What is an address confidentiality program for divorce filers?

Last updated 2026-07-11

What is an address confidentiality program, and who runs it?

An address confidentiality program, almost always shortened to ACP, is a state-run service that gives survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking a substitute mailing address. Mail sent to that address gets forwarded to your real location, and the state never discloses where you actually live.

Each state runs its own program. Most sit inside the Secretary of State's office or a dedicated victim-services agency. California's program is run by the Secretary of State's Safe at Home division ^[1]. Washington State's program is also called Safe at Home, administered through the Office of the Secretary of State ^[2]. The names change from state to state. The mechanics barely do.

The substitute address is usually a P.O. box assigned just to you, formatted to read like a street address so it works anywhere a plain P.O. box might get rejected. That formatting matters a lot in divorce cases, because court clerks often demand a street-format address on petitions and service documents.

Why does your address end up in divorce records in the first place?

Divorce petitions, responses, financial disclosures, and parenting plans get filed in civil court, and in most states they become public record. divorce papers almost always require at least one party's address on the face of the petition. Service of process, the step where your spouse gets formally notified of the divorce, traditionally means knowing where someone lives.

For most people that's a bureaucratic footnote. For someone leaving an abusive spouse, it's a safety problem. Your spouse can pull the petition at the courthouse or on a court's online docket and read your address right off it. ACPs close that gap by putting the state's substitute address everywhere in the court file instead.

Some states reach further. California's Safe at Home lets participants use the substitute address on "voter registration, driver's license, and other government documents" as well as court filings ^[1]. Your address then stays hidden across every state system, more than divorce court.

Which states have address confidentiality programs?

All 50 states and the District of Columbia have enacted some form of address confidentiality legislation as of 2025 ^[3]. That's a long way from 1991, when Washington State built the first one.

The programs vary in scope. Most cover survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Many now include human trafficking victims, and some cover people who've received serious credible threats. Several let minor children enroll on a parent's certificate. A few extend coverage to certain law-enforcement or judicial workers.

Here's a look at a handful of state programs:

State	Program Name	Administering Agency	Eligible Populations
California	Safe at Home	Secretary of State	DV, SA, stalking, trafficking, reproductive healthcare workers
Washington	Safe at Home	Secretary of State	DV, SA, stalking, trafficking
Texas	Address Confidentiality Program	Office of the Attorney General	DV, SA, stalking, trafficking
New York	Address Confidentiality Program	Department of State	DV, SA, stalking
Florida	Address Confidentiality Program	Office of the Attorney General	DV, SA, stalking, trafficking

The National Network to End Domestic Violence keeps a 50-state legislative tracker if you need to find your own state's statute ^[3]. Florida runs its program through the Office of the Attorney General ^[9]; New York runs its through the Department of State ^[10].

How do you enroll in an ACP before or during your divorce?

You can't enroll by walking into the Secretary of State's office. Every state routes applicants through a trained application assistant, almost always a domestic violence shelter, rape crisis center, or victim services agency near you. The assistant certifies that you qualify and helps you finish the paperwork.

The steps look like this in most states:

1. Contact your local domestic violence shelter or victim services organization. The National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233) can connect you to a local program. 2. Meet with a certified application assistant. They review your situation, confirm eligibility, and help fill out the state enrollment form. 3. The application goes to the state agency. Processing runs from same-day in emergencies to two or three weeks in normal cases. 4. You get a certification card and your substitute address. Keep the card. You need it every time you use the address with a new agency or court.

Enrollment is free in every state that has a program ^[3]. Certificates usually run four years and renew.

One practical note. If you're already mid-divorce when you enroll, file a motion to substitute the ACP address for your real address in the existing case file. Courts routinely grant these. Bring your certification card and ask the clerk for the specific motion form your county uses.

How does an ACP address work when you file divorce papers?

Once you have your ACP certification, you put the substitute address on every part of your filing: the petition, the summons, your financial disclosure, any parenting plan. The court processes it the same way it processes any other address, because it reads like a real street address.

The state program office forwards whatever mail arrives. Your spouse's attorney sends a discovery request to the address on file, it lands at the state forwarding service, and the service ships it to your actual location. You respond without revealing where you are.

