Oklahoma Public Marriage Records

By Ben Kingsley


For those who are doing research on their family background, vital records pose a great source of facts as these contain information such as the married parties' background, social status, parents, place of residence as well as occupation during the time. Vital records such as births and deaths are usually available from the States' Health Department whereas marriage and divorce records are available from the county clerk where it was issued or granted. Oklahoma marriage records are available from the clerk of the county and historical records are available from the Oklahoma Historical Society. Requests can also be made to the State's Office and will be forwarded to the county.

US marriage records are often recorded by the county from the time it was first established and as such, many records date back to 1800's. For those requesting for records from the county clerk, one can find several records including marriage bonds, licenses, certificates and affidavits available. To request for copies, one can call, fax or visit the County Clerk Office. Fees collected are standardized, although some counties might charge for other services.

For residents of Oklahoma, records are available from the Oklahoma County Courthouse. The Clerk Office has 175 volumes indexed and this ranges from 1889 up to 1951. The records contain the marriage licenses, certificates of marriage and affidavit of marriage applications. Research requests and copy fees are charged depending on whether the person is a resident or not. For residents, the charge is $20 and for non-residents, it is $30. Other charges include $1 for faxed, computer and microfilmed copies of the records. Standard mailing costs about $.25 per request. Express delivery is available only for Choctaw-Chicksaw marriage records only and costs $10.

For those searching for Pittsburg marriage records, the records are available from the Clerk office of McAlester. Requests can be made through in person and mail as well as online. Each request costs about $15. The fee is the same for those who intend to obtain marriage records in Washington County. The records are kept in Bartlesville county clerk office.

Unlike divorce and criminal records, access to marriage records is not restricted. Researchers looking for marriage records in Jefferson County would find the records available for their perusal at the Waurika Court Clerk Office. Request fee is the same as those of other County office. For older records, one can also check them out at the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) as well as with Southwest Oklahoma Genealogical Society (SOGS). Records for Jackson County are maintained at the Althus Court Clerk whereas those who want to obtain records from Cherokee County have to visit the Tahlequah County Clerk. Old records are also maintained by OHS. Fees and other charges vary as well and orders can be processed online, in person and by standard mail.

Processing time for the records is usually available the same day for in person requests. For standard mail and online ordering, processing can take some time depending on the volume of requests received by the County Offices. For those who need the records immediately, they can use online vital record search sites. Birth, death, divorce and marriage records are free although for those who require batch or bulk searches, availing of search packages is ideal as one can perform the searches in a shorter time frame.




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