Learn How to Find a Massachusetts Marriage Certificate

Records pertaining to the citizens have been maintained dutifully in the State of Massachusetts for a long time. An organized archive of records is maintained which relates to the vital statistics, including marriage in Massachusetts.

Did you ever wonder why Massachusetts marriage certificates might be so important for so many people? Well, these are important documents because they contain all the relevant information about the marriage of two people. These are vital records because they include the date of marriage as well as the place of marriage. Highly esteemed as important historical documents, these records are considered so because sometimes the names of the mothers and fathers are mentioned in them.

Even the people who witnessed the wedding are mentioned and named in these documents. The state and local governments will often have details of their addresses, and perhaps even the maiden or pre-marriage names of the mothers in the marriage certificates. In addition, the marriage record can also mention the name of the person who conducted the ceremony.

Massachusetts marriage certificates can be retrieved in a variety of ways. You may request a marriage certificate on your own. Alternately, you also have the option of hiring a private firm that follows up the process on your behalf. The process is highly simplified and it is completely legal, too.

The fact is, the state and the county offices are legally obligated to maintain and update all marriage records. They are also legally obligated to provide the records to you when you submit a request. Some parties even hire private detectives, mostly in cases where a more recent marriage certificate is requested. This is usually the case if a background check on a prospective spouse is being carried out.

How Massachusetts Marriage Records are Filed

When you are requesting a copy of a marriage license, please make doubly sure that the following data has been furnished by you:

The full name of the husband should be included, with the last name in capital letters. Next, the full name of wife with the last name in caps should be there as well.

The date of marriage has to be provided, and you will also need to mention the place of marriage. The relationship of the married couple to you, or to “the party” needs to be mentioned, as this will validate the request and invest it with legal rights.

Please remember that you have to provide valid reasons as to why the record is needed. It is important to document the requestor's name and the address. Another point to be noted is that the requestor's driver's license number and the state should be specified, since some counties do ask for it.

The value of cross-checking your documentation can never be stressed too strongly. Check whether you have signed the request document. This is important, because if you had not, the application or request will be rejected outright. The requestor's signature is a vital part of the document and must be provided.

Do not forget that the county and the state offices have limited personnel and they are mostly very busy. In contrast to what the general public may perceive, genealogical queries are done as a service, which is not the main work that they carry out.

The office thus expects that you show some patience and display courtesy in your transactions. It is essential to be both patient and courteous when you are applying for or requesting Massachusetts marriage certificates.

Where to Find Massachusetts Marriage Certificates

From 1906 to the present, the vital statistics including records of marriages for Massachusetts have been maintained by the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics in the Department of Public Health.

Every five years, the earliest five years of records maintained at the Registry are transferred to the custody of the State Archives. The last transfer took place in 2006. Any restrictions that may be found in any transferred records are removed after being transferred.

The State Archives stores records from 1841-1905. All records prior to 1841 are with the city or town clerk where the event occurred. IN these offices, copies of records since 1841 are available.

For accessing birth and death records after January 1, 1906, you should contact:

Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Registry of Vital Records & Statistics
470 Atlantic Avenue, 2nd Floor
Boston, MA 02210
Tel: 617-753-8600

For records from 1841 to 1905, you will need to write to:

Massachusetts State Archives
220 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston, MA 02125
Tel: 617-727-4319 Fax: 617-288-4505

If you wish to access prior records, please get in touch with the clerk of the county in question.