North Carolina, U.S., Divorce Index, 1958-2004

The superior court in each county in North Carolina has granted divorce decrees since 1814. This database is an index to divorces that occurred in North Carolina between 1958 and 2004. Information available in this database includes:

• Names of husband and wife


• Birth dates of husband and wife


• Marriage date


• Marriage state and county


• Divorce date


• Divorce county

Where to Go From Here:

It is important that you use the information found in this database to locate your ancestor in the original records that this index references. Usually more information is available in the records themselves than is found in an index.

Details about divorces that were not included in court minutes are very valuable to researchers. They include “loose papers” that discuss reasons for the divorce, details of the family’s composition, children’s ages, and other information.

Finding the Original Divorce Records:

Copies of pre-1868 divorce records are at the North Carolina State Archives; records dating from 1868 are available from each county’s superior court clerk.

Likewise, requests for copies of divorce records from 1958-present can be made to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Service, Vital Records Unit.

Some of the above information was taken from Johni Cerny and Gareth L. Mark, "North Carolina," Red Book, ed. Alice Eichholz (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004).