Thursday, February 13, 2014

California Free Marriage Records

By Ben Kingsley


CA marriage records better known as California marriage records are one of the many documents of the state that has been opened to the public. This is in line with the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act. With this, residents of the state have the freedom to access their marriage licenses anytime they have a need for it.

Residents of California request for a copy of their marriage certificate to use for a number of reasons. One of the most common uses is for genealogy research. The document contains information that is necessary for updating the family tree. Government transactions would also call for a copy of this document when a couple request for some processes in a government office. Requests involving the finances and properties of the couple would usually call for such document to proceed. When a married couple decides to separate, they have to present their marriage certificate in order to process the separation.

Back in the old days, there was only little information that can be obtained in a California marriage certificate. One would only know the basics of the marriage like the names of the bride and the groom and the date and place where it took place as well as the names of the witnesses and the officiant. Now, it is a little more complex since it now includes the maiden name of the bride as well as other personal details of the bride and the groom such as their residence address, race, age and occupation during the marriage. Another thing that was added is the name of the couple's parents and their birth place.

The state of California has started to document marriages that took place since the 1850's, but the records that are available for retrieval are only those from July 1905. However, certificates filed from 1987 to 1995 are not indexed by the state so this has to be requested at the county where the couple had their marriage. One has to pay $14 for the processing fee to proceed with the request at the Vital Records Section in the Department of Health. If the request is made at the county, fees may differ. To make a smooth retrieval process, it is recommended to indicate on the request form all possible information that you know about the record being requested. The state office also accepts mail request but it is not the fastest method to get such document.

To make sure that there are no delays in the retrieval process, requesting for a copy of a marriage certificate online improves the search. With the Internet, the search can be done even without going to any offices making it convenient for many. Another good thing about it is that the document can be obtained faster. There is no need to wait for hours, days or even weeks in order to get a copy of the said file.

One can choose to get marriage records free or to pay for the retrieval. Several websites lets first time users to test their system without any charges. This lets the user to see what the system can do and it can let them decide whether to look for another site to obtain the marriage certificate or pay for the next use.




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