Conducting Public Marriage License Records Online

by Charles Burton

Public Marriage Records are an essential resource of public information for future reference and studies. The most common examples of their use are in providing information on family history and genealogy studies, as official documents in legal proceedings such as divorce, identity and inheritance and checking up the marital background of prospective spouse or partner.

It was not easy to get hold of such documents back in the old days because they were pretty much handled manually. People had to go to the local government office and search through piles of folders for them and they were mostly professional investigators or government officials. With the advancement of technology, online marriage records have become a norm and any lay-member of the public can easily access them over the internet.

Marriage records are public information. Along with the other 3 categories, namely divorce, birth and death, they form the principal vital records in most state departments tasked with this public service. The FOIA (Freedom of Information Act, 1966) stipulates the right of any individual to freely retrieve and view this information so long as procedures are followed.

Marriage License Search files typically contain general information such as personal particulars of the couple, their parents and witnesses. The name of the official who solemnized the marriage ceremony is usually stated also. Marriage license records are often the specific information that is being sought. They represent the legitimacy of the marriage in question and are a key document especially in legal proceedings.

In the majority of the states, there will be three copies of the marriage license, one each for the couple, officiant and local government filing. Information on this document is commonly searchable online over the internet but its certified copy is usually recognized only in hard-copy form. There may be some variations on the practice from one state to another as it falls under the jurisdiction of the state.

There are basically 2 ways of going about Marriage Records Search: DIY at government offices or purchasing from commercial record providers. Fees for public resources are typically minimal but there are red tapes and waiting time to contend with. Professional services are expectedly costlier but the value is there especially with the right provider. Unlike state agencies, their databases are linked at state level. That’s a key point in multi-state search.

About the Author:
You don’t have to go all over the place to gather different Marriage License Records one by one. Get these Online Marriage Records all at once plus more!

Published by: Charles Burton on September 28th, 2009 | Filed under Legal



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