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

Mississippi is the land of the Great River, and great events in American history took place there that shaped the nation. The population that witnessed the making of history and settled in Mississippi are themselves important parts in the interconnected machine that makes up America's history.

However, the State of Mississippi has not been exactly exemplary when it comes to maintaining records. All records pertaining to the population were maintained only from 1912 to facilitate matters for later generations, including Mississippi marriage certificates.

Why a Marriage Certificate Is Important

Marriage records are a great source of information about the names and family details of two people who get married, as well as the place and date of their marriage. These documents also mention the witnesses to that marriage. The certificates issued by the state and the county are so factual that they contain the addresses of both parties and the maiden names of mothers of both the bride and groom.

Marriage records help a great deal in carrying out genealogy research. These certificates can be your primary source of information when you are trying to locate a long-lost person from your family. Perhaps you knew of a great-grandfather or an uncle or aunt who came to Mississippi and settled down there, and perhaps even married. A copy of the marriage record can reveal a lot of viable information.

Old issues of newspapers provide good sources of information as well. A great archive to retrieve information from is the marriage notices that are published on newspapers.

A few clicks of the mouse can help you in a search for marriage records for a specific state. Of course, you can also directly approach the state or county authorities for this.

How a Mississippi Marriage Certificate Is Filed

In 1912, the State of Mississippi began recording its vital statistics including records of marriages. The Bureau of Vital Statistics assembled an extensive collection of church records, and created delayed birth certificates for people who did not have an official record at birth by using this resource.

Searches of these records are conducted by the ureau on requests. The request must however follow some set official procedures.

Where to Find a Mississippi Marriage Certificate

Until November 1st, 1912, the State of Mississippi was not required to keep a record of vital statistics by law. The Bureau of Vital Statistics has kept these records since that time, or in other words, since the time it became mandatory to do so.

The Bureau of Vital Statistics also houses Mississippi marriage records from 1926-1938 and from 1942 onward. You will als find a state wide marriage index that is organized by the name of the groom for marriages dating prior to 1926.

If you want to access marriage records from 1926-1938, and from 1942 forward, please get in touch with:

State Department of Health
Vital Records
2423 North State Street
Jackson, MS 39216

In case you want to access prior records, please get in touch with the clerk of the county in question.

Using the Internet to Find Your Marriage Records

Are you aware of the fact that you can now place your request for a copy of a marriage certificate in Mississippi and in other states over the Internet? When you are requesting your copy over the Internet, you can save a lot of time and hassle.