Divorce decrees are sometimes required for international applications, but many applicants do not have copies of their decrees or even their case numbers because they were not retained during the emotionally trying time of divorce.
If the wedding took place or was registered in South Africa, the DHA database would show the couple as married, and they may then get a full copy of their marriage certificate. Next, you’d need to visit a DHA office or a SA consulate abroad to record your divorce. After that, you won’t be able to get a new marriage license, but you can get a letter confirming that you’re officially divorced.
A decree of divorce is what?
Any request for a divorce decree often just requires the original, signed and sealed first page, which can be obtained from the Supreme Court or court that issued the decree. The entire divorce settlement agreement, including the divorce decree, may be needed in some cases.
This is a sample page from a South African divorce decree (names and details have been changed), while the actual document may look slightly different depending on the issuing court and the year.
A decree of divorce is what?
Any request for a divorce decree often just requires the original, signed, and sealed first page, which can be obtained from the Supreme Court or the court that issued the decree. The entire divorce settlement agreement, including the divorce decree, may be needed in some cases.
This is a sample page from a South African divorce decree (names and details have been changed), while the actual document may look slightly different depending on the issuing court and the year.
While the actual front page of the document may seem slightly different, rest certain that the High Court stamp will be in red ink, and that a lack of ink stamps and signatures will render the document useless.
The procedure for obtaining a divorce decree in South Africa
Happily, the procedure of acquiring one is not lengthy, although certainly challenging, unless you have absolutely no specifics of the divorce and cannot recall the court it took place in. The divorce decree paperwork is only available in specific locations within the High Court, and the general public and non-citizens are often denied access to these locations.
If you are currently living overseas and want to get a divorce in South Africa, you will not be able to do so easily via the internet. Make an application with the High Court and have them provide you with an original copy.
A case number and the name of the court where the divorce was finalized are all that are required to receive a divorce decree in a short amount of time. Even without the case number, a lawyer could obtain the divorce case number and decree by searching the divorce records for that year, month, and date. Having only a year to go on, the attorney would have to look over every divorce case finalized in that court that year. Some people may only remember the name of the city where their divorce was finalized, however in South Africa, every large city has many divorce courts.
In other words, knowing all of the above can help get the divorce decree processed more quickly:
Marriage Divorce File Number
Location of the Divorce Hearing Court
Exact time and date of divorce
Individuals’ names and identification numbers are included (plaintiff and defendant)
You may find all of this and more in an old scan of the divorce decree. Now would be a good time to scan your most up-to-date divorce decree if you happen to be in possession of one and reading this. It could end up saving you a ton of time and money in the long run.
The following should be kept in mind, however:
a.) Notwithstanding Apostil’s high record of success in getting divorce judgments, there are some occasions in which we visit the court, search for and identify the file, and are then shown by the court employees that there is no documentation in the file/folder. We (as well as anyone else) can do no more to help in this situation.
- b) Sometimes, after exhaustively looking for a case file at a particular court, we learn that it has been transferred to another court or off-site archive, and can therefore be accessed only by making an application to the Department of Justice. Apostil may charge more and the timeline will shift significantly in certain situations (additional 3 months).
Although neither of the two examples given above is common, it is nevertheless important that you know about them as they are both potential obstacles to moving forward.
When a divorce decree is finalized, what should the next steps be?
Some countries and authorities will accept an original copy of the document, while others will need an apostilled or attested copy. If the document is to be apostilled, DIRCO will be verifying the court, not the document itself.
How much does it cost to get a divorce?
Find out what you need from a divorce decree search in South Africa before contacting us to get a price quote and projected timeline. The following is a generalization of our price for divorce decrees with or without case numbers.
