Marriage records are available if you want to find out when someone got married or find out if someone got married. Perhaps you are one of the parties, and you need to verify your own marriage date for a legal process or an application for benefits. Maybe you want to find out if an old high school friend has a spouse so that you can deal with that person accordingly at the reunion. You could desire the information so that you can check up on your ex-spouse. You may have a variety of reasons for wanting to obtain those records, and all of those reasons are acceptable. Marriage records are indeed a matter of public record. That means that just about anyone can track down the information about a marriage and when it took place. Here’s a little bit more information about the process:

Checking Marriage Records online

The easiest way to get access to some marriage records online is to find a search tool. You can do this by typing “marriage records” or “free marriage records” into a search engine such as Google, and it will give you a few avenues you can take to get what you need. Choose an avenue, and you will end up on a page that will provide you with a search engine. What you will need to know is the bride or groom’s name and the state or county where you believe that marriage occurred. The system that you use will then search the public records databases for the information that you seek. The system will let you know its findings, and then you can select the appropriate records to request.

Checking Marriage Records by Mail

If you are the husband or the wife on the matter, you can request copies of the marriage certificate by mail. You may also be able to get the information if you are an authorized person. Examples of people who may be authorized to receive copies are parents of the bride or groom, adult children and so on. What you will need to do is inquire about the documents with the Department of Vital Statistics in your area. First, you need to conduct a search to find out the mailing address and the cost. You may have to send copies of identifying documents so that you can prove that you are authorized to get the paperwork. A mail request may take up five to seven days to get back to you depending on the provider.

Checking Marriage Records in Person

If you want to check some marriage records in person, there is a way that you can do that. You can visit the county where the marriage took place and request access to the county computers.You can then search the database to find the information that you need. If you want hard copies of anything, you can ask for it while you are there.

That’s a little bit of information about marriage records. Yes, they are a matter of public record, and you can get the information with a little bit of effort. You can find out if someone got married today if you like and then do as you will with the information.