Concord Divorce Records

Divorce decree records for Concord are held by Contra Costa County Superior Court. All family law cases filed in Concord go through the county court system. The Court Records Division is in Martinez at 725 Court Street, Room 103. Your divorce file includes the petition, response, financial disclosures, any settlement agreements, and the final judgment of dissolution. The court keeps these records permanently. You can request copies in person or by mail. Certified divorce decrees cost $15, which includes all pages of the judgment. Plain copies are 50 cents per page. The court also offers an online portal for case searches.

Contra Costa County Court System

The Court Records Division is at 725 Court Street, Room 103 in Martinez, CA 94553. The phone number is (925) 608-1000. Hours are 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM Monday through Friday. This office handles all record requests for the county, including Concord divorce cases.

The court website is contracosta.courts.ca.gov. They provide information about court records and how to request copies. You can also access the public case search portal online.

Contra Costa County has an online portal at odyportal.cc-courts.org for electronic case access. Create a free account to search cases. The portal shows registers of action and case status. California law prevents viewing actual divorce documents online, but you can see case summaries.

Getting Certified Copies

Certified divorce decrees cost $15 from Contra Costa County. That price includes all pages of the judgment and the certification. If you need other court documents certified, the fee is $40 plus 50 cents per page. Plain uncertified copies are 50 cents per page.

For in-person requests, visit the Court Records office in Martinez. Bring photo ID. Provide your case number or both parties' names. They will look up the case. If the file is on site, you can usually get copies the same day. Files in off-site storage take longer to retrieve.

For mail requests, write to Superior Court of California, County of Contra Costa, Court Records, 725 Court Street, Room 103, Martinez, CA 94553. Include the case number, both parties' full names, a description of what you need, and payment. Send a check or money order payable to Contra Costa Superior Court. Add return postage. Processing time for mail requests is usually two to three weeks.

Fees Explained

California sets standard fees for court records statewide. The $15 fee for divorce judgments is established by Government Code Section 70674. Regular certifications cost more at $40 per document under Government Code Section 70626.

The court charges 50 cents per page for all copies. Two-sided pages count as two pages. Copy fees are collected along with certification fees.

If you do not have a case number, the court will search their records by name. The search fee is $15 per name when the search takes more than ten minutes. This fee is separate from copy fees. Most searches take long enough to trigger the fee.

There is no fee to search for your own case online through the public portal. You only pay when you request physical copies or certified documents.

Online Portal Access

Contra Costa County provides online case search through their public portal. You can access it from home or any computer. Search by party name, case number, or attorney name. The system covers civil, family law, probate, and other case types.

Family law cases show limited information online due to privacy rules. You can see the case number, filing date, case type, and party names. You can view the register of actions, which lists all documents filed. You cannot download or view the documents themselves online.

To see actual divorce documents, visit the courthouse. Free public access computers are available in the records office. Staff can show you how to look up your case. You can view all documents in the file and then decide what to copy or certify.

Legal Resources

The Contra Costa County Superior Court has a Self-Help Center. They provide free assistance with family law forms and procedures. Staff cannot give legal advice but can help you understand court processes. They can explain what forms you need and how to fill them out.

Bay Area Legal Aid serves low-income residents in Contra Costa County. They offer free legal help for divorce, custody, and other family law cases. Eligibility is based on income. You can apply online or call their office for an intake interview.

The Contra Costa County Bar Association runs a lawyer referral service. They connect people with local attorneys who practice family law. Many attorneys offer a reduced-fee initial consultation through the referral program.

Why You Need Your Decree

A certified divorce decree is proof your marriage legally ended. You need it to remarry in California or any other state. County clerks require it before issuing a new marriage license. Without it, you cannot legally marry again.

Many government agencies need a divorce decree to process name changes. Social Security uses it to update your records if you changed your name. The DMV accepts it as proof for a driver license name change. Passport applications also require it if your name changed due to divorce.

Banks and financial institutions may request a copy. They use it to verify your marital status and name. It helps them update account information. Insurance companies sometimes need it to remove a former spouse from policies or add you to new ones.

Order multiple certified copies at once. It costs the same per copy whether you order one or five. Having extras saves time later. You can submit different copies to different agencies at the same time instead of waiting to get your copy back from each place.

Privacy Protections

California restricts public access to family law records. California Rules of Court Rule 2.503 prohibits remote electronic access to divorce case documents. Courts can show case summaries and indexes online. The actual documents must be viewed at the courthouse.

Some parts of divorce files are sealed from public view. Financial declarations may be restricted. Child custody reports and evaluations are confidential. Domestic violence restraining orders may seal certain information for safety reasons. Only the parties involved and their attorneys can access sealed portions of the file.

You can request address confidentiality if you have safety concerns. The court can keep your address out of public records. This prevents your former spouse from using court records to find your new address. Ask the court clerk about the Safe at Home program if you need this protection.

Older Divorce Records

Contra Costa County maintains divorce records from many decades ago. Older files may be in archive storage. The court can still retrieve them. It just takes extra time compared to recent cases. If your divorce was before 1980, expect longer processing times for copy requests.

The California Department of Public Health kept certificates of record for some older divorces. They have records from 1962 through June 1984 only. These certificates are not actual divorce decrees. They just show basic information like names, date, and case number. The full decree must still come from the county court.

For divorces before 1962, the county court is your only source. Contact the Contra Costa County Court Records Division. Give them as much detail as possible. Include full names of both parties, approximate date of divorce, and any other information you have. They will search their historical records.

Nearby Cities

Other Contra Costa County cities include Antioch, Richmond, and Walnut Creek. All divorce cases from these cities use the same Contra Costa County Superior Court system. The Martinez courthouse handles records for the entire county.

Cities like Oakland, Berkeley, and Fremont are in neighboring Alameda County. They have a different court system. Make sure you know which county you filed in. That determines where your records are kept.