Virginia Divorce Records Online
Vital records, including birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates are centralized into the Office of Vital Statistics, which is a division of the Virginia Department of Health. There are very strict laws devoted to preventing the unauthorized viewing of vital information so, any individual requesting a vital record must provide evidence of being an immediate relative of one of the parties. In addition, most requests will have to be made by mail or in person. You may order Virginia divorce records online, through the Verichek service, but you will be subject to the same restrictions placed by the Office of Vital Records to protect private information.
What records are public?
You do not need special authorization to view birth records that happened more than 100 years ago. Deaths, marriages and divorces become public records 50 years after the event. All of this information will be archived or held in genealogical databases.
Who may view Virginia divorce records online?
There is no way to view these records online, but any parent, child, brother, sister or grandparent may view any vital record as long as they show copy of valid identification.
Obtaining the Virginia divorce record by mail
You can find instruction on how to obtain Virginia divorce records online at the Virginia Department of Health website. The following information must be present on each request for a divorce record:
— Name
— Date of marriage or divorce
— Area code and daytime phone number
— Place of marriage or divorce
— Reason for the certificate
— Relationship to the person on the certificate
Additionally there is a $12, nonrefundable fee to search for the record, regardless if that record is found or not. A return address and the signature of the person requesting the record but also be enclosed with a photocopy of the identification.
Walk-in service
You may walk into the OVS in Richmond and obtain a certified vital record, so long as you show the appropriate identification. This is the fastest method to obtain the divorce record.
Use of the VitalChek network
The only Virginia divorce records online provide certified by the Virginia OVS is VitalChek. VitalChek provides a expediting option for many states and will collect rush fees and proof of identification in order to quickly accommodate requests for divorce records.
Using a third party
Do not trust sites not certified by the Virginia Office of Vital Records as you will likely receive out of date or incomplete records. Many of these records are gleaned from public procedural case files and will not have the information you need. Statutory restrictions prohibit perfect strangers form access Virginia divorce records online, as this would be a dangerous and egregious breach of personal information and confidentiality.
Any site that forces you to buy a subscription before viewing a record should be suspect and you should only use the legitimate processes described above to access a Virginia divorce record, either online, by mail, or in person.
