Divorce Decree Certified Copy Delayed by the Family Court? What to Do

Reviewed on: 2026-06-12.

Start with these four actions. If your divorce is granted but the certified copy of the decree has not reached you:

1. Confirm the case details: the case number, the CNR number if you have it, both parties' names as recorded, and the exact date the divorce was granted. These four drive everything.
2. Apply at the copying section of the family court with those details, name the number of copies, pay the prescribed copying fee, and collect a dated acknowledgement or token. This token is the most important paper for every follow-up.
3. Track in parallel on the eCourts services portal under Case Status, and screenshot the disposed status and order date.
4. Diarise the promised delivery date. If it passes, move the same week to a written reminder, not another verbal visit.

A certified copy is the stamped, sealed copy issued by the court copying section under the copying rules read with Section 76 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Banks, the passport office, and a future court accept that, not a website printout.

These are not the same thing, and confusing them slows the counter down.

• The judgment is the court's reasoned decision.
• The decree is the formal operative document that follows, recording the result, that the marriage stands dissolved.
• The certified copy is the official stamped copy of the decree (and usually the judgment) issued by the copying section. This is what other authorities accept.

The decree must first be drawn up, signed, and sealed before a certified copy can issue. A common cause of delay is that the decree itself has not yet been drawn up, even though the judgment was pronounced. Ask the copying section to confirm whether the decree has been drawn up; that one question often locates the holdup.

• Case number and CNR number.
• The order date (date the divorce was granted).
• An eCourts case-status screenshot showing the case as disposed.
• The certified copy application form (from the copying section, the court or High Court website, or eCourts where supported).
• Your photo ID, to prove you are a party.
• Vakalatnama or advocate authority, if your advocate applies.
• The copying fee and any court-fee stamps your state requires.

1. Apply at the copying section. Fill the form with the case number, parties, order date, and your role as a party. State how many copies you want, ask for two or three at once, since banks, the passport office, and any future court each want their own. Pay the fee and keep the token.
2. Track the application and eCourts status. In family matters the order text is often kept confidential and stays hidden online; that does not affect your right to the certified copy. Apply regardless of what the website shows.
3. Send a written reminder to the copying-section in-charge if the promised date passes, quoting your token, case number, and order date, and asking for a definite date in writing. Get your copy stamped as received.
4. Represent to the registrar or principal judge if the reminder fails, through the registry, stating when the order was passed, when you applied, your token, and how long the copy has been pending against the court's own norm.

To: The In-charge, Copying Section, [Name of Family / District Court], [City]
(Copy to: The Registrar / Principal Judge, [Name of Court])

Subject: Pending certified copy of divorce decree, Case No. [____]

1. I am [Your Name], a party (petitioner / respondent) in the matter
   between [Petitioner] and [Respondent], decided by this court by order
   dated [DD/MM/YYYY].
2. I applied for a certified copy of the judgment and decree at the
   copying section on [DD/MM/YYYY], token no. [____], fee paid.
3. The copy was to be delivered by [promised date]. It has not been
   issued despite my follow-ups.
4. I need it for [bank / passport / record correction / further
   proceedings] and the delay is causing genuine hardship.
5. I request that the certified copy of the judgment and decree dated
   [DD/MM/YYYY] in Case No. [____] be issued at the earliest, and that I
   be informed in writing of the collection date.

A copy of my acknowledgement token is enclosed.

[Name, party in Case No. ____, mobile, email, address, date]

Courts and their administrative offices fall within RTI for many purposes, and many High Courts also run their own rules for court records that work alongside the RTI Act. Use the information route to push a stuck application, not to obtain the copy itself:

• Ask for the status of your copy application bearing token number [token], the reason for the delay, and the name and designation of the official handling it.
• Ask whether the decree following the judgment dated [date] has been drawn up, signed, and sealed, since the copy cannot issue until then.
• Ask for the rule or circular that fixes the time limit for ordinary and urgent (tatkal) certified copies in that court, so you know your benchmark.

The certified copy itself comes through the copying process under Section 76 CPC, not through RTI. A written representation to the registrar is usually quicker than an RTI for getting the copy out. See how to file RTI online, the guide on using RTI for court case records, and first and second appeals if an RTI is not answered in time.

• It is not the route to obtain the certified copy; courts have their own copying rules and fee for that.
• Court records can be access-controlled, and family matters are sensitive; an outsider cannot demand a stranger's divorce records.
• The RTI window does not force the court to issue your copy within any particular period.

• Treating a website printout as the decree. Authorities want the stamped, certified version.
• Not applying because the order is not online. The copying process does not depend on the order being uploaded.
• Losing the token. Without it every follow-up starts from zero; photograph it at once.
• Following up only verbally. Always put the reminder in writing and get it stamped.
• Applying for only one copy. Two or three at once costs little and saves repeat trips.

There is no single all-India timeline; it varies by court and state. Many copying sections aim to deliver an ordinary certified copy within a few working days once the decree is signed and sealed, with urgent (tatkal) copies faster for an extra fee. If your court far exceeds its own published norm, that is when you escalate.

It depends on your court. Many district and family courts now allow application through the eCourts services portal or a state e-sewa portal, and some deliver a digitally signed copy. Others still need a physical application at the copying section. Check your court's eCourts page or ask the facilitation centre.

That is common in family matters kept confidential. The certified copy process does not depend on the order being uploaded. Apply directly at the copying section with the case number and order date. The missing online order is a separate issue you can raise with the registry.

No. A party can apply in person with an ID and the case details. If your advocate handled the case, they can apply and collect on your behalf, and it is often quicker because they know the copying section.

Often because the decree has not yet been drawn up, signed, and sealed, which must happen before the copy can issue. Ask the copying section to confirm the decree-drawing status; that question usually finds the holdup.

Yes. A certified copy is not a one-time document. Apply again at the same court for a fresh certified copy of the same decree, paying the fee each time. Keep the case number and decree date handy, and scan the copy once you get it.

RTI is generally not the route to the copy itself, because courts have their own copying rules. RTI can tell you the status of a stuck application, the reason for delay, or the official handling it. Use the copying application first and RTI to push a stalled one.

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Download the divorce decree certified-copy checklist (PDF).