Kentucky Divorce Records

In the early 1800s the legislature, circuit courts, and city courts granted divorces. Divorce records may indicate the date and place of the marriage being dissolved. Circuit or city courts have handled most divorce proceedings.

The Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics has a statewide register of divorces since 1 January 1972 and can verify the date and county of a divorce or annulment. This is helpful when the county is not known. Its address can be found in the "Vital Records" section. Application forms and instructions for obtaining divorce certificates can be acquired from the Office of Vital Statistics’ web site, listed in the "Vital Records" section.

An index to these divorce records is:

Kentucky. Office of Vital Statistics. Divorce Indexes, 1972–1990. Frankfort, KY: Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics, 1991. (Family History Library fiche 6200221–2 [set of 56].) There is no circulation to Family History Centers. This index contains the name of the husband and wife, the county in which the divorce occurred, the date of the divorce, and the volume and certificate number. There are separate indexes for the husband and wife.

An Index to Kentucky divorce records from 1973 to 1993 is also available on the University of Kentucky’s web site, mentioned in the "Vital Records" section.

Original divorce records for all years are available in the county where the divorce occurred. The Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives maintains original criminal and court case files. It may have records of some early divorces not available in the counties.

The Family History Library has copies of the divorce records for some counties. They can be found in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

KENTUCKY- DIVORCE RECORDS- INDEXES

KENTUCKY, [COUNTY]- DIVORCE RECORDS

KENTUCKY, [COUNTY]- COURT RECORDS

KENTUCKY, [COUNTY]- VITAL RECORDS