Marriage is much more serious than it's treated by many. In the US, the state steps in to help make the point. Like other cosmopolitan environments, there are variations among the ethnic and religious groups in joining people in matrimony. The requirements can also differ from state to state but people other than the couple are always involved. Yes, there will be a conducting official. Legal witnesses of the ceremony are also required in certain states. Even God and deceased ancestors may also be involved by religious and customary practices.

Rejection and protest from certain religious groups or beliefs notwithstanding, it is mandated by law that a marriage can only legally proceed after a Marriage License has been obtained from the state authorities. The requisites for application are typically age, identity, residency, medical examinations and clearance from any previous marriages if any. They can be issued by the state of residence of the couple or where the marriage ceremony is planned to be officially conducted. Fees are usually nominal but lead time can be long, up to a month in some states. After the ceremony, the license is then signed off by the new couple and the official to file for certification and the issuance of the Marriage Certificate.

Both the license and certificate are then entered as marriage records into the respective files of the new spouses. They will then be maintained as public records at the county or state where the marriage has taken place, whichever is the prevailing practice. Being public records, they will be subject to public retrieval and view as long as procedures are complied with and fees are paid.

Same-sex, or gay marriages are a little bit trickier. They are recognized in less than half the states. A handful others are fuzzy about it, recognizing them as legal union and offering explicit marriage rights and responsibilities while not calling them marriages. Be prepared for some surprises with such states.

Permitted access is based on 2 classifications, public or confidential marriage records. Public marriage records are accessible without limit and restriction while confidential ones are limited in access, restricted in use or a combination of both. There are a number of different ways to retrieve such information. Although marriage records are predominantly kept at county administrative units, their retrieval is available at state level in most states. By that, we have the option of engaging either the state agency or the respective county offices directly for that purpose. Then there's the choice of onsite, online, hard-copy, electronic, mail, fax and/or telephone.

FOC records tend to be raw and scattered. As such, they often require further work subsequent to the retrieval to be of any use. Fee-based public marriage records are recommended when the search is more purposeful, especially if they are to be produced for formal use. Competition in this industry is keen so prices are regulated to very reasonable levels in tandem. Unless you are the type who actually enjoys the grunt work of assembling reports from scratch public sources, a little financial outlay can go a long way for you if you look in the right places.