Marriage records are public records. They are one of the core Public Vital Records along with Death, Birth and Divorce. It is a very well-searched record category and is available to any member of the public free of charge as long as procedures and requirements are complied with.
Free marriage records are an invaluable source of information about people. Some of their contents can be quite private so there may be certain degree of restriction on its accessibility and use. They fall under state jurisdiction and have variations on that count from state to state. The databases among the states are also not linked so marriage records in one state are not likely to show up in a search conducted in another. A complete search would have to cover all the states nationwide that the subject has ever resided in.
When protected information or those deemed as too sensitive or against public interests are lodged in the marriage records, they will be classified as Confidential Marriage Records. They are still Free Marriage Records technically but will be a lot more restrictive in accessibility and use. The bulk of free marriage records fall into the category of Public Marriage Records. The information that is found in them includes the personal particulars of the couple, their parents and witnesses. The name of the officiant of the marriage ceremony is also stated in normal cases.
Free marriage records are used extensively in Genealogy and other historical studies. They are also used to support legal proceedings by lawyers. Journalists make use of free marriage records to gather information about people. Adopted or separated children are also known to use free marriage records to locate their natural parents. The biggest use of all for free marriage records is by people checking out the marital background of a prospective spouse.
There are different possible ways to request free marriage records. Most public offices tasked with this service will accept write-in, walk-in, telephone and faxed requests. Increasingly, the online option is also becoming available. It is possible too to obtain free marriage records from non-government sources but there are usually strings attached. These are mostly commercial information providers and the good thing about them is that on top of government sources, they have the means to also tap into private and proprietary databases. Competition is keen, and that drives up their standards and value for money.
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