Kansas - Obtain a Divorce Certificate

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Procedure

Office of Vital Statistics

In Person

1. Go to Curtis State Office Bldg., 1000 SW Jackson, Ste. 120, Topeka, KS 66612. The Customer Service Lobby is open to the public from 9:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. weekdays, excluding holidays.
2. You may complete an application available in the lobby or use the form provided below to obtain a certificate which you can print, fill out and bring with you when you come in to the office.
3. Present a government (state or federal) issued photo ID. This can be issued by the U.S. or other country of residence.

Online (VitalChek)

Go online and simply follow the steps to place an order. An additional fee is charged by VitalChek for using this service and all major credit cards are accepted. You will receive an e-mail notification once your certificate is shipped. If your shipment is via UPS, you will also receive the UPS tracking number.

By Phone

1. To request a certificate, call (785) 296-3253 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Central Time weekdays (excluding holidays).
2. Provide all needed information.
3. Arrange payment.
4. Your request will be processed within 3 to 5 business days.

You may have your request sent to you by UPS. For this service, you must provide an address deliverable by UPS where someone is available to sign for the delivery. UPS cannot deliver to P.O. Box, APO, or FPO addresses. The UPS charge is applied to your credit card.

You may charge your request to a valid Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express credit card. Visa or MasterCard debit cards are also acceptable. There are limited operators and a limited number of callers who can be on hold for the next available operator. If you are not connected with an operator, please do not hold longer than five minutes. Hang up and dial again. If all lines are busy, you may receive a message instructing you to call back later.

You will need to provide the operator the following information:

• A valid Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover credit card number
• Expiration date of your credit card
• Your social security number or driver's license number
• Type of vital record being requested
• Indicate the number of certified copies your are requesting
• Your relationship to the person named on the record
• Reason you are requesting the record (the office asks this so that they may be able to provide the appropriate service for your needs)
• Full name of both parties
• Date of divorce
• Place of divorce (city and county) Must be Kansas
• Provide date of birth for both parties
• Your daytime phone number
• Your mailing address
• Indicate if you want the request mailed by U.S. Mail or by UPS delivery. For UPS delivery, you must provide an address deliverable by UPS where someone is able to sign for the delivery. UPS cannot deliver to P.O. Box, APO, or FPO addresses. The UPS charge is applied to your credit card.

Note: Authorized credit card requests cannot be cancelled or changed.

By Mail (Regular Mail)

Complete and sign the application form or send a letter with the following information:

• Specify you are requesting a DIVORCE certificate
• Indicate the number of certified copies your are requesting
• Full name of both parties
• Date of divorce (month, day, year)
• Place of divorce (city, county) Must be Kansas
• Provide date of birth for both parties
• Your relationship to the person named on the divorce certificate
• Reason you are requesting the certificate (we ask this so that we can provide appropriate service for your needs)
• Your daytime phone number
• Your mailing address
• Place your handwritten signature on the request
• You MUST include a photocopy of a government issued ID or two of the documents listed on the required documents section.
• Enclose a check or money order in U. S. dollars made payable to "Kansas Vital Statistics." DO NOT SEND CASH.
• Enclose a business size self-addressed stamped envelope for each request of a different record.

Mail your request to:

Office of Vital Statistics

Curtis State Office Building

1000 SW Jackson, Suite 120

Topeka, KS 66612-2221

In case you cannot provide complete information, provide as much as possible. The Office must have sufficient information to conduct a record search for the correct record. If the exact date of the birth is unknown, state a consecutive five-year search span (more may be specified, but each five-year span costs $15.00).

Note: Requests with insufficient information, incorrect payment amount, or made by ineligible requestors will be returned to the requestor along with a form explaining why the request was returned.

By Mail (Priority Mail)

If you would like to request a certificate through priority service without using a credit card, you may send your request to the Office of Vital Statistics using any type of priority mail service (UPS, FedEx, Express Mail, etc.) and it will be processed within three business days once they receive it.

