Learn Where a Utah Marriage Certificate Is Filed

Are you searching for marriage records in Utah? If so, you should know that in Utah, as is the case in other states of the country, marriage records and records of other vital statistics are being maintained in the public domain by the government. These records are typpically held at the local and sometimes the county level.

Requesting Utah Marriage Records

The information contained in these marriage records is nothing of national importance or something that is of concern to the security of the nation. Yes, they are important to an individual or the couple who was married and perhaps even to their family, but even outside parties may request them since they are considered part of the public domain.

In fact, according to U.S. laws, the state and county offices in Utah and other states are legally bound to maintain and update the vital statistics that includes the birth, death and marriage records. These authorities are also legally bound to provide you a copy when you ask for it.

Why Do You Need to Access the Utah Marriage Record?

There are many reasons people ask for these marriage records. Which one is yours?

For genealogy research: This is the most popular reason. If you are mapping your family tree and trying to find out about someone in the family about whom you have limited information, you can usually find help from marriage records. Perhaps you know of a great-grandfather, uncle or aunt who came to Utah, settled down here and even got married. If that is the case, the marriage records might not just show this, but also divulge additional information for your benefit.

To check the background of your would-be spouse: Perhaps you are getting married and just as a last minute precaution, you want to check the background of your spouse. Marriage records help here, too. Often, many parents use them to be certain about the person their children plan on marrying.

To find out more about an acquaintance/colleague: Perhaps you are simply interested about someone and want to gather more information. You can do this at any time by researching public marriage records.

Where to Find the Marriage Certificate in Utah

In Utah, civil registration of deaths, births and marriages started slowly, and in time there came to be a recording system across the state. The recording of vital statistics began in 1905. Early legislative acts empowered certain cities to maintain the register of deaths and births (though it was not required). In 1898, legislature of the state allowed the maintenance of county records centrally, and so it became necessary for the county clerk’s office to maintain separate death and birth registers. Marriage was viewed as a religious event and thus not necessary to maintain civil records in the state until 1887.

For birth and death records from January 1, 1905 and Utah marriage records from January 1st, 1978, you will need to write to:

Utah Bureau of Vital Records

288 North 1460 West

Salt Lake City, UT 84114-2855

Only shortened form copies that are certified can be accessed from the Vital Records Office (The Bureau). If you for some reason you cannot find the records at State Office, then you should look for them at the office of the County Clerk where the license for marriage was issued. The fees for this service will vary.

On average, the fees payable for a Utah marriage search is $9.00. If your request is to search an increased number of years for the marriage records, then you should be prepared to pay extra.

Using the Internet to Find Your Marriage Records

Are you aware of the fact that you can now also use the Internet to search for marriage records? Using the Internet is a great idea because you can save a lot of hassle and get the record you need quickly, from the comfort of your own home.