Look up free Lake County, FL divorce records to reveal anyone’s past or current marital status. Using the lookup methods mentioned below, you can find details of any divorce that took place locally; this includes time, place, and other key facts about the couple — such as their names and the reason for divorce.
Beyond that, you can see decisions about the custody of children and how monetary funds were split at the time of divorce.
This streamlined resource outlines how to search for divorce records in Lake County, Florida, as well as via cities within and even at the state level. Follow the guidance below to view and obtain this information efficiently.
How To Access Free Lake County FL Divorce Records
Looking up Lake County divorce records can be done through the website of the Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller.1 Upon accessing the website, you will see a list of helpful links that serve as a gateway to the Florida record search resources. Of these options, ‘Court Records‘ serve your purpose best.
Selecting ‘Court Records’ opens a new tab revealing resource usage conditions. Remember: at the bottom lies an ‘Access Court Orders Now’ button. Clicking this opens another window where you will find the option of ‘Case Search’ in the top right corner.2
Click on it, and a form will be displayed on your screen. You will need to fill this form with information about the court case you are searching for, including case numbers or names of people involved, even dates relevant to each hearing.
Here’s an essential tip: while filling out every detail isn’t needed, do make sure you choose what type of court setting is relevant to your case search from a drop-down list at the end of the form.
For finding divorce records, this can be done by selecting the option of ‘Domestic Relations/ Family’ from the drop-down menu under the section of court type. Once you have filled in all of the required details, press the search option.
After this, a number of cases will be displayed on your screen if you are searching through the first and last name of the individual.
You will also find the following information against each name:
- Case Number
- Party or Business Name
- Party Type
- Gender
- Date of Birth
- Race
- Case Type
- Status of the Case
Another way of obtaining Lake County divorce records is through mail. You start by completing an Official Records Order Form.3 This form requires specific information about the record you need, like names of parties involved and document type.
The total cost consists of two parts: the certification fee and the copying charge. Certification costs $2 for each document, while copying is charged at $1 per page. After calculating your total cost, create a check or money order payable to the Clerk of the Circuit Court.
Together with this payment, send the filled-out form and a self-addressed stamped envelope through mail to the following address:
Lake County Clerk of Court
Recording Division
P.O. Box, 7800
Tavares, Florida, 32778
Phone: 352.742.4100
For in-person requests, you can visit either of the following two locations and ask for a records search at the information desk:
Lake County Courthouse
550 West Main St.,
Tavares, Florida (N. Wing, 3rd floor), 32778
Phone: 352.253.2600
Lake County Records Storage Facility
313 Bloxham Avenue,
Tavares, Florida, 32778
Phone: 352.253.2600
Track Down Divorce & Dissolution Information via Cities in Lake County Florida
Searching for public divorce records at the state level provides the broadest of results. To narrow down these results, you can look for dissolution records at the city level.
Below, you’ll discover how you can obtain more information by searching them in the most populous cities of Lake County.
City of Clermont: Accessing dissolution records in the city of Clermont can be done through the online submission form provided by the City Clerk’s Office.4 Here’s how it works:
First, submit a Public Records Request with your info. This includes your name, phone number, and email address, along with what type of record you are looking for.
However, you do not need to worry about writing a request or stating why you are looking for such information. In fact, the office does not ask you to provide an explanation at all.
If you’re interested in making a written request, then you can contact the office directly or mail them the form mentioned above at the following:
Office of the City Clerk
685 West Montrose St.,
2nd floor, Clermont, FL, 34711
Phone: 352.241.7331
Fax: 352.394.2379
Email: [email protected]
City of Leesburg: The Leesburg City Clerk’s Office provides access to all of the information about the city, including finding public records. The office provides an online request form that can be used to submit public records requests.5
Here, you will be required to provide your name, phone, email, physical address, and information on the type of record you are seeking. Additionally, make sure to select the option of the City Clerk from the drop-down menu from the ‘select department’ section. Once you have filled in all of the details, your request will be submitted.
You can also contact the office of the city clerk at the following to submit a public records request:
City Clerk’s Office
501 West Meadow St.,
Leesburg, Florida, 34748
Phone: 352.728.9786, (extension 1150)
Office hours: 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
City of Groveland: In Groveland city, public records can be obtained by the Office of the City Clerk. You can access their online public record request form to make an inquiry.6 For this, you will be required to provide your first and last name, phone number, email, physical address, and detailed account of the type of records you are looking for.
You can also get in contact with the office directly at the following or find more information on their FAQs page:
City Clerk’s Office
156 South Lake Ave.,
Groveland, Florida, 34736
Phone: 352.429.2141
Fax: 352.429.3391
For certified copies, the amount of $1 per page per document is charged. This is exclusive of the cost charged for single and double-sided copies which stand at $0.15 and $0.20 per page, respectively.
