Search Santa Clarita Divorce Records
Santa Clarita is in Los Angeles County and all divorce cases from this city go through the Los Angeles County Superior Court system. The court has a courthouse in Lancaster that serves the Santa Clarita Valley area, though many people also file at other locations throughout the county. Los Angeles County runs several online portals where you can search for divorce records by name or case number. The county has the largest court system in California with family law cases dating back to 1983 in the online database. Document images are available for cases from May 2000 forward. You can search for free but downloading documents costs money. If you need a certified copy of a divorce decree, you can order it online, by mail, or in person at any courthouse location.
Los Angeles County Superior Court
Los Angeles County Superior Court handles all divorce filings for Santa Clarita residents. The county court system is massive. It covers the entire county including dozens of cities. When you file for divorce in Santa Clarita, your case gets entered into the county database. All family law cases are tracked through the same system whether you file in Lancaster, Van Nuys, or downtown Los Angeles.
The main family law courthouse in downtown Los Angeles is the Stanley Mosk Courthouse at 111 North Hill Street. The Family Law Clerk's Office is on the fourth floor in Room 426. You can call them at (213) 633-6363. Family Law Files are kept on the first floor in Room 112. The Archives and Records Center is at 222 North Hill Street in Room 212. This is where older files are stored. You can reach them at (213) 830-0803.
For Santa Clarita residents, the closest courthouse may be in Lancaster or other northern county locations. Los Angeles County has courthouses in Long Beach, Pasadena, Norwalk, Lancaster, Pomona, Van Nuys, Torrance, Santa Monica, Compton, and San Fernando. You can file at any of these locations if you meet the residency requirements. Once your case is filed, the records are stored centrally and can be accessed from any courthouse.
Los Angeles County offers multiple online tools for searching divorce records. The main public access portal is at lacourt.org/paos/v2public/Login. This system lets you search by party name or case number. There is also a dedicated divorce judgment search at lacourt.org/ldosv2 where you can look up dissolution judgments specifically. LA Court Connect at lacc.lacourt.org provides another way to access case information.
Online Search Options
You can search Los Angeles County divorce records for free. Go to the public access portal and enter a party name. The system will show all matching cases. If you get too many results, add a middle name or filter by case type. Family law cases include dissolution, legal separation, annulment, and domestic violence matters. Click on a case to see the register of actions, which lists every document filed and every court appearance.
Document images are available for cases filed after May 1, 2000. For older cases, you can see the case activity but not the actual documents. To view or download documents, you need to pay. Guest users pay $4.75 per name search. Registered users get the first 10 searches for $1.00 each. Document downloads cost $1.00 per page for the first five pages, then $0.40 per page after that. The maximum charge per document is $40.
If you just need to verify that a divorce happened and when, the free search is enough. You can see the filing date and the judgment date without paying. If you need the actual divorce decree or other documents, you will need to pay the download fees or order copies from the court clerk.
How to Get Certified Copies
A certified copy of a divorce decree has a court seal and signature. This is the official version you need for things like changing your name, updating Social Security records, or proving your marital status. Los Angeles County charges $25 per document for in-person certification. This includes the copy and the certification. Copies alone are $0.50 per page.
You can order certified copies online through the court portal, by mail, or in person. For online orders, search for your case, select the documents you need, and pay the fees. The court will mail the certified copies to you. For mail orders, send a written request with the case number, party names, and a check or money order. Mail it to the Stanley Mosk Courthouse at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Include your return address.
In-person requests are fastest. Go to any courthouse during business hours. Tell the clerk you need a certified copy of a divorce decree. Give them the case number or the names of both parties. If the file is on site, they can certify copies while you wait. If the file is archived, it may take longer.
Divorce Process in Santa Clarita
To file for divorce in Santa Clarita, you must meet California residency requirements. You or your spouse must have lived in California for six months and in Los Angeles County for three months before filing. The filing fee is around $435 to $450. If you cannot afford the fee, you can request a fee waiver.
California uses no-fault divorce. This means you do not have to prove wrongdoing. The legal grounds are irreconcilable differences or incurable insanity. Most people file on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. You file a petition for dissolution of marriage and serve your spouse with the papers. Your spouse has 30 days to file a response. After that, you exchange financial information and work out a settlement or go to trial.
California has a mandatory six-month waiting period. The divorce cannot be finalized until at least six months after your spouse is served with the petition. Even if you agree on everything, you still have to wait. Once the six months pass and all issues are resolved, the judge signs the judgment. The judgment ends the marriage. You can then request a certified copy from the court.
What You Need to Search
To find a divorce record from Santa Clarita, start with the names of the parties. You need at least one full name. If you have the case number, use that instead. Case numbers are unique and will pull up the exact case. Without a case number, you can search by name but you may get multiple results.
Here is what helps narrow your search:
- Full first and last name of one spouse
- Middle name or initial if known
- Approximate year the divorce was filed
- Case number if available
Los Angeles County has millions of cases in its system. Common names can return hundreds of results. Use as much detail as you have. The year is especially helpful. If you know the divorce happened in 2015, filter your search to that year. The system will show only cases filed in 2015 with that name.
Privacy and Confidential Records
Not all documents in a divorce file are public. California law protects certain information. Child custody evaluations, mediation reports, and some financial records may be confidential. Domestic violence restraining orders can have restricted access. When you search online or request copies, you will only see what is available to the public.
The divorce decree itself is a public record. Anyone can get a copy. Other documents depend on their content and how they were filed. If you are not a party to the case, you may not be able to get sealed or confidential documents. If you are a party, you have more access but you still cannot get another party's confidential filings without a court order.
Archives and Older Records
Los Angeles County keeps family law records going back to 1983 in the online system. Records before 1983 may still exist but they are not in the online database. To get records from before 1983, contact the Archives and Records Center at 222 North Hill Street, Room 212. Call (213) 830-0803 to ask about availability. Older records may be on microfilm or stored off-site.
Even for cases in the online system, files older than a certain number of years may be archived. Archived files take longer to retrieve. You may need to wait days or weeks for the court to pull the file from storage. Once they retrieve it, you can order copies the same way you would for a current case.
Contact and Hours
The Stanley Mosk Courthouse is open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. The Family Law Clerk's Office is in Room 426 on the fourth floor. Call (213) 633-6363 for questions about family law records. For general court information, call (213) 830-0830. The court website is lacourt.org.
If you visit in person, bring a photo ID. Some courthouses have security screening at the entrance. Allow extra time for screening. Once inside, go to the clerk's office and tell them what you need. Have your case number or the names of the parties ready. Court staff can help you find records and explain the fees.
Fees Summary
Los Angeles County charges different fees depending on how you access records. Online searches are $4.75 per name search for guests or $1.00 per search for the first 10 if you register. Document downloads are $1.00 per page for the first five pages and $0.40 per page after that, up to $40 per document. In-person copies are $0.50 per page. Certification is $25 per document when done in person.
If you only need to verify a divorce, the free search is enough. You can see the case without paying. If you need actual documents, plan to pay for downloads or copies. Certified copies are required for official purposes like name changes or proving marital status to government agencies.