Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Illinois Public Marriage Records

By Ben Kingsley


One of the documents that are always being accessed or requested is marriage records. The marriage records of Illinois, also called by many as IL marriage records, are opened to the public. It was after the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act that people started to request for such document regularly.

The residents of the Illinois request it for a number of reasons. One is to use it for research on the family tree. Most of genealogy researchers would refer to this document in order to get information to update the family history records. Another use of the marriage certificate is for dealing with transactions in any government offices. Some requests in government offices would require a copy of a marriage certificate as proof of one's identity and status. Examples of such transactions includes but not limited to insurance and other financial related transactions. Such document is also used in conducting background check. This is the method used by individuals who wants to check the marital status of their partners to avoid problems should they plan to get married later.

One would find a lot of information from a copy of a marriage certificate. The complete names of the couple are indicated on the document together with important details of the marriage such as where and when the marriage took place. Additional information that is included on the document is the names of the witnesses as well as the names of parents of the couple.

The state office in Illinois only releases documents which have been registered since January 1962. A $5 processing fee has to be paid in order for the request to be granted and to proceed with the search. The one who requested the document has to indicate the basic information of the file that is being requested as well as their contact details on the request form. One should also indicate their relation to the name on the file since the document is only given to the bride or the groom and their immediate families. One should give the office 10 business days to process the said request.

The office of the Department of Public Health in Illinois manages the marriage records of the state. However, the office can only help verify the information needed. One may need to go to the county clerk office where the marriage was registered to get certified copies of the said document. Sending a mail order is what the office prefers to prioritize the request. This is because of the number of tasks that the staff is assigned to thus overlooking other important tasks.

The Internet has changed the way we obtain information and it is used by the government of Illinois to deliver marriage records to its people. By searching for the record online, time and energy can be saved since the requests can be done even without leaving home and the results are displayed in just seconds.




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