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This is an online order form for a divorce record from the Probate and Family Courts of Bristol, Middlesex*, Norfolk, and Suffolk counties in eastern Massachusetts.

 

Documents available for ordering include, Certificate of Divorce Absolute, Certificate of Divorce NISI with Separation Agreement, photocopies of judgment of divorce and or separation agreements, as well as court authenticated, exemplified, divorce packets, for use in foreign countries**.

 

Custom requests, such as obtaining copies for petition of divorce of an ongoing divorce, copies of current motions, etc. can also be obtained by special request.

 

For an additional fee, certified and authenticated copies can also have a Massachusetts state apostille, certified by the Secretary of State's Office, for use outside the United States. 

 

If ordering outside the United States, please understand none of our fees include express international postage, such as DHL. Please email us after placing your international order and we can give you a quote for DHL or FedEx postal fees.

 

Please also note we cannot obtain impounded divorce records nor can we obtain QDRO's. Impounded divorce files and QDRO information is open only to parties named in the record or their appointed attorneys.

 

**Effective August 16, 2021, all divorce files for Middlesex County prior to 1990 are in offsite storage. Delivery time for 1990 and older records for this county is at least 4 weeks (and possibly up to 6 weeks) from date of order. No expedited service for these older files.

 

**Records from Bristol County filed in 1986 or before are also located in offsite storage facilities and cannot be expedited. Delivery time can be up to four weeks. 

 

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ORDERING OPTIONS: The type of document you select depends on your personal needs for the record. If you need the record for any legal purpose, such as a passport, social security, obtaining a REAL ID, or getting remarried, you'll most likely need Option C or D. If the record is for informational purposes only, than Option A or B is the right choice.

 

OPTION A : The fee to search for and photocopy a Massachusetts divorce judgement (sent via 1st class mail) is $35. This is a plain photocopy of the actual divorce judgment, signed by a judge and contains the specific month, day and year the divorce was granted. This document, can NOT be used for most legal purposes, such as applying for social security or obtaining a REAL ID or, in most states, for getting remarried. See OPTION C, for obtaining certified records used in official or legal matters, such as a REAL ID. Option A can be scanned and digitized into a PDF and emailed. Please tell us you'll accept a scanned copy in the notes section of the order form.

 

OPTION B : The fee to search for and photocopy a Massachusetts divorce judgment and the divorce separation agreement is $65. These photocopies are NOT attested or certified. They are plain photocopies. This is the same as option A, but includes the details (if any) of the separation agreement, including issues such as alimony, insurance, custody, visitation, property ownership and or child support. This option can be scanned and digitized into a PDF and emailed. Please tell us you'll accept a scanned copy in the notes section of the order form.

 

OPTION C : The fee to search for and obtain a certified copy of a Massachusetts divorce decree, the "Certificate of Divorce Absolute" is $75. This is a typed, certified court document and contains the court's official, raised embossed seal. This can be used for most legal or official purposes such as applying for social security, getting remarried, obtaining a REAL ID, for passport applications, or applying for citizenship. This document does not have a copy of the judges signature. (See Option D below.) This document can not be scanned and emailed. All Certificate of Divorce Absolute's are sent by Priority Mail for which you'll receive a verification of shipment and tracking number, once the document has processed.

 

OPTION D : The fee to search for and obtain a certified copy of a Massachusetts divorce judgment, the "Certificate of Divorce NISI" and an attested photocopy of the divorce separation agreement is $100. This includes the details (if any) of the divorce, including issues such as alimony, insurance, custody, visitation, property ownership and or child support. Unlike option B above, which is not certified, this record can be used for child custody issues, alimony enforcement and pension agreements and disbursements. [Please note that a certified judgment and agreement is usually not needed when you are applying for social security, getting remarried, obtaining a REAL ID, adopting children or applying for citizenship. Please verify requirements from the organization requesting the record.] This document can not be scanned and emailed. All Certificate of Divorce NISI's are sent by Priority Mail for which you'll receive a verification of shipment and tracking number, once the documents have processed.

 

OPTION E : Authenticated or Exemplified Divorce Packets are used primarily outside the country, for refiling divorce in another state or, in some cases, for probate court matters and or land sales in other states.There is a minimum fee of $150 for authenticated packets. That could change if the agreement is substantially long. Please indicate in the notes section of the order if you need this document apostilled by the State of Massachusetts and for which country. There is an additional fee of $50 for this service, for which we will send a secure link to make that payment. This option does NOT include a Certificate of Divorce Absolute. If you need both, you'll also have to order Option C.

 

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All Massachusetts divorce record searches are completed on location at the courthouse and in person by the research staff at mass-doc.com. This web site, mass-doc.com is not affiliated with, nor are we employed by, the state of Massachusetts or the state court system. We are an independent court document retrieval business.

 

DIVORCE DATE AND PLACE

Spouse A

Spouse B

SELECT DELIVERY BY FIRST CLASS MAIL OR EXPEDITED PRIORITY MAIL AND THE TYPE OF RECORD DESIRED BY USING DROP DOWN ARROW MENU.

 

The judgment is a one page document that allowed for the divorce. There is no detail beyond date and names. The divorce agreement is the official terms of the divorce, including such issues as property ownership and custody. (Divorce agreements can be as small as one page or as large as hundreds of pages. The average is 10 - 15.) The court embossed "Certificate of Divorce Absolute" is needed in most states for situations such as remarriage, citizenship matters, social security filings, taxes and passports. In most of those cases, the agreement is not needed. The certified Judgment of "NISI" and the agreement is what is needed for situations such as complex tax issues, home refinancing and out of state child support enforcement. For more detailed information, please read the list of available ordering options listed above to insure you order the correct type of record.

* Records from BRISTOL county filed in 1986 or earlier are located in offsite storage facilities and cannot be expedited. Delivery time can be up to four weeks.

* Records from MIDDLESEX county filed in 1990 or earlier are also in offsite storage and delivery time can be up to six weeks. No expedited service for pre 1990 records available. 

** Authenticated Divorce Packets are a custom process, depending on your needs, country requirements and overall size of the docket. The price of $150 is a minimum charge. We will notify you if any other additional fees will apply before processing your order.

APPLICANT'S NAME and MAILING ADDRESS

Payment Method

 

Credit Card Information