Process for Obtaining Marriage Records in Tennessee

Are you searching the Internet for marriage records in Tennessee? You are in luck. These records are indeed now available on the World Wide Web and the good news is, you can even submit a request for them online.

The world has come a long way in just about a decade or so since the Internet evolved. There was a time when you had to write a letter to mention the details about why you wanted the record and then post it. Then you had to depend on the postal system to take your request and deliver it to the appropriate authorities.

It got you the results, yes, but at best it was a slow system. Naturally in most cases, you had to wait for a long time and sometimes it was months before you received any reply.

The Internet has changed everything. Now there are resources on the Web that let you connect with those who have these records. All that you need to do is just click at a few places and you can send your application. Naturally, you receive a reply quickly as well. You are thus able to save a lot of time.

Finding Your Marriage Records in the State Of Tennessee

Each state’s County Clerks often maintain records of local marriages. So, if you want to find out if a person is married or not then you will need to consult the clerk’s office at the county level to get the marriage records.

There are actually quite a few resources on the Internet for each state that will help you to find out if a person is married or not. One thing that you have to keep in mind is that it usually takes around 2 months to upload these records after the marriage on any online resource.

So, if the marriage has taken place recently, then it is perhaps best to send that application offline after all and not depend on the Internet too much. If you need to access a marriage record from earlier, then you can of course depend on online resources.

Also, if you need a copy of the marriage for some legal reason, for example, you have to provide the evidence of marriage to the court or legal authorities, then you will need to request the copy of the marriage certificate. This is in most cases not possible through the Internet.

Why You May be Interested in State Marriage Records

You can easily place a request for public records as this is not confidential government information. So, there are no restrictions in most cases.

Records of courthouse marriages are often good sources of information. Whether you need this information for a lawsuit, to find out more about whom your child is getting married to, just want to ensure that the person whom you are marrying is not already married, or want to know more about a co-worker, marriage records from the courts can give you the information you need.

Certified copies of divorce and marriage records are legally required for a variety of situations, including the intent to remarry. You may simply be looking to replace a lost copy of your own marriage certificate. You may also want to check out the marital background of a prospective spouse, for yourself, a child, sibling or client eager to be married.

Perhaps you are also one of the thousands of people over the decades who have lost track of their genealogy, and want to trace their family tree back through its branches. You can use these records to track a long-lost forefather, or a brother, sister or cousin of your dad’s that you know was married in the state.

These marriage records are therefore pretty substantial and mounting all the time, as are requests for copies of them. There could be any number of reasons why people may want to look at them.

Where Can You Find Your Tennessee Marriage Records?

In the State of Tennessee, vital records have been maintained for a long time. In fact, statewide registration of births and deaths began as early as 1914, and general compliance was achieved by the early 1920s. There were also some earlier attempts than this to keep records of events, but these were fragmented.

Marriages have been recorded at the county level in the State of Tennessee since as early as 1778. It must however be mentioned that the records in many counties are incomplete or missing until as late as the 1850s. You can request a copy of these records at the following address:

Tennessee Vital Records
Central Services Bldg. 1st Floor
421 Fifth Ave. North
Nashville, TN 37247-0450

If for some reason the records you need are not available at the state office, they might be available from the County Clerk in the respective county where the wedding happened. You can get a copy of the marriage certificate from the County Clerk who issued the marriage license.

There is of course a fee that you will need to pay for the records. In many cases this fee is $12.00 for the past 50 years. In some cases, however, the fees may vary.

Why are Marriage Records Such a Good Source of Information for a Person?

In many cases, vital statistics such as marriage records become the primary source of information when you are conducting genealogy research. In these records, you will information not just about the ceremony that took place between two individuals, but also the date of the marriage and place where it happened.

In some cases, you can also come to know about the parents of the people involved (the mother and the father), and the witnesses who were present when the marriage happened. The marriage certificate may also include the name of the person who conducted the ceremony.

There are other sources too, such as newspapers that frequently publish notices of marriages. This might have been the case in the marriage that you are trying to find to learn more about the people involved. Newspaper advertisement insertions are thus also popular in addition to marriage certificates for genealogy research.

So whether you need information about Tennessee marriage records, Tennessee marriage licenses, marriage indexes, marriage announcements, or other related genealogy records, you can find them quite easily.

What to Keep in Mind When You are Requesting Marriage Records in Tennessee

If you need a copy of the marriage records in the State of Tennessee just go ahead and place a request with the correct office. Since the information is recorded and updated by the local and county authorities, you can be sure that what you will receive will be accurate.

You do need to keep a few things in mind when you are doing so.

The State of Tennessee asks you to provide the maximum possible information so that the authorities are able to help you when they are finding the marriage records. This includes the full name of the husband, the maiden name of the wife, marriage date, and county where marriage license was issued. In addition, you need to provide your name and signature, mailing address and daytime phone number.

Do remember that often it might be that two people have the same name and so you must provide as much information as possible.

The authorities are of course very busy and you will need to understand that finding the record for you is not the only thing that they do, though this is their responsibility. So, it makes a lot of sense to try and make their work a little bit easier. This in turn is sure to help you in the end because you will then receive the correct information that you want.