Search Saline County Divorce Decree Records
Saline County divorce decree records are kept by the Circuit Clerk in Benton, Arkansas, and cover all domestic relations filings for the county. Whether you need to look up an existing case, get a certified copy of a final decree, or find out how to start a filing, this page explains the office, the process, and the tools available to help you access divorce records in Saline County.
Saline County Divorce Records Overview
Saline County Circuit Clerk Office
The Circuit Clerk in Benton is the official keeper of Saline County divorce decree records. The office is located at 200 North Main, Room 113, Benton, AR 72015. Call (501) 303-5615 to reach the office directly. Hours run Monday through Friday during standard courthouse business hours.
All divorce filings, final orders, and domestic relations documents for Saline County are held at this office. The Circuit Clerk maintains case files from the time a petition is filed through final judgment and any post-decree modifications. If you need to verify that a divorce was finalized, get a certified copy of the order, or locate a case number, start here. Saline County is in the 7th Judicial Circuit.
The Circuit Clerk office is separate from the County Clerk. The County Clerk handles marriage licenses, probate, and land records. Divorce decrees live with the Circuit Clerk only. If you call the wrong office, they can direct you to the right one.
Online Divorce Decree Search in Saline County
Arkansas offers a free statewide case search tool through the judiciary website. The system is called CourtConnect and covers all counties including Saline. You can search by party name, case number, or citation. Results show filing dates, case type, parties involved, and current status. The full decree text is not available online; you need to contact the clerk's office for that.
Visit the Arkansas CourtConnect public access portal to search Saline County divorce records at no cost.
CourtConnect works best when you have one party's full name. Once you find a case number, bring it to the Circuit Clerk at Room 113 in Benton to request the actual decree document.
Cases that predate the electronic filing system may not appear in CourtConnect. For older records, call (501) 303-5615 or submit a written request directly to the office. The clerk's staff can search older paper files by name and approximate year.
Divorce Decree vs. Divorce Certificate in Saline County
A divorce decree and a divorce certificate are two separate documents. People mix them up often, but they come from different agencies and contain different information.
The divorce decree is the complete court order. It contains the judge's ruling on every issue: division of property and debt, custody and visitation, child support amounts, alimony, name restoration, and any other terms the court imposed. This is a Saline County Circuit Court document, and the Circuit Clerk in Benton holds it.
A divorce certificate is a short summary produced by the state. It confirms the names of the parties, the date of divorce, and the county. The Arkansas Department of Health at 4815 West Markham Street, Slot 44, Little Rock, AR 72205 maintains these certificates for all Arkansas divorces since January 1923. Certificates cost $10 per copy. You can order by phone at (501) 661-2336, online with a small identity verification fee, or by mail. If you need the full terms of the divorce rather than just a confirmation it happened, you need the decree from the Circuit Clerk.
Note: The Arkansas Department of Health does not hold divorce decrees from Saline County or any other county in Arkansas.
Getting Certified Copies of Saline County Divorce Decrees
Certified copies of Saline County divorce decrees are available at the Circuit Clerk office, 200 North Main, Room 113, Benton. In-person requests are the most straightforward. Bring a valid government-issued photo ID and the names of the parties or a case number if you have one.
Mail requests are also accepted. Include your full name, relationship to the case, names of both parties if known, the approximate year of divorce, return address, and a check or money order for the applicable fee. The clerk will contact you if additional information is needed. Certified copy fees in Arkansas are generally $5 or more per document, varying by page count. Under state law, fees cannot exceed actual reproduction costs.
Access to divorce decrees is not completely open. Arkansas law restricts certified copies to the parties named in the case, their close family members (parents, children, grandchildren), and authorized legal representatives such as attorneys. After 100 years from the divorce date, records become fully public. If you believe you qualify for access, explain your relationship when you make the request.
Filing for Divorce in Saline County
Divorce petitions in Saline County are filed at the Circuit Court, 200 North Main, Benton. Before filing, at least one spouse must have been an Arkansas resident for 60 days. The final decree cannot be entered until the filing spouse has been a county resident for at least 90 days. These are minimum state requirements under Arkansas law.
Arkansas law allows both fault and no-fault divorce. The recognized grounds under Arkansas Code § 9-12-301 include adultery, cruelty, felony conviction, habitual drunkenness for one or more years, permanent insanity, inability to have sexual relations, making the other spouse's situation intolerable through indignities, and voluntary separation for 18 consecutive months. In uncontested cases, the defendant can waive proof of grounds in writing, which simplifies the process significantly. Cases with minor children require both parents to attend a court-approved parenting education class before the decree is issued.
For self-represented filers in Saline County, ARLawHelp.org provides free forms, guides, and step-by-step instructions. The estimated filing fee is around $165, consistent with other Arkansas counties. Additional filings or contested hearings will increase the total cost.
Historical Records and the Arkansas State Archives
For older Saline County divorce records, the Arkansas State Archives can help with research. The Archives offers up to two hours of free remote research per request. Contact them by email at state.archives@arkansas.gov or call 501-682-6900. Most responses come within a few days; document delivery takes one to three weeks depending on workload and request volume.
The Arkansas State Archives holds microfilm, original documents, and indexed collections that cover Saline County court records going back well before the current electronic filing system.
The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act § 25-19-105 governs public access to court records across the state. Under this statute, the clerk must make non-restricted records available within three working days of a request. Most court records are public, though divorce decrees have access restrictions tied to the parties involved.
Cities in Saline County
Two cities in Saline County meet the population threshold for dedicated pages on this site. Both cities are served by the Saline County Circuit Court in Benton for divorce filings:
Residents of Benton and Bryant file for divorce at the Saline County Circuit Clerk, 200 North Main, Room 113, Benton, AR 72015. The county seat hosts the only courthouse handling divorce cases for the entire county.
Nearby Counties
Saline County shares borders with several other Arkansas counties. For divorce records in those areas, contact each county's Circuit Clerk: