What Exactly is a Certificate of Marriage

It is officially termed as a document that acts as proof of marriage and is issued to newlyweds. Couples will have to file an application for the certificate if they have to avail it. In most states it is required that both the spouses sign the document. This is followed by the signatures of 2 or more witnesses to the marriage. In almost all states a certificate of marriage is part of a public record.

The process involves an official of the marriage delivering the certificate to the recorder's office. It is then filed and processed. This will typically take a few weeks and usually a couple can receive the Certificate of Marriage only weeks after the ceremony.

The process of availing a marriage certificate differs from place to place. In some locales once the marriage license is signed and filed it acts as a marriage certificate. If you require an additional copy of it you will have to send a request along with the stipulated fee to the recorder's office where the ceremony commenced. This certificate is authenticated with a state seal. Fake marriage certificates are easy to get but will be rejected everywhere.

Rights of a Marriage Certificate
As per the "Universal Declarations of Human rights" men and women who reach the eligible age of marriage can marry and have a family irrespective of the race, religion or nationality that they belong to. It also requires the consent of both parties entering the act of marriage.

Online Marriage License Records
Vital records were hard to obtain till the early 1900s in the United States. Vital records come with the complete name of the Individual, date of the event and the place where the event took place. Marriage records usually involve even the name and birthplaces of the individual's parents also. Essentially it will contain the bride and the groom's full names, the exact date when the marriage took place along with the county name where the ceremony was conducted. To avail a copy of your certificate of marriage you will need to approach the vital statistics office. Applying for a marriage certificate requires that you fulfil the below needs.

o Keep the letter short and explain clearly what you require.

o Keep the lines concise and do not add more information than necessary about your family.

o Print out all the names neatly on your letter. You can also type it out.

o While looking for such documents it is necessary that you specify the complete name of the individuals involved along with the exact date of the event. If you do not know when exactly the event occurred, specify a span of years. The problem with this is that you will have to pay for all the searches spanning the number of years you have mentioned.

o A self addressed stamped envelope is necessary while applying for such records. It is also called an SASE.

o Please keep in mind that the county offices are not entirely responsible for providing such records. They usually provide such services out of the realm of their responsibilities. It is thus advised that you exercise patience while looking for documents as these offices are usually short on staff and flooded with paper work.

o Last but not the least you will have to include the following mentioned information strictly: date of request, full name of husband (last name in caps), full name of wife (maiden name in caps), date of marriage, place of marriage (city or town, county, state), relationship to parties, the purpose for which the record is needed, requestor's name & address, requestor's driver's license number & state (some counties require it), requestor's signature.