Finding a Parent through a Marriage Certificate Search

If you need to locate one or both of your birth parents, do some research and see if you can come up with information that is just enough to conduct a marriage certificate search.

A marriage certificate search is one way to track down a long lost birth parent. Many children in America nowadays live in single parent homes; and when that parent is less than forthcoming about a spouse, a child may grow up wanting more information.

If you are such a child, you can perform a search using online public records databases. You can also try government records bureaus and their websites.

Information from a Marriage Certificate Search

• Bride’s complete name, birth date, address, job
• Groom’s complete name, birth date, address, job
• Marriage place and date
• Parents’ names and places of birth
• Bride’s status at the time of marriage (single, divorced, or widowed)
• Groom’s status at the time of marriage (single, divorced, or widowed)
• Number of each spouse’s previous marriages
• Presiding official
• Witnesses present

With the information you obtain, you can proceed to track down a birth parent. For one thing, relatives and friends who served as witnesses at the ceremony may still be in touch with him or her.

A bride or groom may put down an address at a locale where living relatives or the presiding official may still reside. A specialized job (lawyer, doctor, military personnel, etc.) can also give you the current address of a birth parent by checking the local or state medical or bar association; or military records that can, for instance, tell you where your birth parent’s pension is sent.

However, you have to remember that federal and state privacy laws may exist that protect a birth parent — although there also exists the Freedom of Information Act –
which entitles you to open government files.

If you should request access to the files of a government agency during your marriage certificate search, a federal agency is required to respond to you in 10 days and a state agency should do it in 30 to 60 days. If any government office should deny you access, it is required by law to explain the denial within the same period, after which you may appeal the decision in court.

But don’t worry just yet; try your hand using online providers first, such as those found at RecordsSiteReviews' online marriage certificate search section. You may find what you are looking for easier than you originally thought.