Metropolitan Tribunal

There are different types of nullity petitions. To ensure that you do not complete an incorrect petition form, you must FIRST consult with a Case Sponsor at a Catholic parish. A Case Sponsor is a priest, deacon or lay person designated by the parish who determines what type of petition you must complete and assists you in the preparation of the petition. (There is no fee associated with obtaining a petition form or for the services of a Case Sponsor.) Contact your local parish for a Case Sponsor.

A petition will NOT be accepted without a Case Sponsor.

Download Forms

• Formal Church Petition for a Declaration of Nullity
• Lack of Canonical Form
• Prior Bond (Ligamen) Petition
• Pauline Privilege
• Favor of the Faith (Petrine Privilage) 

To request a church certificate from a Catholic parish, you will need the parish address. Some parishes, though not all, are listed on The Catholic Directory. If the parish is not listed on this website, consult your Case Sponsor.

To request a church certificate from the Archdiocese for the Military Services, U.S.A., refer to their website for information on email or fax options. Whether you fax or use postal mail, you may use the request form provided.

Baptism, Profession of Faith and Marriage Church Certificates 

Baptism - Parish
Baptism - Military
Profession of Faith - Parish
Profession of Faith - Military
Marriage - Parish
Marriage - Military

Finding a Respondent (Your Former Spouse)

It is a strict requirement of Canon (Church) Law that the Tribunal Office notify (through certified and regular mail) the Respondent (your former spouse) that this process is occurring. Failure to contact your former spouse can result in the entire process being declared invalid. Normally a person can be found using the Internet. If all means to locate your former spouse have been exhausted, the Tribunal can attempt to contact your former spouse through a family member, such as a parent or sibling. However, contacting your former spouse through a c/o (care of) address could delay the process since extra attention must be given to ensure that your former spouse has indeed received the notice. IF using a c/o address, specifically indicate whose address it is. If, after exhausting the means provided in this document, refer to section entitled: Tribunal Assistance.It is NOT recommended that you use a private detective or a paid locating service without first consulting the Tribunal.

Additional Questions to Assist in Finding Your Former Spouse

To assist you in finding your former spouse, consider each question. Refer to the tools/websites in this document.

1. Is there anything about the behavior or lifestyle of your former spouse that would make you think that your former spouse might be deceased? Describe all efforts of your search.
2. If there are any mutual friends, former in-laws or other relatives of your former spouse with whom you are still in contact, find out if they know where your former spouse is. List whom you contacted, giving this person's name, address, telephone and the relationship to your former spouse and their responses.
3. List the places that your former spouse has lived in chronological order, starting with the place of birth to the last known address. Be as detailed as you can, listing street addresses, city, state, etc.
4. Provide the full names of both parents of your former spouse, including the mother's maiden and current name. List the places that the parents of your former spouse have lived in chronological order, starting with their place of birth to their last known address. Be as detailed as you can, listing street addresses, city, state, etc. Describe all efforts made to contact them.
5. List the full names of all siblings of your former spouse and their spouses, along with their last known addresses. Give the approximate ages or approximate date of birth of the siblings. Describe all efforts made to contact any of them.
6. If there were children born of the marriage and those children are grown, give their current names, along with the full names of their spouses, including their last known addresses and telephone numbers. Describe all efforts made to contact any of them.
7. List the names of schools attended by your former spouse, especially high school and college. Try contacting the schools for your former spouse's address and explain your results.
8. If your former spouse was in military service, what branch of the military, what years of service and where?
9. List your former spouse's last known place of employment. Try contacting the place of employment for any possible leads to the location of your former spouse and explain your results.
10. If your former spouse was married previously, try contacting this former spouse or any children born of this previous marriage to see if they know where your former spouse is. List the names of all people whom you contacted and the results.
11. If your former spouse remarried after your divorce from him/her, try contacting any subsequent spouse or any children born from the subsequent marriage to see if they know where your former spouse is. List the names of all people whom you contacted and the results.
12. What other steps have you taken to find your former spouse?

Tools/Websites to Assist You in Finding the Respondent (Your Former Spouse)

Death Records

Death certificates within the past 25 years are considered protected records. Therefore, you are probably not qualified to order a certificate or record. However, you might be qualified to order a verification. There is no need to order a death certificate or death verification if you find that your former spouse is deceased at one of the following websites. Simply print out the page and present it to the priest. The two following databases contain most death records, though not all, in connection with Social Security death benefits.

