Documents Needed With Your Petition Civil Documents All civil

Rev. 7/6/2023 Diocese of Cleveland Tribunal

Documents Needed With Your Petition

Civil Documents

All civil documents must be certified copies. A certified copy is made by the courthouse and will

be officially stamped or have a raised seal. These documents will be returned to you at the

conclusion of the case, but be advised that in rare instances documents have been lost or damaged

in the mail.

Marriage records are obtained from the courthouse of the county from which you received your

marriage license. Divorce records are obtained from the county in which the divorce was filed.

❑ Marriage License Application

The marriage license application indicates the number of marriages and divorces of both

parties at the time that they applied for marriage. It is useful to the Tribunal in verifying

that all previous marriages have been mentioned in the petition.

❑ Certificate of Marriage

The certificate of marriage indicates the place where the marriage occurred, the date of the

marriage, and the officiant. It confirms for the Tribunal the basic facts of the wedding.

❑ Divorce Decree (judgment entry)

Only the complete judgment entry of the divorce decree is needed, not the additional details

such as division of property. Please include all revised judgments if any have been made

since the original decree. This proves to the Tribunal that the divorce has been finalized,

as the Tribunal will not accept a petition unless there is no possibility of the marriage being

reconciled.

Catholic Church Documents

In addition to the civil documents, there are Church documents that need to be submitted with your

petition, such as baptismal records and marriage certificates. Your Case Specialist can assist you

in obtaining the Catholic records. If you are a baptized non-Catholic, we will need you to obtain

any proof of baptism, such as an original certificate already in your possession or a recent

certificate or letter from the church that baptized you.

❑ Baptismal Certificates (Catholic Church)

If you are a baptized Catholic, you must obtain a current baptismal record. This is obtained

by calling, or writing to the Catholic church in which you were baptized. You will request

a Baptismal certificate “with notations.” This must be a current certificate with ink stamp

and/or seal and issued within the last six months.

❑ Marriage Certificates (Catholic Church)

Call the Catholic Church in which the ceremony occurred and request a marriage

certificate. This is not the copy provided at the time of the marriage. This must be a current

certificate issued by the church including its ink stamp and/or seal proving the document

is an original not a copy.

If the parish has been closed or merged, the records will either be maintained at the remaining

parish, a near-by parish, or the diocesan archives. If you are not able to determine where the records

are being kept, see the website of the Diocese of Cleveland archives or call 216-696-6525/800-

869-6525, ext. 3450.