Texas Marriage Records Free List Online

By Ben Kingsley


More than seven million marriages have taken place in the state of Texas for the years 1966 to 2008. Texas marriage records exist and can be obtained by the public. The record may contain information about the spouses, date of marriage and place of marriage. It can only be issued after the civil registration of a marriage. The record can be found on the same page as the marriage license with a specific portion to be completed by the officiator of the marriage.

Some people search for the records for various purposes. The usual purpose is for completing genealogical history. You'll be able to find your distant ancestors as long as it is recorded properly. The record can also be used for several legal purposes. It can be used to settle the legitimacy of a child. The record is also part of the documents needed during divorce proceedings to prove that the marriage took place in the first place.

The search for records among millions of records in Texas can be daunting. Especially if you just registered your record and want a copy for yourself. To make things easier, you could go to your local Texas County Clerk. You'll be able to obtain a certified copy of the record that way. You can find information of the nearest County Clerk online or even find addresses and phone numbers via phonebooks.

For records of previous marriages (assuming you've had several or looking up records of your parents or other persons) that took place a long time ago, you'll find the website of the Department of State Health Services Vital Statistics a great help. They offer a free access to obtain records of marriages since 1966. If you're looking for records before that year, you'll have better help if you approach your County Clerk. The records given by the department are not certified. It will only be good for reference or record keeping. To get certified records, you need to go to your local County Clerk again before using them as legal documents.

The downside to searching for records via the department is the large file you'll be getting. You can't do a specific search; instead you'll have to download the records for the whole year. This could take a long time to download especially since a whole year record may have about two hundred thousand or more marriage applications listed. However once you've downloaded the whole record, you'll be able to search for the record you need manually. Records are listed in chronological order so just have the specific date (or approximate month) of marriage ready. The records you get aren't certified yet. You need to download a form and pay the $20 fee and send it to the vital records department.

A better way is to access websites that offer online searches for records. Such websites offer the service for a small sum per year. Their records are up to date which means you'll be able to search for records for marriages occurred a few days ago. Instead of downloading a whole batch of records, you will be able to do specific searches of information found in a marriage license. There are even websites that offer certified records and mail them.




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