Search the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) at Requesting SSA’s Death Information | Data Exchange | SSA. 

You can also search the data bank at www.ancestry.com.

Texas death records can be found at Death Records | Texas DSHS.

You can also write the Department of Vital Records in the State where your former spouse was last known to reside to see if there is a possible death certificate. www.vitalrec.com can be used as a tool to find the location and telephone of a State's Vital Statistics Office. It is much cheaper if you contact the State's Vital Statistics Office yourself rather than using the paid service that this website provides.

Telephone Book/White Pages

Try the telephone book for all the known places your former spouse has lived. If it is in another city or state, try contacting someone in that particular city/state who would be willing to look up or copy for you the listings of the last name. In this way, one can contact the listings in search of the former spouse or a family member.

Try directory assistance. When checking through directory assistance, always ask the operator upfront for an address and then the telephone number of the person you are trying to find. If checking in a particular city shows no results, ask the operator to check the surrounding area or the entire area code. List the directory assistance cities contacted and the results. State the results of any attempts by you or others to make contact by telephone.

The Internet has numerous white pages websites. They are not all alike. For a good search, try several different sites with different combinations of a person's name. If a man is remarried, his present wife might have the telephone listed in her name. At www.theultimates.com/white you can access six popular Internet white pages.

If you only have a telephone number for a person, there are two different, reverse searches at www.theultimates.com/white

Canon 1544 of Canon (Church) Law requires authentic documents to be submitted in this process. A certified civil document is an official copy from the government court/agency with its official seal.  The Tribunal Office will accept a photocopy of a certified civil document.

Marriage Application and License

A marriage application and license can generally be found in the County Clerk's Office of the county and state in which the license was obtained.

Some counties will check their records for free while other charge a search fee.

At the Vital Records Information – United States website, you can search by state and county to find the name of the county office, address and telephone to locate documents of death, marriage and divorce. Rather than use the paid service that this website charges, it is much cheaper if you then contact the county office yourself and request the information to obtain the document(s) yourself.

If the marriage and divorce took place in Texas and you need to know the date and the county in which the marriage or divorce took place, you can search for this information at the Texas Department of Health-Bureau of Vital Statistics website or contact the Tribunal for assistance.

The address and telephone number of a county clerk or district clerk in Texas can be found at www.dshs.state.tx.us/vs/field/localremotedistrict.shtm.

Divorce Decree

A divorce decree can generally be found in the District Clerk's Office of the county and state in which the divorce was obtained.

It is required that you submit a certified copy of the complete and final divorce decree signed and dated by the judge with each petition submitted. The divorce decree does not become final until it is signed and dated by the judge. Therefore, the divorce decree that you submit to the Tribunal MUST be signed and dated by the judge. This is the date that should be listed on PART 11 of page 8 of the Formal Church Petition for a Declaration of Nullity. Do NOT use the date that is sometimes at the beginning of the divorce petition. This is the date when the divorce hearing took place and may differ from when the judge actually signed and dated the decree. Be aware that a county and state may issue a final divorce decree that is different from the divorce petition itself. If possible, submit both.

NOTE: If you were married and divorced more than once to the same person, submit a certified copy of all civil marriage licenses and all divorce decrees (signed and dated by the judge).

Obtaining Public Records from Harris County, Texas

General Hours of Operation

County Clerk - Monday - Friday 8:00 A.M. - 4:30 P.M.
District Clerk - Monday - Friday - 8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.

Civil Marriage Application/License

Main Office:
Harris County Clerk's Office
201 Caroline, 4th Floor
Houston, Texas 77002
713-755-6405

Mailing Address:
HARRIS COUNTY CLERK
P.O. BOX 1525
HOUSTON, TEXAS 77251-1525

Fee: $1.00 per page. When ordering by mail, ask for marriage application (1 page) and license (2 pages) for a total fee of $3.00. Include the full name of both the bride and groom, the date or approximate date of marriage, the fee and a self-addressed, stamped return envelope.

This document can also be obtained at one of the Branch offices:

Physical Locations of Branch Offices

Civil Divorce Decree