases. You also have an option to specify dates if you want results from a particular period of time.

After filling in the required details, the system gives out basic details relating to the case. This includes current status, filing date, judge’s name, and names of both parties involved in the case.

You can also get divorce records from the Tarrant County District Clerk of Court at the following:

Tarrant County District Clerk of Court
Family Law Center
200 East Weatherford, 3rd Fl.
Fort Worth, Texas 76196

Phone: (817) 884-1265

You can go to the Family Law Center yourself and get copies of court documents.² However, you will be required to have the case number, as it helps speed up things. If you don’t have a case number, then you will be charged $5.00 for seeking out the records.

If you want to send mail-in requests then address them to the Family Law Center, Attn: Family Court Records at the above-mentioned address. Make sure to put in a self-addressed stamped envelope if you want certified copies returned via mail or provide an email address for non-certified ones.

You also have another choice where you can directly ask for divorce records through email on [email protected] with the name of the parties clearly stated.

The following fee is charged when getting family law and civil court records:

• Non-Certified Paper Copies: Each page costs $1.00
• Non-Certified Electronic Copies: $1.00 for 10 pages or less with extra $0.10 charged per page onwards
• Certified Paper Copies: $1.00 per page plus additional $5 Certification/Seal Fee
• Certified Electronic Copies: $1.00 for first 10 pages or less plus an additional $0.10 per page onwards, along with a $5 Certification/Seal Fee

How To Search & Access Divorce Records in Texas as a Whole

Sometimes you can not find divorce records in Tarrant County. This can be the case when the divorce occurred in another county or, perhaps, another agency has the wanted records. In these situations, you need to know which state office keeps divorce records for the whole state of Texas.

You can obtain divorce letters from the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS). The TDSHS maintains an online submission platform for accessing public divorce records.³ These records are available from 1968 until now.

Providing details will help expedite your search request and make it more precise. You can provide the following details when making a request:

• The full name of either of the parties involved in the divorce
• The date of the divorce
• Where they got divorced
• Their date of birth
• The age of the spouses when they got married

The fee for a certified divorce record from the TDSHS costs $20 per copy. Only credit or debit cards are accepted.

One important point to consider is if you make an order and it’s confirmed, it cannot be canceled. The money cannot be returned either. Even if they don’t find the record you asked for, the fee stays, meaning no returns or transfers.

You can also order these records by mail or by making an in person request. For mail-in requests, you will need to fill in the Divorce Record Application Form and send it to the following address:⁵

Texas Vital Statistics
Department of State Health Services
P.O. Box 12040
Austin, Texas 78711-2040

For expedited delivery, you will need to send in the form at the following:

Texas Department of State Health Services
Vital Statistics
MC 2096, 1100 West 49th St.,
Austin, Texas, 78756

For in-person requests you can either visit any of the local Vital Records Offices or visit the main office at Austin, Texas at the following:

Texas Department of State Health Services
1100 West 49th St.
Austin, Texas 78756

Phone: 512.776.7111 / 888.963.7111 (Toll free)
Office Hours: 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM | Monday to Friday

Searching for divorce records can prove beneficial when tracing family history or building a family tree. For dissolution records that unfolded after 1968, you can use the divorce index provided by the Texas Department of State Health Service.⁶ However, if the marriages broke up before 1968, you should get in contact with the district clerk of the county where it happened.

Are Divorce Records in Tarrant County Publicly Accessible?

In Texas, divorce records are considered public records. This is in accordance with the Texas Government Code 552, known as the Public Information Act.⁷

You can obtain these records from offices like the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) or through the District Clerk’s Office unless there is a law or court order forbidding it. The clerk’s office can even issue certified and non-certified copies.

As the state of Texas recognizes common-law marriages, pursuant to Section 2.401 of the Family Code, the dissolution of such marriages is also recognized and recordable.⁸ To search for common law divorce records in the state of Texas, you will need to get in contact with the offices mentioned above and follow the same procedures as highlighted in this resource.

In Texas, the various documents filed in court during the dissolution process are known as divorce papers. This includes legal documents such as petitions and summons. Meanwhile, a divorce decree is an official paper confirming that the marriage has ended.

It features detailed provisions of spousal support, property division, child custody, support, and visitation. The document comes from the county courts where the divorce was finalized.

Separately a divorce certificate is a formal paper that is issued by the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) and is part of the dissolution record. This document does not contain much detail, but just a statement that the two parties have gotten a divorce, where they got divorced, and the time and date of when it was finalized.

This document helps when individuals need to change their name or get remarried. The dissolution certificate does not have multiple pages – it usually has just one.

You can also find divorce records for Tarrant County online on third-party public record websites apart from official channels. These website details can not exactly match those coming directly from government sources though.

It’s recommended to use the official resources to find Tarrant County divorce records; the methods of doing so have been highlighted extensively in this article above.