Finding yourself in need of a certified copy of your marriage license, you may wonder how you obtain such a document. The fact is that the process for obtaining a certified copy of your marriage license is uncomplicated and similar in all jurisdictions in the United States, according to the American Bar Association Section of Family Law. The process begins by contacting the county court clerk that issued the license in the first place or the state bureau or division of vital statistics. In most states, these two agencies maintain marriage license information and have the capacity to issue a certified marriage license.
Step 1
Contact the court clerk's office in the county where the marriage license was issued. In the alternative, contact the bureau or division of vital statistics in the state where the marriage licensed was issued. If you go to the brick and mortar world office of the agency in person, you likely can obtain the certified copy of the marriage license while you wait. Most agencies permit you to order them online as well.
Step 2
Request a certified copy of the marriage license in question. You need to provide the name of the couple. If you possess the date the license was issued, the process of finding it may speed up.
Step 3
Pay the required fee. The cost to obtain a certified copy of a marriage license varies from one location to another. The fee likely includes a flat fee for the certification itself but a duplication charge for each page. Normally, a marriage license is a one-page document. The certification fee can range from approximately $5 to $20, depending on the jurisdiction, according to FindLaw.