Service of process runs on a parallel track. Most states with ACPs have built-in procedures for getting your spouse served without exposing your address. In some states, the program office itself acts as an authorized agent for service. In others, you arrange personal service through a neutral third party like a sheriff or process server who knows your real address but isn't required to disclose it in public documents.

An uncontested divorce, where both spouses agree on all the terms, makes this easier. You're not fighting a hostile opposing party trying to track you through discovery. An uncontested case with ACP participation is genuinely manageable as a self-filed case. The divorce papers still have to list your ACP address consistently, but the paperwork itself is no different from any other uncontested filing.

Does an ACP protect your address from your spouse's lawyer too?

Yes, with limits. Your real address never appears in any public document, so your spouse's attorney sees only the substitute address.

The harder question is what happens if your spouse files discovery asking directly for your home address. This is where case-specific legal help earns its cost, even if you handle everything else yourself. Most states have statutory language exempting ACP participants from disclosing their address in discovery. California's statute says a participant's address "shall be confidential" and that no government agency shall disclose it ^[1]. Courts have generally read that to cover civil discovery, though the details turn on the facts of your case.

If your spouse is represented and pushing hard to find you, talk to a divorce lawyer or your local legal aid office, even for one consultation. You don't have to hire someone full-time to get a real opinion on how your state's ACP statute handles your specific discovery fight.

If you have a protective order, that order may separately bar your spouse from seeking your location through any means. That's a second layer on top of the ACP.

Can an ACP affect child custody and parenting plan documents?

This is the most legally tangled piece, and it's where people trip.

A parenting plan usually lists both parents' contact information and, in many states, their residential addresses. Most state ACP statutes address this and let the substitute address stand in for a participant's residential address in custody orders ^[4]. But courts sometimes want a confidential real address on file with the judge, even when it never shows up in the public order.

Child support is separate. Your state's child support agency needs to reach you, and the ACP forwarding service handles that. If you run numbers through a child support calculator during the divorce, the math doesn't touch your address at all. It runs on incomes and the custody schedule.

One real complication. If you share physical custody and the child moves between two homes, your spouse will know at some point where the child is. Courts weigh the ACP's protections against the other parent's right to know where their child lives. Most resolve it by keeping the address out of the public record while requiring limited disclosure to the court and to a guardian ad litem, if one is appointed.

If custody is contested and you have safety concerns, a divorce attorney who handles domestic violence cases is worth a consult before you finalize your parenting plan language. Getting it right the first time matters here.

What are the limits of an address confidentiality program?

ACPs are strong, but they aren't a full safety plan by themselves. Here's what they don't do.

They don't hide your identity, only your address. Your name still appears on divorce filings.

They don't stop someone from finding you through other channels: social media, your employer's records, mutual friends who talk. Your digital and physical security plan has to run alongside the ACP.

They don't scrub existing public records. If your address showed up in an older court filing before you enrolled, that record may still exist. You'd file a separate motion to seal or redact those earlier documents, and courts have discretion on whether to grant it.

They don't last forever without renewal. Most certificates expire after four years. If your divorce is still pending or on appeal when yours expires, renew before it lapses.

They don't bind every private entity. Your certificate works with government agencies. Some private ones, like banks or employers, may not be legally required to honor it, though many do voluntarily. Your application assistant can tell you exactly which entities your state's statute covers.

And they don't replace a safety plan built with an advocate. The National Domestic Violence Hotline site at thehotline.org has safety planning resources that reach well past the legal record ^[5].

How does an ACP interact with the rest of your divorce paperwork?

Once you have the certification card, you use the substitute address consistently and flag your ACP status wherever the court's forms allow it. That's the whole job.

Many state court self-help centers publish specific instructions for ACP participants. California's Judicial Council publishes form DV-170 (Confidential Address), which participants attach to family law filings to formally assert ACP status with the court ^[6]. Your state almost certainly has an equivalent.

