Marriage certificates are vital records. Pursuant to the Public Records Law, all state agencies and institutions are accountable for the citizenry. This is tantamount to the notion that vital records are public and are henceforth accessible by any member of the state who wishes to. Should you want to obtain a record of marriage in Florida, be it your own or that of others for the purpose of background checks, you can request access to such records from the Department of Health or from the Circuit Clerk's Office.
The central repository for vital records in the Sunshine State is the Office of Vital Statistics, Department of Health. Housed in this division are registers of marriages from 1927 to present. For marriage archives that date back to 1927 and beyond, these records can only be attained from the Office of the Circuit Clerk in the county where the marriage license was issued.
There are no restrictions imposed by Florida's jurisdiction in obtaining a copy of a marriage register so long as the marriage happened in the state. Simply put, anyone who needs a copy can get one so long as the procurement policy is strictly followed and adhered to. When appealing for a copy of a marriage record, you must secure first an application or request form. Such form can be downloaded online from the aforementioned agencies' websites and must be filled out in its entirety with all the significant details required.
When filling out the request or application form, please input the complete names of the husband and the wife. Include also the wife's maiden name. Other significant details that you should provide are the date and location of the wedding, and the county where the permit to wed was issued. As the one requesting the record, you also have to input your personal details such as your full name, address, phone number where you can be reached at, your relationship to the couple, and the reason for requesting such record.
Payment should be through check or money order made payable to the either the Department of Health or to the County Clerk's Office. Each copy of a marriage certificate is $5. If you want to get an extra copy of the same record, you have to pay an additional $4. In case you are not certain as to what year the marriage occurred, you can provide a range of years to be searched. Please take note that for each year searched, you have to pay $2. A maximum of $50 is allowed which means you can go as high as 25 years. Such fees are non-refundable regardless if a record is located or not. For instance, if the marriage record you wish to acquire is not found, a "certified not found" statement will be provided to you. The usual turnaround time for marriage record requests in the state takes 2 to 5 business days once the request is confirmed.
Nevertheless, if you want to access marriage archives in a fast and practical way, do it online. Search for online record providers, perform a quick background check on the service provider you're eyeing on, and start your record search. With a computer and an Internet connection handy, you can actually retrieve the records you need even in the comfort of your own home. What's more, instead of getting the results in days like the usual processing time, you get to obtain the records online in just a matter of minutes. So the next time somebody asks you on how to get public records fast, tell them about these online sources and how much you've enjoyed their services!
The central repository for vital records in the Sunshine State is the Office of Vital Statistics, Department of Health. Housed in this division are registers of marriages from 1927 to present. For marriage archives that date back to 1927 and beyond, these records can only be attained from the Office of the Circuit Clerk in the county where the marriage license was issued.
There are no restrictions imposed by Florida's jurisdiction in obtaining a copy of a marriage register so long as the marriage happened in the state. Simply put, anyone who needs a copy can get one so long as the procurement policy is strictly followed and adhered to. When appealing for a copy of a marriage record, you must secure first an application or request form. Such form can be downloaded online from the aforementioned agencies' websites and must be filled out in its entirety with all the significant details required.
When filling out the request or application form, please input the complete names of the husband and the wife. Include also the wife's maiden name. Other significant details that you should provide are the date and location of the wedding, and the county where the permit to wed was issued. As the one requesting the record, you also have to input your personal details such as your full name, address, phone number where you can be reached at, your relationship to the couple, and the reason for requesting such record.
Payment should be through check or money order made payable to the either the Department of Health or to the County Clerk's Office. Each copy of a marriage certificate is $5. If you want to get an extra copy of the same record, you have to pay an additional $4. In case you are not certain as to what year the marriage occurred, you can provide a range of years to be searched. Please take note that for each year searched, you have to pay $2. A maximum of $50 is allowed which means you can go as high as 25 years. Such fees are non-refundable regardless if a record is located or not. For instance, if the marriage record you wish to acquire is not found, a "certified not found" statement will be provided to you. The usual turnaround time for marriage record requests in the state takes 2 to 5 business days once the request is confirmed.
Nevertheless, if you want to access marriage archives in a fast and practical way, do it online. Search for online record providers, perform a quick background check on the service provider you're eyeing on, and start your record search. With a computer and an Internet connection handy, you can actually retrieve the records you need even in the comfort of your own home. What's more, instead of getting the results in days like the usual processing time, you get to obtain the records online in just a matter of minutes. So the next time somebody asks you on how to get public records fast, tell them about these online sources and how much you've enjoyed their services!
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