Online Public Marriage Records Search Guide

By Claire Dowell


The Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics is the office in-charge of safeguarding Massachusetts Marriage Records. The office started to safeguard the documents in 1916. An individual can place a request at the registry or at the county where the marriage was finalized. Once every five years, the documents from the first five years of the state registry's list are transferred to the State Archives for better safekeeping.

Marriage files are considered as public files, thus, giving the citizens the right to acquire them. But despite their availability to the public, there are limitations in terms of how they are disseminated because the privacy of the files' owners must be put to consideration. The bride, groom, their respective lawyers, any other entity with consent from the court are allowed to acquire an entire marriage file. Other parties which are not mentioned must explain why he or she wants to acquire the file. If the explanation is acknowledged, the basic details of the file such as the full names of the bride and the groom, when and where their marriage occurred, names of witnesses, and others will be revealed to the requestor. To check the marital history of a partner you intend to marry is considered a valid reason explanation to acquire the file.

In a legal proceeding, only marriage records are accepted by a judge to support the validity of a marriage. If the marriage takes a downfall and the couple decides to end it, they need to provide a copy of their marriage record when they file for a divorce. If there is no record of any marriage between them, then filing for a divorce is no longer necessary.

Before you commence a search, make sure that you are knowledgeable of the name of either the husband or the wife. If their names are too common, add more related information to increase the likelihood of locating the right documents. Also prepare a government-issued ID along with your personal contact details. Placing your request at a particular county is also allowed. Fees may vary depending on which county. Regardless of where you placed you request, whether at the state registry or at a particular county, the fees that you paid will not be returned to you even if the requested documents are not located.

You can also get the records from websites that are not owned by the government but have the authority to maintain and provide marriage records to the public. The Internet hosts a number of websites that cater to such business. However, not all are capable of providing you with reliable information. To assess the reliability of the website, you can check its history. Find out what other clients are saying about their services and the kind of information that they have been provided.

There are two types of service providers: those that render fees and those that supply you information for free. The former can give you a comprehensive set of information while the latter can give you Free Public Marriage Records which contains the basics of a file.




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