Handling your own uncontested divorce paperwork is very doable when both spouses agree on the terms. Your main job is consistency. The substitute address goes on every document you file, every form you send to a government agency, every financial disclosure. Slip your real address onto even one document and that document becomes a public record with your location on it.

DivorceClear's $149 document packet covers the core forms for an uncontested divorce and keeps self-filers in control of the paperwork from start to finish. With any document service, confirm the process lets you enter your ACP address in every address field. Any system that auto-fills from a prior entry has to pull the substitute address, never a real one.

Filing fees are separate from ACP enrollment. Most states charge $100 to $400 to file a divorce petition, and domestic violence survivors in many states can apply for a fee waiver. California offers fee waivers via form FW-001 for low-income filers, and domestic violence victims frequently qualify ^[7].

What happens to your ACP address after the divorce is final?

Your certificate doesn't expire when your divorce does. The four-year term runs on its own clock, so you keep the substitute address for mail forwarding and public records until you decide not to renew.

The final decree, called a judgment of dissolution in many states, lists your ACP address, not your real one. That's the permanent public record of the case. Your real address never has to appear on it.

Move to another state and you'll have to re-enroll. ACPs are state-specific, so your California certificate doesn't follow you to Oregon. You apply fresh with Oregon's program. Most states coordinate and accept prior-state documentation to speed things along, but you formally get a new certificate.

For ongoing matters like spousal support, see how alimony orders get enforced. Enforcement runs through the court and your state's family support enforcement agency, both of which reach you through your ACP forwarding address without exposing your real location to your ex.

How do you find your state's specific ACP program?

The fastest reliable route is your state's Secretary of State or Attorney General website. Search the agency name plus "address confidentiality program." Most program pages list local application assistants right there.

Not sure which agency runs your state's program? The WomensLaw.org state-by-state directory is a well-maintained secondary source that links straight to each state's program page ^[8].

Your local domestic violence shelter almost always has a staffer who's a certified ACP application assistant. If you don't know your local shelter, the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 runs 24/7 and can hand you a referral.

State court self-help centers are the other place to go, specifically for the filing piece. Most courthouses have one, staffed by a neutral facilitator (not your lawyer, but a court employee trained to help self-represented filers) who can explain how ACP filings work in that county. The California Courts self-help page has dedicated guidance on domestic violence and family law that covers ACP use ^[6].

You don't have to figure this out alone. The help exists, it's free, and it's staffed by people who handle exactly this every week.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a protective order to enroll in an ACP?

No. A protective order isn't required for ACP enrollment in any state. You have to show you're a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking, but the certification comes from your application assistant at a victim services agency, not from a court order. Many people enroll before they have any court involvement at all.

Can my spouse find out I have an ACP certificate?

The existence of a state ACP program is public knowledge. Your enrollment in it is not. States keep participant lists confidential. Your spouse's attorney will see an address on your filings that looks unusual or reads like a government P.O. box, and they may guess you're using an ACP, but they can't confirm your enrollment or pull your real address through the program itself.

Will the court reject my filing if I use an ACP address instead of a real one?

Courts in states with ACP programs are required to accept the substitute address. Bring your certification card to the clerk's window and cite your state's ACP statute if there's any confusion. Clerks in high-volume family law courts usually know the process. If a clerk pushes back, ask to speak with the court's self-help center facilitator, who will know the correct procedure.

How long does ACP enrollment take?

Processing runs from same-day in emergencies to two or three weeks in standard cases. Your application assistant submits the form to the state agency after your meeting. If your divorce filing is imminent, tell your application assistant and the state agency, because most programs have an expedited path for active safety concerns or pending court deadlines.

Does ACP cover my children's address in custody documents?

Most state ACP statutes let children enroll on a parent's certificate, and the substitute address can appear in parenting plan documents instead of your real home address. The court may keep a confidential real address on file with the judge but out of the public record. Check your state's ACP statute, and if custody is contested, get at least a consult with a family law attorney who handles domestic violence cases.

Can I file for divorce myself while enrolled in an ACP?

Yes. ACP enrollment doesn't require an attorney and doesn't add legal complexity to a genuinely uncontested divorce. The paperwork process is the same. You just use your substitute address consistently on every form. The more contested and litigated your divorce gets, the more useful an attorney becomes, but the ACP itself doesn't change that math.

