View & Acquire Free Fairfax County Divorce Records

Obtain free Fairfax County divorce records today via the links and sources covered in this streamlined resource.

You may get access to dissolution of marriage information by performing a free search through official databases that maintain divorce and other case records; these details are available to citizens thanks to state and federal public record laws.

Basic information is required to perform divorce record searches, including the names of one or both people involved, the county where the divorce was granted, and an approximate date.

Find out how you can search divorce records in Fairfax County, Virginia, for free using the guidance within this article.

How To Find Free Fairfax County Divorce Records

Divorces are legal court proceedings that effectively end a marriage. In Virginia, divorces are filed in county circuit courts. Most Virginia circuit courts participate in the statewide Circuit Case Management System, which is a database that allows members of the public to look up court case information for free.¹

In the fine print, you will see that Fairfax and Alexandria County are the only counties that do not participate in the online case information system. Interested persons must contact the Fairfax County Circuit Court directly if they want to obtain a divorce or dissolution of marriage record.²

Members of the public can access their own final divorce decrees by sending a request by mail. If the divorce occurred less than 25 years ago, only individuals named on the record and their immediate family members can order a certified copy.

Dissolutions of marriage do not become public divorce records until 25 years after the decree is finalized. So anyone can order a divorce record as long as the event took place at least 25 years in the past.

To obtain a final decree, a person must provide the following information in a letter addressed to the Fairfax Circuit Court:

• Divorce case number or year the divorce was finalized
• Full names of both parties to the divorce
• The requester’s name and contact information

In addition, the letter must be accompanied by a money order or certified check made payable to the ‘Fairfax Clerk of Circuit Court’.

The first copy of the final order is free. The fee for a subsequent certified copy is $3. All copies are certified.

A self-addressed pre-stamped envelope must also be included. These materials must be mailed to the Fairfax Circuit Court.

Fairfax Circuit Court
Attn: File Room Copy Center
4110 Chain Bridge Rd, Ste 320
Fairfax, Virginia 22030

Eligible persons may also view or inspect a divorce case file. They must fill out a File Review Request Form.⁴

You must know the case number to use this service. Complete the request form by providing your name, email address, daytime, and phone number, and choose the preferred method of notification – email or phone.

In addition to the requester providing their contact information, they must also provide the names of the parties to the divorce.

Court staff will inform you within two business days after the request is submitted to notify you of the divorce case file’s availability. They will also direct you to the location where the file can be reviewed. Files may only be reviewed in person.

Interested parties may also visit the Fairfax County Circuit Court to make a request in person. The court is open to the public from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Fairfax County Circuit Court
4110 Chain Bridge Rd.
Fairfax, Virginia 22030

Phone: 703.691.7320

Court staff will perform same-day service for copies of records that are 10 pages or less. If the record is more than 10 pages long, court staff will send a copy to the requester within 5 business days.

A county-level search, as described in the section above, allows for broader results than city or town searches. More importantly, divorce and dissolution of marriage records are generally not within the purview of municipal government.

Divorces in Virginia are court proceedings filed and heard in circuit courts. Circuit courts are operated on the county level not municipal.

Although a municipal court or city hall may be more conveniently located, divorces and other family law matters are not the kind of cases within the jurisdiction. All divorce and family law matters are heard in the Fairfax County Circuit Court.

The City of Fairfax, Herndon, and Vienna do not offer divorce case file inspection and copying services. Interested persons must contact the Fairfax County Circuit Court to obtain final decrees.

Alternatively, interested persons may obtain certificates of divorce through a state agency. Find out how to access a dissolution of marriage certificate by following the instructions below.

Access & Search Divorce Records in Virginia as a Whole (Statewide Lookup)

If a municipal or county court cannot provide you with a divorce record, do not lose hope. It is not uncommon for a person to not locate a divorce record on the first attempt. There are times when the county in which a person is located does not have the divorce record because the record is located elsewhere.

If you find yourself in this situation, you may not need to travel to the other county to retrieve the divorce record. You could request a divorce certificate through the Virginia Department of Health Office of Vital Records.

A certificate of divorce is accessible to the immediate family members of the parties to the divorce. A certificate is also accessible to the public 25 years after the divorce. Eligible persons can request a copy of a certificate of divorce by drop-off, in the mail, standard online processing, or express online delivery.

