Find Free Pima County Divorce Records: Lookup Resource

Obtain free Pima County divorce records on anyone who was wed locally, whether recent or not.

While the county’s system for searching public records is free, accessible, and uncomplicated, securing a copy of one of these documents requires knowing where to look and how to request them. Rest assured that this resource contains all the necessary information and helpful links to make the process of requesting a divorce record in Pima County, Arizona, as seamless as possible.

How To Look Up Free Pima County Divorce Records (Arizona)

In Pima County, Arizona, the Clerk of the Superior Court is the official custodian of all divorce records.¹ Any citizen who wishes to conduct a search to locate a specific document is able to do so for free using the clerk’s office’s public records portal.²

This portal requires that the searcher knows at least one name of a party involved in the divorce or the case number.

Once the correct case is found, all relevant documents will be shown, along with the dates they were filed and the sub-category they belong to. If there is an image available of a document, on the right-hand side there will be a link labeled “Available.”

Most documents will say, “Available at the Courthouse,” though, and any curious individual will need to contact the clerk of the superior court’s office’s Legal Records Department for further assistance.

Both non-certified and certified copies of divorce records are available through the legal records department. For non-certified documents, costs begin at .50 cents per page, while certified copies begin at $30.00 for the certification, plus .50 cents per page. If any documents are mailed or faxed to individuals, there could be an additional $7.00 fee for shipping or postage (certified copies cannot be emailed or faxed, however).

When pursuing either a certified or non-certified copy of a divorce record in Pima County, there is no official form to fill out when submitting a request. Instead, staff at the legal records department strongly suggest using their portal to find the correct divorce case and to see what files will be available.

After an individual decides which documents he or she wants copies of, he or she should contact the department in person, over the phone, or by mail or email. If going in person, the clerk’s office is located on the second floor of the Pima County Court Administration Building, which can be found at the following address:³

Pima County Clerk of Court
110 West Congress Street Suite 241
Tucson, AZ 85701-1317

The clerk of the court can be reached by phone at 520-724-3240. The office is open from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm from Monday to Friday.

The email to use for correspondence is [email protected]. If opting to mail in a request, include a letter with information about the divorce case and the sought-after records, such as the case number, names of both parties, type of documents to be copied, and whether or not the documents should be certified.

Mail all contents to the clerk’s office using the following address:

Clerk of the Superior Court
Attn: Legal Records
110 West Congress Street Suite 241
Tucson, AZ 85701-1317

Payments can be made over the phone or by mail. If making the payment over the phone, debit and credit cards are used (Visa, MasterCard, and Discover cards only). If mailing in a payment, money orders and checks are accepted.

Make out the order or check to the “Clerk of the Court” and include a self-addressed and stamped envelope. If the exact amount is unknown, call the office, and a staff member will be able to tell the requestor how much is owed. All payments must be made before 4:45 pm, or the individual will have to try again on the next business day.

It should be noted that the clerk of the superior court is the only local-level custodian for divorce records in Pima County. Any cities, towns, or villages within the county do not handle divorce cases or records and will tell any inquirer to contact the county clerk.

How To Search Divorce Records for the Entire State of Arizona

If a citizen cannot find specific divorce papers through the clerk of the super court’s online portal or after speaking with a staff member directly, it should be considered that the event may have actually occurred in a neighboring county.

If this ends up being the case, then local resources will not help. Unfortunately, the Arizona State Department of Health Services does not keep these records and can only offer a county locator map and links to local government websites.⁴

For archived divorce indexes from Pima County, the Arizona State Library may offer some resources for records prior to 1950 (anything after this date is solely kept at the county clerk’s office).⁵

The Polly Rosenbaum Archives & History Building is where archived public records from across the state are kept, and if the specific divorce record is on file through the library, it would be available here.

There is a designated room for researchers within this building that is open to the public by appointment.

Appointments can be made within the timeframes of 8:30 am to noon and again from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm from Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays. Citizens can book an appointment online using the library’s form, or interested folks can call 602-926-3720.⁶

The Polly Rosenbaum Building is located at:

Arizona State Archives & Research Library
1901 West Madison Street
Phoenix, AZ 85009

The state of Arizona illegalized common law marriages back in 1913, and while marriages entered into before this date were still recognized, any subsequent divorce that occurred would now be archived. Common law divorces, which are just standard divorces, would be filed the same as any other dissolution from a legal marriage.

Does Pima County Provide Divorces & Dissolution of Marriage Information to the Public?

Because of Arizona’s revised statute Title 39, divorce records – as a type of court record – are available for all members of the public to view and obtain copies.⁷

There are a variety of types of documents pertaining to divorce cases that an individual may seek. A divorce decree is the official court order to end a marriage, and is typically multiple pages and outlines all the specific terms and conditions of the divorce. Decrees are available through the clerk of the superior court.

A divorce certificate is another common type of document, which is usually a single page, has some basic details of the event, such as the names of the parties, the date of the event, and the county in which it occurred, and will still serve as proof that the divorce took place. At this time, Pima County does not offer these certificates.

In addition to the clerk of the superior court and the state library resources, citizens may find third parties online with information on public divorce records from Pima County. These websites will only be able to assist with finding information on an action, and any copies offered by these platforms will not serve as proof of a divorce for any legal or official need.

Although a lack of resources at the state level can definitely be a setback to pursuing copies of divorce paperwork, once the county of the event is known, local agencies work hard to ensure that any interested citizens can receive copies of their desired files.

For divorce records in particular, the legal records staff at the clerk of the superior court’s office are prompt in responses and knowledgeable on the records system and will help any individual complete his or her request successfully.

Additionally, even without an official form to fill out or a checklist to make sure everything is squared away, this article should help all citizens in their pursuit of Pima County divorce records from start to finish.