Caroline County Divorce Decree Records
Divorce decree records in Caroline County are held at the Circuit Court Clerk office in Denton, where staff can help you get certified copies, search case files, and locate final orders from past cases. Caroline County is a smaller Eastern Shore jurisdiction, and the clerk's office handles requests with a level of personal attention you won't always find in larger counties.
Caroline County Overview
Caroline County Circuit Court Clerk
The Circuit Court Clerk for Caroline County is Susan L. Buckner. Her office is the primary place to get a divorce decree or search divorce case records. All final divorce orders filed in Caroline County are kept here and are accessible to the public during regular business hours.
The clerk's office is located at 109 Market Street, Suite 1000, Denton, MD 21629. You can call them at 410-479-1811 or send a fax to 410-479-7895. Office hours run Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Walk-in requests are welcome. If you plan to come in person, bring a photo ID and any case details you have. The more information you have about the case, the faster the search will go.
Mail requests are also accepted. Send your written request with payment to the address above. Include the full names of both spouses at the time of the divorce, the approximate date the divorce was finalized, and the case number if you have it. Staff will process the request and mail copies back to you. Payment must be included with the request.
| Clerk | Susan L. Buckner |
|---|---|
| Address | 109 Market Street, Suite 1000, Denton, MD 21629 |
| Phone | 410-479-1811 |
| Fax | 410-479-7895 |
| Hours | Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. |
| Website | courts.state.md.us/clerks/caroline |
Copy Fees and Payment
Caroline County charges $5.50 for a certified copy of a divorce decree, plus $0.50 per page for each page in the document. So a 10-page decree would cost $5.50 plus $5.00 in copy charges, for a total of $10.50. These rates are consistent with the statewide fee structure set by the Maryland courts. There is no separate search fee at the clerk's office if you already know the case details.
Payment can be made by cash, check, or money order when you visit in person. For mail requests, send a check or money order made payable to the Clerk of the Circuit Court. The office will contact you if additional fees apply once they locate the file. Do not send cash through the mail.
The Maryland State Archives also provides certified divorce decrees for older cases. Their fee is $25 per certified copy, and you can order through the Archives online shop at shop.msa.maryland.gov. The Archives holds records sent from circuit courts after a set retention period, so very old divorces may only be available there.
Note: If you only need to verify that a divorce took place and don't need the full decree, the Maryland Division of Vital Records charges $12 for a divorce verification for cases filed since January 1, 1992. Visit health.maryland.gov/vsa for details on that service.
Search Caroline County Divorce Cases Online
The Maryland Judiciary Case Search tool covers all circuit courts, including Caroline County. You can search at no charge by visiting casesearch.courts.state.md.us. Enter a party name or case number to pull up case records. For divorce cases, look for cases with the "DA" case type designation, which stands for absolute divorce.
The online tool shows case filings, hearing dates, and final dispositions. It does not show the full text of the decree or other documents. It is useful for confirming that a divorce case exists, getting a case number, or finding out when a case was finalized. Once you have the case number from the online search, you can contact the Caroline County Clerk's office to request certified copies of the actual decree.
The Maryland State Archives also maintains a research guide for locating divorce records at guide.msa.maryland.gov. This is especially helpful if the divorce is decades old or if you are uncertain which county handled the case. The guide covers records from all Maryland counties, including Caroline.
The Maryland Courts website at mdcourts.gov also links to court records access resources and has general information on how to get copies from any circuit court in the state.
The Maryland Courts homepage provides links to the case search portal and clerk contact information for each county, including Caroline County's Circuit Court.
From the Maryland Courts site, you can navigate directly to the Caroline County clerk page or the statewide case search tool to begin your search for a divorce decree.
What a Caroline County Divorce Decree Contains
A final divorce decree from Caroline County is the court order that legally ends the marriage. It is signed by a circuit court judge and filed with the clerk. The decree sets out the terms the court ordered or that the parties agreed to, and it is legally binding.
Most decrees from Caroline County include the full names and addresses of both parties, the date of marriage, the date the divorce becomes final, and the grounds for the divorce. Maryland law allows for absolute divorce based on a 6-month separation, irreconcilable differences, or mutual consent under Family Law § 7-103. The decree will state which ground applied.
If the couple had property, the decree will list how that was divided. If they had children, the custody arrangement and visitation schedule will be in the decree. Support payments, whether for children or a former spouse, are written into the order with amounts and payment terms. Any name change granted by the court also appears in the decree. Under Family Law § 7-101, at least one party must have been a Maryland resident before the court could grant the divorce.
Certified copies are the ones most often needed for legal purposes, such as changing a name on a driver's license, updating beneficiary designations, or providing proof of divorce to a government agency. Plain copies are fine for personal reference but may not be accepted by institutions that want proof of a final court order.
Filing for Divorce in Caroline County
If you are filing for divorce in Caroline County rather than searching for an existing record, the Circuit Court Clerk's office is where the process starts. You file the initial complaint with the clerk, pay the filing fee, and receive a case number. The standard filing fee in Maryland is $165 without an attorney and $185 with one.
Maryland courts provide self-help resources for people who want to file without a lawyer. The self-help center at mdcourts.gov/selfhelp has guidance and you can also call 410-260-1392 for assistance. Court forms for divorce are available at mdcourts.gov/courtforms at no cost. The People's Law Library at peoples-law.org has a detailed overview of how divorce works in Maryland.
Under Family Law § 7-106, each circuit court clerk in Maryland must permanently keep and make accessible all final divorce decrees. This means the Caroline County Clerk's office will retain your final decree indefinitely. You or anyone else with a legitimate need can request it at any point in the future.
Note: The Maryland courts provide a legal help page for divorce at mdcourts.gov/legalhelp/family/divorce with information on forms, processes, and what to expect at each stage.
Maryland State Archives and Caroline County Records
The Maryland State Archives in Annapolis holds historical divorce records that were transferred from circuit courts after the local retention period expired. If you are looking for an older divorce from Caroline County, the Archives may have it even if the local clerk's office no longer does.
You can visit the Archives in person at 350 Rowe Blvd, Annapolis, MD 21401, or call 410-260-6400. Certified copies from the Archives cost $25. The online ordering form for divorce decree copies is at shop.msa.maryland.gov. The Archives research guide at guide.msa.maryland.gov helps you figure out which collection holds the records you need.
The Maryland State Archives maintains a searchable guide for divorce records from all counties, including historical filings from Caroline County that predate online case search systems.
For Caroline County divorces filed before 1992, the Archives may be the only source of a certified copy, particularly for cases where the local court transferred its records to Annapolis.
Cities and Towns in Caroline County
Caroline County includes several small towns and communities. All divorce cases in Caroline County are filed at the circuit court in Denton, which serves as the county seat and the judicial center for this Eastern Shore jurisdiction.
Denton is the county seat of Caroline County but does not have its own city page on this site. Other small communities in the county include Federalsburg, Greensboro, Ridgely, and Goldsboro. Residents of any of these areas file their divorce cases at the Caroline County Circuit Court in Denton.
Nearby Counties
These counties border Caroline County or are located nearby on Maryland's Eastern Shore. If you are not sure whether your case was filed in Caroline County or a neighboring county, the Maryland Judiciary Case Search can help you locate the correct court.