Vital Records

Guidelines for Ordering Vital Records

The Orange County Clerk-Recorder does not maintain or issue divorce records. To obtain a copy of your divorce decree that was finalized in Orange County you must visit the Superior Court of California - Orange County. Click here to visit their website for more information.
 
California Health and Safety Code Section 103526 allows only authorized individuals to receive certified copies of vital records.

All others requesting a certified copy will receive a copy that has certain information redacted by the state. The redacted copy will be marked, "INFORMATIONAL. NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY."

The law describes an authorized person as:

  • The registrant, a parent or legal guardian of the registrant.
  • A party entitled to receive the record by court order, or an attorney or a licensed adoption agency seeking the birth record to comply with the requirements of Section 3140 or 7603 of the Family Code.
  • A member of a law enforcement agency or a representative of another governmental agency, as provided by law, who is conducting official business.
  • A child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner of the registrant.
  • An attorney representing the registrant or the registrant's estate, or any person or agency empowered by statute or appointed by a court to act on behalf of the registrant or the registrant's estate.
  • Any funeral director ordering certified copies of a death certificate on behalf of any individual specified in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 7100 of the Health and Safety Code.
  • Applicable to death certificate orders only: Surviving Next of Kin as authorized under the California Health and Safety Code Section 7100.

To obtain an authorized certified copy, requestors MUST complete the sworn statement included with the certificate application form and sign the statement under penalty of perjury. If the request is mailed, your sworn statement must be notarized. Mailed requests without a notarized statement sworn under penalty of perjury will be rejected as incomplete and returned without processing.