Searching For Virginia Marriage License Online

By Claire Dowell


Also known as the Old Dominion, Virginia is a state where accessing public records will not be a problem. The Freedom of Information Act is clear in its mandate that residents should be given access to vital documents. As a result of this, many Virginians do not hesitate to perform background checks. Whether they do it for personal reasons, for verifying an applicant's information or for completing genealogy projects, doing a background check will not be difficult for them in Virginia. As soon as they know which agency or office to approach in submitting their Virginia marriage records request, they're good to go.

The Division of Vital Records is the agency tasked with keeping and managing public records like marriage dossiers. It has copies of marriage dossiers from January 1853, the year 1918, as well as current records. Each request requires a fee equivalent to $12. Your payment should be either in the form of personal check or money order. The office is strict in its policy of not accepting cash payments.

Records that are not found in the state office, specifically the years not covered, can be accessed with the help of the Clerk of Court of the city or county where the marriage license was issued. So one must know where the marriage took place. Fees vary from one city or county from another.

In the state of Virginia, not all marriage records can be accessed by the public. Marriage records are only deemed public property 50 years after the event took place. Additionally, current records can be obtained only by the record owner's next of kin. West Virginia residents, meanwhile, can also look for the public record they need through the Archives of the Division of Culture and History.

Accessing and finding public records via state or government offices can see you wait for several days and weeks before the results come out. This is normal in such offices because they get bulks of requests every working day. Your request may be buried under all the others, so it can take days before it is acted upon. If you do not like this scenario, then your best option is to go for online record providers. Independent record searchers have their own comprehensive public records database. It can be accessed 24/7, so you're bound to get results after only a matter of minutes. These providers are also trained well to offer only the best and most efficient service to their clients. You're guaranteed safety and high quality work. After typing in the details of the record on the search box, click a few times, and the record will appear onscreen (unless it's not available for some reasons).

Although you can find record providers that offer their services for free, the most reliable ones are those that require you to pay a minimal fee. No worries, though, as this fee is paid once only, not everytime you make a request for a marriage record as government and state offices are wont to do. Again, this is a one-time payment only. And this small fee gives you a bundle of rewards in return, specifically unlimited access to their comprehensive database. As such, you'll have all the time in the world to find all the public records you need - without worrying about spending a single dollar!




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