California Marriage Records and Genealogy Resources


                            Provided by Archives.com

Completing a family history research project is nothing less than rewarding, but while you're in the thick of the actual research, it can be very frustrating to find all of the vital records you need. Lumped into that category are typically birth, death, marriage, and divorce records. To get started, it can help if you know exactly where the event occurred. If you can narrow it down to the right state, for instance, you have a solid starting place. In the case of California marriage records, your overall search should be a fairly simplistic one.

Unlike many other states throughout the country, California has been keeping track of marriages within the state since 1850, and the California Department of Public Health Office of Vital Records maintains these records to this day. So, your best place to start is right there. One of the fastest ways to get started is to visit a local county health office in person. They can typically issue you a certified copy of the certificate while you wait. Because these are considered public information, anyone can get a copy of the record in question, but you'll need a bit of information first. Make certain you have both the bride and groom's first and last name before you begin your search. Additionally, you'll need the date of the marriage to help locate the actual record. There is a fee involved for obtaining a copy of the record you're searching for, but it can vary by county. You can find a full list of resources on California public records here.

If you're not currently located in the state of California or you don't have all of the information necessary, you may want to go through a third-party California marriage records lookup service. This is a great way to save yourself the time of handling the records request, as these services provide you with the information necessary without the difficulty of actually talking to the individual county offices on your own or going through the state, which currently has a backlog of six months to process records requests like these. While you will have to pay a fee for having a service like this handle the request for you, it's well worth it if you live out of state or if you're simply trying to do some genealogy research in your spare time, as it can prevent you from having to visit the local county office on your own just to find the information necessary for your research project.

California marriage records lookup services can be very helpful for both the novice and experienced genealogy researcher alike. As you work toward the completion of your family history project, you're going to come across a need for primary documentation like California marriage records, and having an outside company handle it for you is just smart thinking, especially if you're not sure you have all of the information you may need at the outset of the process or if you live out of state and want to speed your records requests up considerably.

California Marriage Certificates:

California marriage certificates are one of the most valuable sources of California genealogical information. There are two types of certificates-the type of certificate copy needed for genealogy research is called an informational copy. This is a certified copy and can be used for verifying information found elsewhere. Because of the length of time it takes to get a marriage certificate from California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Vital Records it is better to contact the county clerk of the county where the license was issued. (County Clerk links may be found on the county pages.) You must submit the following information to receive a copy of a marriage record.

  • Groom's first and last name
  • Bride's first and maiden last name
  • Date of marriage

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California Statewide Marriage Records

 California Databases at Ancestry.com:

California Genealogy Resources:


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