Divorce – decrees nisi

A decree nisi is the first stage in finalising a divorce. It is a conditional court order confirming that the court accepts the grounds for divorce and that all legal requirements have been met.

The divorce is not finalised until six months after the decree nisi is issued, at which time a decree absolute will be granted unless there are objections or further proceedings. The decree nisi consists of a cover page and the decree itself. The records include the names of the parties, date of hearing, grounds for the dissolution of marriage, court orders, suit numbers, and the dates of the decree nisi, order and decree absolute.

Where to find decree nisi

Most decree nisi documents are included in the divorce case files in NRS-13495. However, there is a brief period during which these documents are kept separate from the main divorce case papers and are organised into their own series, NRS-13498. The majority of the decrees nisi in this series date from 1970 to 1976, with a few from the 1960s. These documents are cataloged and can be searched by the name of one of the parties involved. The items include the divorce number and are useful for accessing divorce case papers in the period 1972–75, which are on microfilm and are not listed by name.