Search for All Florida Divorce Records via the Bureau of Vital Statistics
When a divorce happens in Florida, the Clerks of Circuit Courts record it.7 All these records are public under Florida’s Chapter 119 rules unless sealed by the courts. The key to uncovering these documents at the state level is through the Bureau of Vital Statistics.
The records and divorce indexes maintained by the bureau date back to 1927 that can be used for genealogical and archival purposes.
To find these records, first you only need to download and fill out a form called Application for Florida Dissolution of Marriage Certificate Form.8
On completion, there are two ways of getting divorce records: mail or walk-in.
If you are going with the former, then the filled form should be mailed directly to the Bureau at the following address:
Florida Department Of Health
Bureau of Vital Statistics
Post Office Box 210,
Jacksonville, Florida, 32231-0042
Phone: (850)-245-4444
If you prefer a walk-in approach, you can take the form to the location listed below:
Florida Department Of Health
Bureau of Vital Statistics
1217 North Pearl St.,
Jacksonville, Florida, 32202
Phone: (850)-245-4444
Office hours: Monday – Friday 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Payments for the documents can be made through checks or money orders that are payable to ‘Vital Statistics.’ For walk-in applicants, cash and credit cards like Visa and Mastercard work equally well.
The charges involve a search fee plus copying fees depending on how many copies you want and whether you know the year of divorce. A $5 search fee is charged to cover one year of documentation; there is also an extra charge of $4 if certified copies are needed. If the exact year is unknown, extra charges apply along with postal costs.
You can expect a standard processing time of between 3-5 business days to get the requests accepted. It is also important to note that the bureau only provides records from 1927 until the present and does not offer records for common law divorces. To find archived divorce records that predate 1927, you can contact the Clerk of Circuit Court in your county.9
However, to access the divorce decrees and records online, you can also use the services of VitalChek, a third-party website endorsed by the government.
Are Divorce Records in Lake County Florida Publicly Accessible?
Divorce records in Florida are open for anyone to view. This law is based on Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes, which explicitly states that any public record can be seen or copied by anyone who wants to view them.10
However, if some records are sealed by the courts, then they cannot be viewed by the general public. In such scenarios, only the divorced parties or their representatives (such as attorneys) are authorized to view these records.
Divorce records in Lake County can be found by getting in touch with the office of Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller. The office also provides certified and non certified copies of the record, the method of which is discussed in greater detail above.
Divorce papers in the sense of records consist of certificates and decrees. However, the public should know that individually these documents provide limited information. Divorce records, on the other hand, offer a full account of the case.
They reveal court hearings, evidence submitted, final judgments and how child support was settled.
This exposure means details given in divorce records are easier to obtain by anyone than those in certificates or decrees. You can find these records online, get them from county courts where the divorce took place or even via a third party.
You can search for divorce records through sources outside the government. Most of these third-party sources also use official resources to find these records. However, any records you get from them might not be okay for official use unless a state or county agency approves them.
To conclude all of the above: if you’re in search of information about Lake County, FL divorce records then accessing them with the sources provided above offer an effective method for finding them.
References
1Lake County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller. (n.d.). Public Records Searches. Retrieved February 21, 2024, from <https://www.lakecountyclerk.org/record_searches/default.aspx>
2Lake County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller. (n.d.). Case Search. Retrieved February 21, 2024, from <https://courtrecords.lakecountyclerk.org/showcaseweb/#!/>
3Lake County Clerk of Court, Recording Division. (2022, March 28). Official Records Order Form. Retrieved February 21, 2024, from <https://www.lakecountyclerk.org/forms/recording/Official_Records_Order_Form.pdf>
4Clermont City Clerk’s Office. (n.d.). Public Records Request. Retrieved February 21, 2024, from <https://clermontfl.justfoia.com/Forms/Launch/d705cbd6-1396-49b7-939e-8d86c5a87deb>
5Leesburg City Clerk’s Office. (n.d.). Citizen Request Center. Retrieved February 21, 2024, from <https://www.leesburgflorida.gov/citizen_request_center/index.php>
6Groveland City Clerk’s Office. (n.d.). Request for Public Records. Retrieved February 21, 2024, from <https://groveland-fl.gov/FormCenter/City-of-Groveland-6/Request-for-Public-Records-49>
7Florida Courts. (2024, February 16). Trial Courts – Circuit. Retrieved February 21, 2024, from <https://www.flcourts.gov/Florida-Courts/Trial-Courts-Circuit>
8Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics. (2023, June 30). Application for Florida Dissolution of Marriage Certificate. Retrieved February 21, 2024, from <https://www.floridahealth.gov/certificates/certificates/marriage/_documents/DH260-diss-marr-app-6-30-2023.pdf>
9Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers. (n.d.). Find A Clerk. Retrieved February 21, 2024, from <https://www.flclerks.com/page/findaclerk>
10The Florida Senate. (2023). 2023 Florida Statutes – Public Officers, Employees, and Records. Retrieved February 21, 2024, from <https://m.flsenate.gov/statutes/119.01>