What if my real address was already disclosed in an earlier filing before I enrolled in ACP?

File a motion to seal or redact the prior filings. Courts have discretion to grant these, and most family law courts will do so for documented domestic violence or safety concerns. Bring your ACP certification and any supporting documentation, like a police report or protective order, when you file. Your local court self-help center can hand you the specific motion form.

Does an ACP address work with federal agencies like the SSA or IRS?

Federal agencies aren't automatically bound by state ACP statutes. The Social Security Administration and IRS have their own confidentiality procedures separate from state programs. Many federal agencies will accept your ACP address for correspondence, but they may require your real address in their own confidential records. Contact each federal agency directly to ask how they handle ACP participants.

Is there any cost to enroll in an address confidentiality program?

Enrollment is free in every state that has an ACP. No fee to apply, to get your certification card, or to renew after four years. The mail forwarding service is free too. The only costs you might hit are incidental, like transportation to meet your application assistant, which victim services organizations sometimes help cover.

What happens if my ACP certificate expires while my divorce case is still open?

Your address protections lapse when the certificate expires. Renew before expiration, not after. Most state programs send renewal notices roughly 90 days out. If a notice gets missed and your certificate lapses, contact the program immediately to re-enroll rather than filing any court document with your real address in the gap.

Can I use an ACP address on my divorce financial disclosure forms?

Yes. Financial disclosures in divorce list assets, debts, and income, and they require an address, so you use your ACP substitute address there. Your financial information itself has to be complete and accurate, but the address field takes the substitute address without issue in states with ACP statutes.

Do all 50 states have an address confidentiality program?

Yes. As of 2025, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have enacted address confidentiality legislation, though the programs differ in which populations they cover and how the mail forwarding works. The National Network to End Domestic Violence tracks the legislation across all states. If you've recently moved, re-enroll in your new state, because certificates are state-specific.

Can my spouse's lawyer serve me with divorce papers at my ACP address?

Yes, and that's the whole point. Your spouse or their attorney directs service to your ACP substitute address, and the state forwarding service gets it to you. You receive everything you legally have to receive without your real location being exposed. Some states let the ACP program office accept service on your behalf as an authorized agent, which is worth confirming with your program when you enroll.

Sources

1. California Secretary of State, Safe at Home Program: California's Safe at Home program is run by the Secretary of State and lets participants use a substitute address on voter registration, driver's license, and other government documents as well as court filings; a participant's address shall be confidential and no government agency shall disclose it.
2. Washington Office of the Secretary of State, Address Confidentiality Program (Safe at Home): Washington's Safe at Home program is administered by the Office of the Secretary of State and provides a substitute address to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and trafficking.
3. National Network to End Domestic Violence, Address Confidentiality Programs: As of 2025, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have enacted some form of address confidentiality legislation; enrollment is free in every state program.
4. Texas Office of the Attorney General, Address Confidentiality Program: Texas ACP statutes allow the substitute address to appear in custody and parenting plan documents instead of a participant's real residential address.
5. National Domestic Violence Hotline, Safety Planning Resources: The National Domestic Violence Hotline provides safety planning resources and 24/7 referrals to local programs including ACP application assistants.
6. California Courts Self-Help Center, Domestic Violence and Family Law: California's Judicial Council publishes form DV-170 (Confidential Address) for ACP participants to attach to family law filings to formally assert ACP status; the self-help center provides guidance on ACP use in divorce cases.
7. California Courts, Fee Waiver Form FW-001: California offers filing fee waivers via form FW-001 for low-income filers; domestic violence survivors frequently qualify.
8. WomensLaw.org, Address Confidentiality Programs by State: WomensLaw.org maintains a state-by-state directory linking directly to each state's address confidentiality program page.
9. Florida Office of the Attorney General, Address Confidentiality Program: Florida's ACP is administered by the Office of the Attorney General and covers survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking.
10. New York Department of State, Address Confidentiality Program: New York's Address Confidentiality Program is administered by the Department of State and covers domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking survivors.