Learn Where to Find a Maryland Marriage Certificate and How It Is Filed

The collection, maintenance, archiving and retrieval of marriage records have been a vital part of research into the history of families. This is known as genealogical research. Apart from other documents such as birth and death certificates, marriage licenses provide an insight into the past, enabling you to get a glimpse of the lives of your forefathers.

The State of Maryland in the United States has kept a detailed inventory of such records from around the year 1898. The maintenance of records pertaining to the lives of the common citizens is a mark of good governance. This feature in governance enables future generations to depend less on speculation and family stories which contain many errors.

With the government record department opening its archives to the common person, people have been given hard evidence and concrete documentation to base their searches for their roots on. This measure is an example of the motto that every government should work for the “empowerment of people.”

Marriage in Maryland and the records thereof immensely facilitate genealogy researches. Eyewitness records are based on observations made while being physically present at the venue during the wedding ceremony, and these are primary sources of evidence or information. These primary sources have now become easily available at the click of a mouse, since the Internet has eased the arduous process of application and communication for the retrieval of such documents from government authorities.

What Can You Expect to Find In the Marriage Records?

All the details of the individuals who were married are available in these marriage records. Even when and where the marriage took place is included in them. Furthermore, these documents also contain the names of their parents and any witnesses who were present at that time.

The state and the county authorities issue a record of the marriage and this is where you would find the details regarding the place of residence and even the maiden names of the mothers. In some cases, you can even learn about the person who conducted the ceremony.

How Maryland Marriage Certificates Are Filed

County civil marriage records from 1914-1950 (indexes 1914-1930) are located at the Maryland Hall of Records (State Archives).

Here is the address for the State Archives:

Maryland State Archives
Hall of Records Building
350 Rowe Blvd.
Annapolis, MD 21401
Tel: 800-235-4045 (MD toll free) or 410-974-3914 Fax: 410-974-3895

Maryland births from April 1898 with

City of Baltimore

births from January 1875, Maryland deaths occurring less than twenty years ago and Maryland marriages from June 1951 are also available from the Division of Vital Records.

Earlier marriages, usually from the 1770s to 1919, are either with the clerk of the circuit court where the license was issued or at the Maryland State Archives. Some records are at both locations.

State of Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene
Division of Vital Records
Metro Executive Building
4201 Patterson Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21215-0020
Tel: 410-225-5988 800-832-3277

How to Obtain a Copy of the Maryland Marriage Certificate

You should know that the state and the county offices are legally bound to maintain the records and when you place a request for a copy, they are legally bound to provide it to you. So when you place that request, you can legally obtain it.

Adhering to a few simple guidelines will however greatly facilitate your search for records. Remember that you must be specific when furnishing the details and please do not mention multiple requests at one time which will only complicate matters. A mandatory guideline is to provide complete information on every individual to the best of your knowledge. Nicknames, alternative spellings of names and other such variants of the official name need to be furnished.

Also do ensure that all the relevant dates mentioned in your request letter are complete and accurate. In case you are not aware of the exact date, please mention the span of years you would like to search. Also remember that you will need to make a payment for this service – the payment will obviously be more if the span of years is larger. Never forget to provide a S.A.S.E. or in other words, a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope when you are sending over the request.

An application for a copy of a marriage certificate should always be accompanied by the following information:

Please provide the full name of the husband with the last name in capital letters. Please also mention the full name of the wife where the last name would be again in capital letters. The date of marriage is possibly the single most vital part of the information expected of you, and if you fail to mention this information your request may be rejected.

Also required to be included are the place of marriage, your relationship to the couple, and the reason for obtaining the marriage record. Your name, address and driver’s license number should be dutifully enclosed as this is needed in some counties. Lastly, do remember that you must sign the request letter before sending it over.

Be prepared to be patient in following through with the process of retrieval of marriage certificates. It does indeed pay when you are trying to access marriage records.

If you are not sure of the exact number of pages in a deed, or the exact cost of a document, please do not send a specific amount of money. It is right to only send a signed, blank check, with a notation written (preferably in red ink) UNDER the "$__________" line of the check which states, "Not to exceed $5.00," or any amount you wish to specify.

When you approach the right authority and make no errors in the request, you will surely receive the information that you want.

Did you know that you can now also send over your request through the Internet? This is a great search option because it is a lot less of a hassle and it also saves you a lot of time.