Dominican Republic divorce records: Q&A

Questions we have been asked by our clients:

How do I know if I am divorced? We get asked this question by many Dominicans and other latinos from the USA. Usually the spouses are separated, perhaps for many years already, some years ago one of the spouses told the other that he/she was going to the DR to take care of the divorce only to never be heard of again. The person who contacts us now wishes to marry again, and needs proof of the divorce. We can help.

What other Dominican divorce documents can you obtain for us? Other than Dominican divorce certificates, we can also obtain the following:

product	details	cost
Your Dominican divorce certificate	The divorce certificate is definitive proof that the divorce is irreversible and final, and that the marriage ended. Cost for an original long-form divorce certificate with legalisation and apostille.	US$115
Your Dominican divorce decree	From the court, we shall have it certified and apostilled for it to be valid in most countries.	US$295
Your entire divorce file from the Dominican court	This includes: A certified and apostilled divorce decree.  All documentation on file in the courthouse relating to your divorce such as copies of custody/separation agreements etc, and perhaps even a copy of the divorce announcement which appeared in the newspaper. Because not all of these documents were issued by the court (newspaper announcement etc), the entire file cannot be legalised or apostilled, only the decree.	US$395
Special deluxe Dominican divorce documentation package	For all of the following: Divorce certificate (legalised & apostilled) including translation into English. Divorce decree (certified & apostilled), translation not included but we can quote for this once we have seen the decree. Copy of entire divorce file from the court (see above) Shipping by DHL.	US$595

I am an attorney in the USA, representing a client who was granted a divorce in the Dominican Republic between 1/1/87 and 12/31/88? We are unsure of the exact date and place. Thanks, you've already told me that both your client and his ex-wife are non-Dominicans, which makes our search like the proverbial needle in the haystack. We can charge you for a search of the electronic database, and who knows, we may strike it lucky, and locate the divorce record, but I doubt we shall locate it. The only reliable way for us to locate the record would be if your client can tell us where and when the divorce was decreed.

My ex-husband and I were divorced in the late 1970s a short drive outside Santo Domingo, I cannot find the papers. It was not a long drive as I remember but a very rural village at the time. The TV program "60 Minutes" had done a special on Dominican Republic divorces so it was around that year but I can't find info on it online. Thanks, without more specific details, it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack, since most old divorce records remain only in the original ledgers, and have not yet been entered into the registry offices' electronic database.