Track Down Free Snohomish County Divorce Records

Access free Snohomish County divorce records using the search tools and custodian contact details throughout this streamlined resource. Dissolution of marriage or divorce records can serve many purposes; you may want to check into someone’s background or confirm your own divorce for business or legal reasons.

Divorce records are public information in Snohomish County; you can look them up for any reason. Citizens can access these records under the Washington Public Records Act. While this law provides access, it does not instruct record custodians on how they must make this information available.

This article guides you through searching for divorce records in Snohomish County, Washington, and outlines the most efficient and affordable options for requesting or looking them up.

This resource was written by Attorney Robert Bailey Jr, who holds a Juris Doctorate from Widener University School of Law.

How To Find Free Snohomish County Divorce Records

If you want to look up public divorce records, you can do so through the Snohomish County Clerk’s Office.¹ One option for searching available divorce records with the Snohomish County Clerk’s Office is to conduct an online search.²

First, select the “smart search” option and open the advanced filtering options to look for divorce records. Since this is an online portal for the entire state of Washington, first select Snohomish County under the Location drop-down menu. To narrow your search to the appropriate type of cases, select “family” under the case type.

Now that you have set those parameters, you can enter the person’s name or nickname (i.e., alias) that you want to search. You can also select the case status or a filing date to narrow down your results.

The results page will contain a list of matching cases. Information on the results page includes the case number, file date, party names, type and location. Since this is a search for all family cases, you will want to check the type to make sure it’s regarding a divorce matter and not some other type of family case (e.g., child support, custody, etc.).

Once you find the record you want to search for, you can click on the case number to get the complete online record. Here, you can view various information on the matter, including when the decree was issued and other related actions that occurred.

If you have any questions on accessing divorce records or want to conduct an in-person search, start by contacting the Snohomish Clerk’s Office by email at [email protected] or by calling them at 425-388-3466. You can also mail in a request or talk to someone at their office located at the address below:

Snohomish County Clerk’s Office
3000 Rockefeller Avenue M/S 605, RM M206
Everett, Washington 98201

The Snohomish County Clerk’s Office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM (closed between 12:00 – 12:45 PM). If you need the decree that was issued, you can only do so by directly reaching out to the Snohomish County Clerk’s Office.

If you are requesting copies of any divorce records, the cost is $0.25 per page for non-certified copies. For certified copies, the cost is $5.00 for the first page and $1.00 for each page after that of the record. Payment can be made by either money order or cashier’s check, payable to the Snohomish County Clerk.³

One last option is to submit a public record request online for the divorce you are trying to locate.⁴ With this option, you can track the status of your request and confirm whether the records were located.

While searching at the county level provides a broader search, it is sometimes desired to conduct a more local search at the city or town level. In Snohomish County, the cities and towns located within its border do not provide access to divorce records.

While you cannot search more narrowly, you can broaden your search. In the next section, you will learn how to access divorce records throughout the entire state of Washington.

How To Search the Washington State Department of Health for Statewide Divorce Records

During your search, you may realize that the divorce record you were searching for is not located in Snohomish County. It may be that the divorce record is located in a different county in the state of Washington. If that is the case, you may need to broaden your search and check for divorce records with an agency that maintains them for the entire state.

You can access divorce records throughout the state with the Washington State Department of Health. The Department of Health is able to provide certified divorce records for any dissolution that has occurred from 1968 to the present. Prior to 1968 you will have to reach out directly to the county superior court clerk where the divorce occurred.

A certified divorce record can be requested from the Washington State Department of Health by any individual, regardless of their relationship to the people listed. You can make a request by completing the Divorce Order Certificate Form and mailing it, along with the appropriate fee, to the address below:

Department of Health
Center for Health Statistics
P.O. Box 9709
Olympia, Washington 98507

You will need to provide the name of at least one person who was part of the divorce (both will decrease the chance of delay), the approximate date, and the county where the dissolution was finalized. Mailed requests will usually be processed within 1-3 weeks after it is received.

