Learn How to Find a Michigan Marriage Certificate and How It Is Filed

The State of Michigan has been a shining example of good administration in the United States of America. Many modern systems of good governance have their roots in this sunshine state. Keeping of all records concerning the vital statistics including marriage details were put into effect in the year 1867.

Marriage records are a great reservoir that contains all the details on the individuals who were married. The details regarding when and where the marriage took place are mentioned here. Other than this, these records also contain the names of the parents of the bride and the groom. The names of the witnesses who were present at the wedding are also often mentioned in the record. Plus, in the copy of the marriage certificate that you receive, you might also have the place of residence and even the maiden names of the mothers. Thus, these documents can indeed reveal a lot of information about the people who were married.

Why You May Need a Copy of the Marriage Certificate

Marriage certificates are a great help in carrying out genealogy research, which gives you many clues to the past of your extended family. This can actually be the primary information source, particularly when you are trying to map your family tree. Perhaps you are trying to locate a long-lost great-grandfather, an uncle or aunt. The marriage certificate can help you in Michigan when you know that the person traveled there, settled down and married.

Marriage certificates are also often wanted by all those who are getting married themselves and just want to do some checking about the background of the would-be spouse. Or, perhaps your child is getting married and as a parent you are concerned. Marriage records can confirm or deny what you think you may already know.

How Michigan Marriage Records are Filed

Since 1867, vital statistics including marriage certificates have been registered on a state level. You may find records of marriages prior to that time at the county level. If you want to access the records for marriages after April 1867, please get in touch with:

Michigan Department of Public Health
Vital Records Section
3423 North Logan Street
P.O. Box 30035
Lansing, MI 48914

If you want to access prior records, please contact the clerk of the county in question.

How to Obtain Copies of Michigan Marriage Records

Your search for marriage certificates will be greatly facilitated if you follow a few simple guidelines which are enumerated below. Do remember that you will need to provide specific details. Please ensure that you do not make multiple requests at one time, which will only complicate matters without any reason.

Note that it is a mandatory stricture to provide complete information on every individual.  Make sure to plug the loopholes by providing all possible nicknames, alternative spellings of names, etc.

Relevant data which is both complete and accurate needs to be provided while mentioning all the dates. It just might be the case that you are not aware of the exact date. In such a case, please mention the span of years you would like to search.

You must understand that you have to make a payment for this service. So try to keep the span of years narrow because the bigger it is, the higher the fees. When you are placing your request, you will also need to enclose a S.A.S.E., or Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope.

When you apply for a copy of a marriage license, it is important to provide the following information:

Provide the full name of the husband and the last name in capital letters. Also mention the full name of the wife where the last name should be again in capital letters.

Please mention the date of marriage very carefully to avoid any confusion. The place of marriage, relationship of the requestor to the married couple and the reason for obtaining the records are the other mandatory things that you will have to mention. The name, address and driver’s license number of the requestor needs to be given as well. This is required to be furnished by many offices.

Patience must be the cornerstone of your efforts when you are trying to access old marriage MI records. In case you are unsure of the exact number of pages in a deed, or the exact cost of a document, desist from sending in a specific amount of money.

Please send only 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 denomination you wish to specify.

The state and the counties are legally obliged to maintain these records. When you place your request for a copy, they are also legally obliged to share it with you. So just go ahead and place the request at the right place, submit an accurate application and you can surely receive the information you want quickly. You can also place your request on the Internet to save time.