Drop-off requests: In order to complete a drop-off request, eligible persons must complete a Commonwealth of Virginia Application for Certification of a Marriage or Divorce Record.⁵

The person completing the application must complete the form by providing the requester’s information, the marriage information, and the divorce information. It is important for whoever fills out the application to know the names of the spouses, the date of the marriage and divorce, and the place of the marriage and divorce.

Along with the application, requesters must submit a copy of a valid government photo ID, or alternatively, two secondary ID’s from the list on the second page of the application. The application and ID must be accompanied by the fee payment of $12 for each divorce certification record requested. Fees are paid by money order or check made payable to the Virginia State Health Department.

Applicants can drop off the application materials at the front desk of the Office of Vital Records customer service lobby.⁶

The office is open to the public for drop off customers from 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Virginia Department of Health
Office of Vital Records
2001 Maywill St., Suite 101
Richmond, VA 23230

If a request is dropped off after 2:00 p.m., the processing will begin the next business day. If you have questions regarding this process, contact the call center at 804.662.6200.

Mail-in Requests: For those interested in mailing a request, complete the application for certification of a divorce record as described in the drop-off method. Then mail the materials to the Office of Vital Records.

Virginia Department of Health
Office of Vital Records
PO Box 1000
Richmond, Virginia 23218

Online – Standard Processing: Perhaps the most convenient method, this online process allows eligible persons to request a certificate of divorce from the comfort of their home. Using the Virginia Department of Health Application for Certification of a Vital Record, select ‘Divorce’ in the ‘Certificate Form’ portion. Enter the number of copies you require.⁷

From there, provide your eligibility and contact information. As mentioned previously, you must know the names of both spouses of the divorce and the date of the divorce. Lastly, upload a primary government photo ID or two secondary ID’s.

The fee for a certified copy is the same as drop off and mail-in requests. The standard processing time is approximately 8 weeks.

Online – Express Delivery: This method is the most expedient. The Virginia Department of Health Vital Records Office has partnered with VitalChek to offer a faster processing method, where eligible applicants can receive a certificate of divorce in just 2 to 5 days. There is an $11.95 VitalChek service fee in addition to the $20.80 certified record fee.

There are also express delivery option fees of $19.50 for UPS Air and $18 for UPS 2-Day Air.

Phone- Express Delivery: Also via the VitalChek provider, this method allows eligible applicants to request a certified divorce record by phone. Requesters must call +1.877.572.6333 and press option 1. From there, you will be asked to provide credit card information and the following:

• Type of certificate requested
• Relationship to person named on the record
• Your full name
• Date and location of divorce
• Full name of husband and wife
• Phone number
• Address

The Virginia Vital Records Office has endorsed the third-party provider Ancestry for interested persons to look up older divorce records to track family history or for genealogy research. Ancestry has a Virginia divorce records index of records from 1918 through 2014. Fairfax County and the state of Virginia do not have an independent divorce index.

Can Anyone in Fairfax County Explore Public Divorce Records?

Only eligible members of the public can access divorce records in Virginia. The Virginia Freedom of Information Act seeks to promote transparency and requires government agencies to make reasonable efforts to comply with requests. Records are public unless an exemption or another law applies.

Divorce records are defined as vital records under Virginia Code 32.1-249.⁹ Vital records are generally not permitted for inspection or copying under Virginia Code 32.1-271(A). However, section (D) provides that divorce records shall become public if 25 years have elapsed since the event occurred.

Moreover, under Virginia Administrative Code 12-5-550-470, an applicant who proves to have a direct and tangible interest in a divorce record shall be issued a certified copy.¹⁰ To have a direct and tangible interest a person must be a member of the immediate family, a guardian, or a legal representative.

A certified copy of a divorce is different from a decree. A decree contains more specific information while a certified copy is essentially proof that a decree exists. Divorce papers refer to the documents used to start and complete a divorce proceeding.

In the event that the Virginia Department of Health or a county circuit court is unable to produce a divorce record, you could check out a third-party provider. However, none of the above can help you locate documents pertaining to a common law divorce, as there is no such thing in Virginia.

Fairfax County divorce records are available to certain eligible persons; learn if you can documentation of a divorce in Fairfax County, Virginia today.