There must be occasions when you wonder about people's marital history and wished there was a way you could know instantly. Well, there is and it's called Public Divorce Records Online. They come in two versions: free and fee-based. Both could work but the question is which one suits your needs better? Time and money, that's basically what's at play between Free Online Divorce Records and paid ones. With a little research, understanding divorce records becomes easy.

Online Divorce records are regarded as one of the principal vital records. Together with Marriage, Birth and Death Records, Divorce records are at the core of Public Records departments across the country. Most states have had them centralized since the mid 60's. Prior to that, they were generated and maintained at the respective district offices of the county where the divorce was granted. County Divorce Records are known to date back hundred over years.

On the back of the Freedom of Information Act of 1966, divorce records became public domain, as with all public record categories. What that means is since then, except for records sealed by court orders and those which qualify as private divorce records, public records can be obtained at government departments tasked with the service. The various ways to conduct divorce records search and request them are in-person, telephone, fax, mail and online internet. It must be noted that the use and application of divorce records in certain states may be restrictive although their retrieval process is liberal.

Expectedly, to search divorce records online is the most popular method of obtaining such information. Government agencies provide them free but fees are charged when official copies, divorce certificate, decree and so forth are ordered. These free records are often too skimpy and would not suffice for any real practical purpose beyond casual surfing. On top of it, they are not friendly for multi-state divorce records searche as government public record databases are not linked between states.

A small expense of money will take you to the great expanse of paid divorce records. They are the premier league of public records. With them, retrieving the information is fast, accurate and convenient. The records from them are professionally packaged and delivered in plug-and-play form. They also include contents derived from private databases and specialist network. It's a fiercely competitive industry. Log onto any of the major search engines and you'll be spoilt for choice on such outfits.

In summary, if it's something trivial like casual browsing or snooping on your neighbors or colleagues at the office, you shouldn't have to be spending money doing that. On the other hand, if what you have at hand is more serious and purposeful such as checking out a prospective spouse or in-law, you have better not be penny wise and pound foolish. Free Divorce Records or Paid Divorce Records, it shouldn't be too difficult to make the correct call once you have attained the knowledge.