Marriage Records & Licenses

A marriage record or marriage certificate belongs in the category of vital records, kept by the government for civil registration purposes to protect each individual's legal rights.

When exploring the complex web of family history, marriage records can be a beacon of light to help illuminate past lives. These documents often record the date of birth, age, location of birth and the names of the parents of the parties who were married.

Official and Indexed Marriage Records

Official Marriage Records:

While each state has its own requirements for accessing official marriage records, you can typically pay a fee ranging from $12 to $20 and obtain this information through the state's Department of Health and Vital Records. To easily find your specific state's department, utilize the CDC's search page for helpful links on how to obtain marriage records from each department. If you have no luck at the state level, try contacting the county clerk in the location where the individuals were married.

Indexed Marriage Records:

Indexed marriage records can be researched through different websites. Some of these websites offer free records, but the accuracy of this information is questionable. To obtain accurate marriage records, utilize authoritative websites, such as Archives.com and VitalChek.com. While these websites may require a fee, the exact information you receive can be critical for your research.

A Robust Family History is Painted with Marriage Records

Marriage records can truly help the researcher paint a more detailed picture of his or her family tree. As one of the few vital records that demonstrate how different families are joined together, marriage records can be utilized as the starting point to exploring the true history behind every ancestor. Considering that four parents are typically included on every marriage record, this one piece of information can shed tremendous light on the overall composition of ancestors past.

Helpful Tip

Officials tend to be more relaxed in providing access to marriage records, and subsequently, your search for these documents can often be easier than seeking other types of vital records. Marriage records can offer you a fantastic opportunity to find out other information about your relatives. Often, you can use the names and geographical information to lead you to newspaper articles that include wedding announcements. Such announcements might shed light on historical events and characteristics you did not know about your predecessors and lead your research in another direction.