Free Marriage Records Online Search Tips

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 court trial, a presiding judge will only accept an official marriage file to support any argument regarding a marriage. If a marriage does not work out and eventually leads to the couple mutually agreeing to have a divorce, an official marriage file should be presented during the application for a divorce. If the marriage file is unofficial, filing for a divorce is not needed anymore.

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.

There are search tools that you can find online, which have the approval of the court, that specializes in storing and providing marriage documents to the public. There are many search tools out there but not all have the capacity to provide you with valuable information. To gauge the reliability of a search tool, check their backgrounds first by looking at what other people think of their service.

These search tools will either charge you with a fee or give it to you for free. If it charges you with a fee, expect that you will get a lot of important information. If it gives you Free Public Marriage Records, the basic details will be given to you.




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