There are two ways to find marriage public records: through the state where the marriage took place, or through a public records search firm. In the next few minutes, you'll learn how to get public marriage records through either of these sources, and be ready to choose which you will use for your search.

In the United States, marriage records are considered vital records that are maintained by the states. In other words, if someone got married in Virginia, the original records of that marriage are stored in Virginia. To get a copy of these records, you have to get them from Virginia.

There are a few problems with this system from the perspective of someone who needs access to marriage public records. Each state has its own rules and procedures for dealing with these vital records.

To get records from a state, you first need to determine which state agency has the records. This varies, but you can usually find out with a few minutes of research on the Internet.

Once you find out where the records are kept, you need to do further research to find out how to request them. Again, the rules vary from state to state, but there are some common threads.

Most states restrict access to marriage public records. Before they will give you access, you have to satisfy the state that you have a right to the information. And once again, what you must do to satisfy them varies from state to state.

Assuming you do satisfy the state that you have a right to these particular vital records, you need to file your formal request. Then, unfortunately, you will have to wait.

Depending on the state, you may have to wait days to months for your request to be processed. Once it is, the state will usually send you the information by U.S. Mail or a service such as FedEx, meaning you'll need to wait a few more days.

And, contrary to many people's expectations, it will cost you a good bit of money to get the information from the state. You'll have to pay a fee for the state to process your information request. You'll also have to pay for them to send the information to you. As usual, the details vary by state, but you'll likely have to pay more than $20 to the state, whether or not they can actually provide you with the information.

There is a better way.

The better way to get public marriage records is through a search firm that specializes in providing vital records. These companies pay each one of the states to get access to copies of their vital records (including marriage public records). They then computerize the information, and make information for all the states available through one web site.

When you use one of these firms, you simply fill out a form on their web site, and within seconds they create a report that contains the information you need. There are no hassles, no requirements to prove you should be allowed to see the information, and no long delays.

You'll have to pay a fee for this information, just like you do when you get it through the states. The fee is comparable to what the states charge, and you avoid all the hassles and delays associated with dealing with the states. All you need to do is choose a top-quality search firm to do the research.