Divorce /Deemed Service and D440 form

[Welcomenovember]

As part of my divorce application, I have been asked (in the attached Court order) to obtain a "Certificate of Search from the Central Family Court Index of Decrees Absolute between the years 2017 to date".
This follows on from me being unable to trace my estranged husband (abroad). My efforts to contact his friends have been in vain. No response from them.
So, have completed the D440 form to apply for the certificate of search.
If I resubmit my application for deemed service when I receive the certificate, would this likely be accepted by the court?
Orginally the court rejected my application for deemed service because I hadn't tried to trace him due to personal safety concerns.

The certificate of search will simply tell you whether you are already divorced. This has nothing to do with deemed service.

Unless you come up with a way of notifying him of the divorce I can't see a judge letting it go ahead. You can't divorce him without his knowledge.

If you can prove you have tried and failed to get contact details for your husband you can apply for service to be dispensed. But it would be easier if you can get hold of him on social media or his email address. So yes in some very rare cases you can get divorce without your spouse knowing.

There is no such application (to dispense with service). The Family Procedure Rules govern service - Part 6 in particular. Look at para 6.13 and then para 6.19. 6.13 says what to do if the respondent gives no address to be served at and 6.19 says how to apply for an order authorising an alternative method of service. There must be something concrete offered by you for how the proceedings can be brought to the respondent's attention.

www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/family/parts/part_06?redirected

All I know that I was granted permission to dispense with service and to proceed from there. Might be worth googling the difference between deemed service and dispensed service. Deemed service seems to be appropriate when you know the location of the person and not getting response, whereas the dispensed service is the last resort when you really can’t find them

6.36 Power to dispense with service