Van Buren County Divorce Decree Lookup
Van Buren County divorce decree records are filed with the Circuit Clerk in Clinton, Arkansas, the county seat of Van Buren County. If you need to find a divorce decree, request a certified copy, or understand how the filing process works in Van Buren County, this page covers the office, the access options, and the resources you can use to get what you need.
Van Buren County Divorce Records Overview
Van Buren County Circuit Clerk in Clinton
Van Buren County should not be confused with the city of Van Buren, which is the county seat of Crawford County in western Arkansas. Van Buren County is a separate county in the Arkansas River Valley, and its county seat is Clinton, Arkansas. The Circuit Clerk office in Clinton holds all divorce decree records for Van Buren County.
The Circuit Clerk is located at 273 Main Street, Ste 2, Clinton, AR 72031. The phone number is (501) 745-4140. Hours are Monday through Friday during standard courthouse business hours. Van Buren County is in the 20th Judicial Circuit. All domestic relations filings, final orders, and post-decree modifications for the county are held at this office.
The County Clerk in Clinton handles a separate set of records: marriage licenses, probate matters, and land records. For divorce decree records specifically, always contact the Circuit Clerk at Suite 2, 273 Main Street. If you call the wrong office, staff can redirect you.
Online Divorce Decree Search
Arkansas offers a free statewide case search system through the judiciary called CourtConnect. It covers all 75 Arkansas counties, including Van Buren County in Clinton. You can search by party name, case number, or citation. Results show filing dates, case type, party names, and current status. The full decree text is not available online.
The Arkansas CourtConnect public access portal is the right tool to start your search for Van Buren County divorce records at no cost.
Once you have a case number from CourtConnect, contact the Van Buren County Circuit Clerk at (501) 745-4140 or visit Suite 2 at 273 Main Street in Clinton to request a certified copy of the decree.
Cases that predate the electronic filing system will not appear in CourtConnect. For those older records, call the clerk's office directly or submit a written mail request. Providing names of both parties and an approximate year is usually enough for staff to search paper files.
Divorce Decree vs. Divorce Certificate
These are two separate documents. The divorce decree is the full court order. It contains all terms the judge imposed: property division, debt, custody, child support, alimony, and the grounds for the divorce. The Van Buren County Circuit Clerk in Clinton holds this document for all cases filed in the county.
A divorce certificate is a short summary record maintained at the state level. It confirms a divorce happened and lists the party names, date, and county. That is all. The Arkansas Department of Health at 4815 West Markham Street, Slot 44, Little Rock, AR 72205 maintains these certificates for Arkansas divorces from January 1923 forward. They cost $10 per copy. Order by phone at (501) 661-2336, online, or by mail. If you need the complete court order for a Van Buren County case, the Circuit Clerk in Clinton is the only source. The health department cannot supply a decree.
Note: Van Buren County's Circuit Clerk office is in Clinton, Arkansas, not in the city of Van Buren, which is in Crawford County to the west.
Certified Copy Requests and Fees
To get a certified copy of a Van Buren County divorce decree, visit or write to the Circuit Clerk at 273 Main Street, Ste 2, Clinton. In-person requests are straightforward. Bring a valid photo ID and either the case number or the names of both parties with an approximate year. Mail requests should include your name, relationship to the case, the parties' names, approximate year, return address, and payment.
Certified copy fees in Arkansas are generally $5 or more per document, depending on the page count. State law limits fees to actual reproduction costs. Call (501) 745-4140 to confirm the current fee and ask about turnaround time before sending a mail request. The clerk will follow up if additional detail is needed to locate the record.
Access to certified copies is restricted. Only the named parties, their close family members, and authorized legal representatives can receive certified copies. After 100 years from the date of divorce, records become fully public. If you are not a named party, be prepared to explain your relationship to the case and provide documentation if asked.
Filing for Divorce in Van Buren County
Divorces in Van Buren County are filed at the Circuit Court in Clinton. Arkansas law requires at least one spouse to have been an Arkansas resident for 60 days before filing. The final decree cannot be issued until the filing spouse has been a Van Buren County resident for at least 90 days. These state minimums apply in every Arkansas county.
Arkansas allows both fault and no-fault divorce grounds under Arkansas Code § 9-12-301. Recognized grounds include adultery, cruelty, felony conviction, habitual drunkenness for one year or more, permanent insanity, inability to have sexual relations, indignities that make the other spouse's situation intolerable, and voluntary separation for 18 continuous months. For uncontested cases, the defendant can waive proof of grounds in writing. Cases with minor children require both parents to complete a court-approved parenting education class before the court issues the final decree.
Self-represented filers can use ARLawHelp.org for free forms and guides. The estimated base filing fee in Van Buren County is around $165. Additional hearings and motions in contested cases will increase the total cost.
Historical Records and Additional Resources
For older Van Buren County divorce records, the Arkansas State Archives offers up to two hours of free remote research per request. Contact them at state.archives@arkansas.gov or call 501-682-6900. Responses usually come within a few days; document delivery takes one to three weeks.
The Arkansas State Archives holds microfilm and original records that predate modern electronic filing systems, covering Van Buren County court records for genealogical and historical research.
The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act § 25-19-105 gives the public the right to access most court records. The clerk is required to make non-restricted records available within three working days. Van Buren County divorce records are restricted but not sealed; eligible parties may request them at the Circuit Clerk's office in Clinton.
Nearby Counties
Van Buren County borders several counties in north-central Arkansas. Divorce records for those areas are held by each county's Circuit Clerk:
No cities in Van Buren County currently meet the population threshold for a dedicated city page on this site. Clinton is the county seat and the location of the Circuit Clerk for all Van Buren County divorce filings.