Most states have a central repository for public records situated at their Statistics or Data Department and Marriage Records are one of the vital records maintained there. Generally, they will have other records like Birth, Death and Divorce. The information contained in Marriage Records includes time and place of marriage, personal particulars of husband and wife, their parents, witnesses if any and the officiant. If there are previous marriages on the part or either husband or wife, it will also be found.

Another key inducer of marriage record searches is Marriage License. When applying for a license to be married, both the marriage records of the intended bride and bridegroom must be produced as proof of eligibility. This means that the records must show that both are not married, even in cases where divorce has been sealed but are momentarily awaiting formal closure. Married women can also use marriage records to substantiate their eligibility to adopt their husbands' last-names.

In awarding family inheritance and marital assets or determining blood-relation such as locating biological parents of adopted children, marriage records also qualify as legal documents. Genealogy studies, lawyers, journalists and even police detectives and investigators are also known to make use of marriage records in the course of their work. Then of course, there's the marital background check on a prospective spouse. This is perhaps the most telling of all the features of marriage records.