Online Database For Free Marriage Records Search

By Claire Dowell


If you are looking for Marriage Records New York, you can look them up at the New York State Department of Health under their Vital Records Unit. You can also look them up at the official website of the New York Marriage Bureau. If you cannot find the record you are looking for at either office, inquire at the clerk of Superior Court where the marriage was made official.

The records are made available to the public because they are deemed as part of the public domain. However, they are not just given to anybody because they are also considered as private records. This means that only the bride, groom, their lawyers, or anybody that has the proper authorization to get the records are given access. One situation where you can view the records of another person is when you want to check the marital status of a future spouse.

To initiate a search, you need to secure the correct request form and complete it with the necessary details. You can get a request form at the state Department of Health or at a particular clerk of Superior Court. It is vital that you provide the following information when placing a request: the full name of the groom, maiden name of the bride, when they were born, where they live, date and place of marriage, a statement why you want to acquire a certain file and your relationship to either of the couple. You also have to prove your identity upon submitting your request. Be sure to review all the details that you provide because they are critical to the outcome of the search. Furthermore, if your reason for requesting a document is not in par with the standards of the document's caretaker, chances are you will not be granted access.

Each certified copy of a marriage record costs $30 and $15 for extra copies. If you send your request via phone or Internet, it will take 5-7 business days to complete the search process. If you send it via mail, the process takes at least 2 weeks and can take as long as 8 weeks. If you want to get the records sooner, you can opt for a rush handling for $45 per copy. All fees are non-refundable once paid, regardless of the outcome of the search.

Another way to acquire marriage documents is through websites that have the consent of the court to maintain and provide them to the public. There are several of such websites but, sadly, not all of them are reliable sources. It is ideal that you check their background first before deciding on which website you will do your search on.

These websites are either fee-based or it allows a Free Marriage Records Search. Regardless of which you kind you choose, you will gain access to the basics of a marriage document. The separation between these two types of websites lie in the amount of information they can provide. Fee-based websites can get you access to a lot of information, even those that are deemed confidential.




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