Acquire Free Cass County Divorce Records (Certificate Search)

Search for free Cass County divorce records to learn about local marriage dissolutions.

These records can provide searchers with a wide variety of information about the divorce, such as its circumstances, basic information about the divorcees, the time period, and where exactly the legal finalization occurred. Furthermore, older divorce records can also be used for generational information, learning about a person’s ancestry, and lineage purposes.

This resource explains how to conduct a free divorce records search in Cass County, North Dakota, through various official sources.

How To Look Up Cass County Divorce Records

In Cass County, North Dakota, divorce records can primarily be obtained from two sources, depending on the time frame of the dissolution. For divorces that took place after 1942, the Clerk of the County District Court can be contacted.¹

The District Court Clerk of Cass County keeps a record of all cases that the court hears. Interested residents can directly contact the clerk’s office to look up public divorce records including decrees.

Clerk of the Cass County District Court
211 9th Street South
Fargo, North Dakota 581036

Phone: 701-451-6900
Email: [email protected]

Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 2806
Fargo North Dakota 58108

Interested citizens can visit the office of the clerk at the aforementioned address and request divorce records. The office is open during regular business hours of 8 AM – 5 PM, Monday through Friday. It is important to note that the office is closed on weekends and during other public holidays.

The department can also be called at the above-mentioned phone number. Furthermore, citizens can also request records through mail or email using the contact details above.

If the precise case number is not known to the requestor, they must at least provide primary details of the people involved in the case, such as the names of the divorcees, so that the department can find the desired records.

Furthermore, additional information such as location, name of the judge who heard the case, and a time frame (if the specific year is not known) can also help the department in narrowing down the search and providing more precise and accurate records.

To search for records of divorces that took place before 1942, interested parties can use the Cass County, North Dakota Divorce Index. This free online records search tool is managed by the Department of Regional Studies of the North Dakota State University (NDSU) and provides precise records of all marriage dissolutions that took place prior to 1942.²

The Regional Studies Department of NDSU took charge of the records of cases recorded before 1942 from the District Court Clerk’s Department in 2001 for educational purposes and made the data available to the general public for collective community benefit.

Citizens can search divorce records through this tool by entering the name of the plaintiffs and defendants, or attorneys, or attorneys plaintiffs and defendants.

In addition to that, the search can also be filtered by adding a time frame and selecting “Divorce Cases Only” for more precise records. In case residents have queries or are facing difficulty in accessing the tool, they can call the department at 701-231-8914.

To order divorce records of Cass County from the department, interested individuals must send a formal request through email at [email protected].³ The request must contain the case number and if that is not known, the primary information about the people involved, such as the names of the divorcees, a time frame, or any other detail that may help the department’s staff search the desired records.

To order photographs or photocopies of the records, a photograph order/permission to publish form will have to be filled out and emailed to the department staff at [email protected].⁴

Researchers must keep in mind that the department charges a fee of $1 per photo for people who are affiliated with NDSU and $15 per photo for outsiders.

Furthermore, the fee is doubled in the case of a rush order. The records will be sent to the requestor on their provided email.

Before starting Cass divorce records search, searchers must keep in mind that the department restricts access to certain sensitive information in the records to ensure the safety and privacy of the people involved in the case.

This information can include the precise addresses of the divorcees, social security numbers, ID numbers, etc. In case minors are involved (in matters like child custody and child support), their information will also be restricted in the records.

How To Access & View Divorce Records in North Dakota as a Whole

While conducting a Cass divorce records search, there can be instances where the records are not available at county-level agencies but must be obtained through an official state-level source. In such a case, the searcher must know the appropriate agency that manages divorce records at the state level in North Dakota.

Where divorce records are not available at the city level in North Dakota, they are definitely available at the state level. North Dakota courts have an official, free Court Records Inquiry Tool that can be used to search divorce records of marriage dissolutions that took place throughout the state.⁵ Researchers can search records on this tool through case number, filing date, attorney name, or party name. The option of “Divorce” in the “Case Type” category can be selected to obtain more precise results.

The results will provide primary information about the divorce such as case number, location, judicial officer, and status.

For more precise information about the dissolution or to obtain certified copies of records, interested individuals must directly contact the County Clerk or Recorder of the specific county in which the divorce took place.⁶

Residents can also search older divorce records for family history details, genealogy research, and lineage purposes through the Cass County Divorce & Civil Cases Index. This index contains records of all divorces that took place before the year 1942.

Are Divorce Records in Cass County Publicly Accessible?

Yes, divorce records are generally available for public access in accordance with the North Dakota Century Code – NDCC 27-10-02 and NDCC 27-25-17.^{7, 8} However, it is important to understand that where divorce papers or records such as divorce certificates, which announce the dissolution of a marriage, are publicly available, complete divorce orders are not.

Divorce decrees are the complete, detailed court orders of a separation case and can contain information on matters such as child custody, alimony, division of assets, child custody, etc. These decrees are only available upon special request to people who give a proper reason to the department to have them.

It is also important that while searching records, residents keep in mind that state records agencies as well as county agencies can restrict some sensitive details in the records to ensure the safety and privacy of the parties involved in the case.

Third party sources can also be used to search marriage dissolution records as well as common law divorce records in Cass County, North Dakota. While some third party websites use official sources to provide divorce records, residents should be cautious about using their information for official purposes unless the state, county or city explicitly endorses them.

This resource covers step-by-step instructions on how to conduct a free Cass County divorce records search through various official sources.