Minnesota Divorce Index - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Minnesota

What is in the Collection?
The collection consists of an index to divorces, for the years 1970 to 1995, from the Minnesota Department of Health in St. Paul. The index is provided by Ancestry.com.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
The index lists the following information:


 * Name of husband
 * Name of wife
 * Docket number
 * Divorce date
 * Divorce place
 * Reference number (page, volume, entry number)

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the person at the time of the divorce.
 * The place where the divorce occurred.
 * The approximate divorce date.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line video at FamilySearch Search Tips.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor in the divorce index, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the locator information found in the index (such as page, volume, or entry number) to locate your ancestor in the divorce records. Compare the information in the record to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Look for alternate spellings of names.
 * Look for a different index. Divorce records are a court record. Court records are often indexed at the beginning or end of record volumes. You might also want to check with a local genealogical or historical society as they often have indexes to local records.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):