Divorce is a deeply personal experience, and the last thing anyone wants is for the details to show up in Google when someone searches their name. But because divorce proceedings go through the court system, the records are technically public, and third-party websites have made a business out of scraping and republishing them. If your divorce record is appearing in search results, you are not alone, and there are concrete steps you can take to address it.
How Divorce Records End Up in Google
Divorce cases are handled in state courts. Each state has its own rules about what information is publicly accessible, but in most states, the basic filing, the names of the parties, and the case outcome are part of the public record. Third-party legal research platforms scrape these state court systems and republish the data on their own websites. Sites like CourtListener, Justia, Trellis, DocketBird, and Casemine all index divorce records from various state court systems.
Because these platforms have strong search engine optimization, their pages often appear on the first page of Google. Someone searching your name may find your divorce case before they find your LinkedIn profile or personal website. That is the problem we are solving.
Can You Seal a Divorce Record?
In some states, yes. The rules vary significantly from state to state, but many jurisdictions allow parties to petition the court to seal certain divorce records, especially when the case involves sensitive information about children, finances, or domestic violence. If you can get the record sealed by the court, that gives you the strongest possible basis for demanding removal from third-party websites.
Even if full sealing is not available in your state, some courts will restrict access to specific documents within the case file, such as financial disclosures or custody evaluations. This partial sealing can still help when you submit removal requests to third-party platforms.
How to Remove Your Divorce Record from Third-Party Sites
Step one: search your name in Google and identify every third-party platform that displays your divorce record. Copy the full URL of each page.
Step two: if sealing is an option in your state, pursue it. Contact the court that handled your divorce and ask about the process for sealing the record. An attorney who specializes in family law can advise you on your state's specific rules. Having a sealed record makes every subsequent removal request much easier.
Step three: submit removal requests to each third-party platform. Include the specific URLs, your full name, and a clear explanation of why you want the record removed. If you have a court order sealing the record, attach it. If you do not, explain the personal impact of having your divorce visible in Google. Many platforms will still cooperate, especially for family court matters.
Step four: follow up within two to three weeks if you have not received a response. Be persistent but professional.
Step five: once a platform confirms removal, use Google's URL removal tool to clear the cached version from search results.
Moving Forward
A divorce is something that happened in your life. It does not need to define how you appear online. We approach divorce record removal with complete understanding and zero judgment. Everyone deserves to have their search results reflect who they are today, not a chapter they have already closed.
For a comprehensive walkthrough of removing records from all major court databases, see our complete court record removal guide. If you are also dealing with other types of records like arrest records or bankruptcy filings, we have specific guides for those as well.
If you have tried these steps and are still stuck, or if you just do not have the time, we can help. Book a consultation or book court record removal services and we will take it from here.