You can also make a request in person with any local health department that partners with the Washington Department of Health.⁵

To do so, make sure you bring the completed Divorce Order Certificate Form.⁶

You should consider calling the local health department you plan to visit to confirm their hours of operation and make sure you have everything you need to submit your request.

The basic cost for a request for a divorce record is $25. This includes both certified and non-certified records. Additional fees may apply for expedited shipping or online requests, which will be discussed at the end of this section.

Note: If you need additional information to submit to the Department of Health, you can find divorce information by conducting an online search with the Washington Courts Online Case Search Tool. You can use this tool the same way in which you conducted a divorce records online search in Snohomish County. The only difference is on the location drop-down menu you will not select a specific county.

You can also obtain information by searching archived records or available indexes. Washington State provides access to digital archives for divorce cases dating back to 1950. You can also search the Washington State Archives divorce collections.⁷

To use this online tool, select “divorce records” under the collections drop-down menu. Next, you can enter the person’s name for the divorce record you want to search.

The search results will allow you to search all matching records of divorce certificates.

When you click on the option to view a certificate of divorce, you will see the matching names for both parties to the dissolution, the year the decree was issued, and the county where it occurred. On the far right-hand side, you can click on the icon to view additional information, as well as a PDF of the certificate of dissolution.

You can also select to look through the corresponding divorce index. The index of divorces will contain similar information without the actual image of the certificate of dissolution. This information can be used to check with the Snohomish County Clerk for any additional information on a particular divorce.

For additional information, you can contact the Washington State Archives by phone at 509-235-7500 or by sending an email to [email protected].⁸ You can also choose to go in person to speak to someone at the address below:

Washington State Archives
1129 Washington St. SE
Olympia, Washington 98504

If you are looking for an online option, you can make a request with VitalChek, an authorized third-party provider with the Washington State Department of Health. The divorce record can be shipped between 3-7 business days, but this option also comes with a higher fee of $40.50. You can also submit a request with VitalChek over the phone at +1-866-687-1464.

The Availability of Divorce Records in Snohomish County Washington

In Snohomish County (and throughout Washington), divorce records are considered public information. While some states are more restrictive, the Washington Public Records Act provides broad access to divorce records.⁹

While some states restrict access to divorce records to authorized individuals or after a certain period of time, that is not the case in Snohomish County.

When talking about the availability of divorce records, it’s important to distinguish the various types of records available. The reason is that different types of divorce records may be in the custody of separate government agencies.

Certificate of Divorce: This document provides certified proof that two individuals were divorced on a specific date in a particular county. This is a one-page document and does not contain detailed information about the terms of the divorce or any related information.

Divorce Papers: These are the types of documents submitted to the court for a divorce. This could include the Petition for Dissolution and other related documents that detail divorce information.

Divorce Decree: This is a detailed document issued by the court that approved the divorce. This document will contain all the agreements and details of the divorce, including property division, handling of debts, custody, alimony, and more.

Another type of restriction there is on the availability of divorce records is whether you are in need of a certified or non-certified documents. In Snohomish County, you can obtain either type of divorce record regardless of your relationship with the people listed.

When discussing the availability of divorce records, individuals often ask about dissolutions of common law marriages (e.g., common law divorce). A common law marriage is when the state recognizes two people as married even though they did not go through the formal process to obtain a marriage license. The state of Washington doesn’t recognize common law marriage, meaning there aren’t divorce records for these types of relationships.

If you’re still struggling to find a specific divorce record – whether new or archived – you have the option of using a third-party provider to find them.

Third-party providers can help with accessing divorce records that aren’t provided by the Snohomish County Clerk or that occurred somewhere else. However, be aware that unless the third-party provider is endorsed by a government agency, their findings can’t be relied on as proof of divorce for business or legal reasons.

You should now have a better understanding of the availability and types of divorce records that exist. You can use the tools and information provided in this resource to conduct a search for Snohomish County divorce records; refer back to this page for any questions you have about accessing and requesting these documents.