If you want your request mailed back to you by a priority mail service, you MUST enclose with your request a pre-paid self-addressed priority mail envelope. DO NOT send a priority service account number or a payment for the Office to use in obtaining return priority mail service. Major couriers have verified that as the sender, the Office will be held responsible for acceptance of the delivery and for payment. Therefore, they cannot process return priority mail in this manner.

In case you cannot provide complete information, provide as much as possible. The Office must have sufficient information to conduct a record search for the correct record. If the exact date of the birth is unknown, state a consecutive five-year search span (more may be specified, but each five-year span costs $15.00).

Submit a completed, signed application form or send a letter with the following information:

• Specify you are requesting a DIVORCE certificate
• Indicate the number of certified copies your are requesting
• Full name of both parties
• Date of divorce (month, day, year)
• Place of divorce (city, county) Must be Kansas
• Provide date of birth for both parties
• Your relationship to the person named on the divorce certificate
• Reason you are requesting the certificate (we ask this so that we can provide appropriate service for your needs)
• Your daytime phone number
• Your mailing address
• Place your handwritten signature on the request
• You MUST include a photocopy of a government issued ID or two of the documents listed above.
• Enclose a check or money order in U. S. dollars made payable to "Kansas Vital Statistics." DO NOT SEND CASH.
• Enclose a business size self-addressed stamped envelope for each request of a different record.

Mail your request to:

Office of Vital Statistics

Curtis State Office Building

1000 SW Jackson, Suite 120

Topeka, KS 66612-2221

Note: Requests with insufficient information, incorrect payment amount, or made by ineligible requestors will be returned to the requestor along with a form explaining why the request was returned.

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Required Documents

In Person:

Acceptable IDs (must be current), examples:

• Driver's license
• State ID card
• Passport or visa
• Military ID

If you do not have a government issued photo ID, you must bring any TWO of the following documents:

• Social securi

Eligibility

By Kansas state law, Kansas Divorce certificates are confidential records and can only be obtained by the following authorized individuals:

• Person Named on the Kansas Divorce Certificate
• Immediate family member of individual named on the Kansas Divorce certificate
• Someone who can provide legal proof the record is necessary for the determination of personal property rights
• Legal Representative of an Authorized Person of Person Named on the Kansas Divorce Certificate

Instructions

Kansas Divorce Certificate

Kansas State law authorizes the issuance of certified copies of vital records. Uncertified copies or verifications are not provided to the public.

Divorce certificates began being filed with the Office of Vital Statistics, July 1, 1951.

Divorce information is open to the public at the county district court level.

Note: The divorce decree is not filed with the Office of Vital Statistics. The decree is the court document detailing the settlement of the divorce. The divorce certificate is completed by the plaintiff's attorney and contains only basic information names of both parties, date of marriage, date of divorce, etc. Certified copies of divorce decrees are obtained from the Clerk of the District Court in the county where the divorce was filed. Certified copies of divorce certificates are obtained from the Office of Vital Statistics .

Ways to request a divorce certificate:

You may request for copies of Divorce certificates from the Office of Vital Statistics through these five methods: regular mail, priority mail, telephone, internet, and walk-in customer service.

Certified Divorce certificate copy: $15.00 fee (includes a five-year record search fee one certified copy is issued if the record is found and if not found, the fee is retained.)

Applicants will receive either the certified copy or a letter explaining the search conducted and that no record was located.

Required Information

• Full name of husband on the Kansas Divorce certificate
• Full maiden name of wife on the Kansas Divorce certificate
• Date of Divorce on the Kansas Divorce certificate
• County (or city) of Divorce on the Kansas Divorce certificate
• Your name
• Your signature
• Your relationship to the person whose Kansas Divorce certificate you are requesting
• Address where the Kansas Divorce certificate is to be mailed
• Self addressed stamped envelope
• Your daytime phone number

Need for the Document

If you want to obtain a copy of your Divorce certificate you can request for one by following the procedure given below.