New York Free Marriage Records

By Ben Kingsley


The Freedom of Information Act has been implemented in the state of New York. This means that the local residents of the state can access their personal files anytime it is needed. One of the documents available is the state of New York marriage records.

Genealogy research is one of the reasons why people would request for a copy of a marriage record in New York. It is used as reference since it contains information that is necessary in updating the family tree. Government transactions would also call for a copy of a marriage certificate. It is used mostly when dealing with financial matters of the couple such as insurance processes and property declaration. Sometimes, the marriage certificate is sued by individuals to check the marital status of a person. People do this to verify the marital status of their partners.

The marriage certificate in New York focuses on the details of the marriage. One would know when and where the couple got married. The complete names of the couple are also indicated on the record together with some of their personal details such as the date and place of birth. Important names such as the names of the parents and the witness can also be found on the certificate.

One can get a copy of a marriage certificate in New York at the office of the Department of Health. However, records of Albany, Yonkers and Buffalo are not available there. It can only be obtained at the county clerk office. Requesting for a copy of a marriage certificate can also be done at any of the local county clerk office.

The state can release a copy of the document if it was registered since 1880 up to the present. A $30 processing fee has to be paid in order to process the request in the state office. Requests made at the local county may have a different service fee. Genealogy copies of the document can be requested after 50 years since the marriage took place. One should know that the document is only released when the one who filed the request is either the bride or the groom and their immediate family. Doing the search in the county is faster than requesting it at the state office. A mail request can also be sent to the state office but it may take longer than usual. The long wait time can be avoided by doing the search online.

We are now in the age of technology and this means that technology helps in making our lives easier and convenient. This reason why the public documents of New York has been integrated in an online server. This helps the residents of the state to obtain copies of marriage records easily. The requested information is then displayed in just seconds instead of days or months.




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