Florida Marriage Records Open To The Public

By Claire Dowell


Marriage in Florida or any state needs to be documented. This is in the form of a marriage records kept by the office of the Vital Statistics in the Department of Health. Because Florida is an open state, residents can freely request for the document when they need it.

The state of Florida has implemented the Freedom of Information Act which allows the residents to access their personal records without difficulty. One of the documents that have been opened to the public is marriage certificates. Such document is used for a number of reasons. It is one of the resources used when conducting a genealogy research. It has information necessary in updating the family records. Some government transactions may call for a copy of a marriage certificate especially if the requests involve the couple's finances. It is used as proof of one's marital status. Checking out the marital status of an individual during a background check can use the help of a marriage certificate; this is usually done by people who want to make sure that the person they are dating is telling them the truth about their status.

Back in the old days when the documentation of events is not that strict, a marriage certificate would contain only the complete names of the bride and the groom as well as information about when and where the marriage took place. Now that documentation has a standard process to follow, the marriage certificate would show the bride's maiden name. The document would also detail the couple's personal information such as their birth details, job and place of origin. One would know the names of the parents and the witnesses.

Requesting for a copy of the marriage certificate in the state of Florida can be done by personally visiting the office of the Department of Health at the Vital Statistics Section. A $5 processing fee has to be paid in order to conduct the search. Only marriages that have been registered since June 6, 1927 can be obtained from the state office. A request form has to be filled out with the basic details of the file that is being requested as well as the contact details of the one who filed the request.

Records before the given year have to be obtained at the county clerk office. Fees may not be the same for each county but all of the requirements of the state are basically the same. Another way to obtain it is by sending a mail request to the state office. But it may take several days before the requested file can be obtained. The fastest method is to request it through the Internet.

Marital records in Florida are now available online. This means that there is no need to go to any office just to file the request since it can be done even without leaving your home. The record can also be obtained in just seconds. This is the reason why the residents of Florida prefer to do the search online.




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