California Marriage Records contain data on names, licenses and counties for marriage applications. All public marriage records in the state of California are kept by the California Department of Public Health Office of Vital Records. Individual counties issue confidential records pertaining to licenses that were issued out of their office. The same is true for divorce records. They will be found only in the county of which the Superior Court ordered the divorce decree. California's law - The California Public Records Act - mandates that all public records and copies are made available to anyone.

Websites by government agencies provide adequate marriage records free of charge if you are just looking for general information. The same can be accomplished by searching the database on-site at the respective county offices. However, for formal proceedings, you would need professionally packaged official marriage records. The Office of Vital Records is the authorized department to provide official marriage records in California. It can also release divorce Certificates of Record. For both, there is a fee involved when requesting certified copies.

So, we therefore have the choice of going it ourselves in gathering California Marriage Records or hire professional help to perform the task for us. It's an individual thing and each has its own merits and setbacks. Obviously, marriage records from free sources save money but their standards inevitably won't match up to those from fee-based ones. Often too, circumstances demand that such information is obtained through certified bodies thus ruling out the DIY (do-it-yourself) option.

Nevertheless, anyone has the right to view public records at the Public Health Office on a county-by-county basis within the state of California. You can also request some of the information by email. Do ensure that you have the right forms and the appropriate fees. The Department of Public Health Office of Vital Records would be happy to advise you on that. Both marriage records and divorce records can be obtained in this manner but it could be long and arduous. The California Office of Vital Statistics is typically backlogged at 180 days. They actually recommend that you visit the local county office directly to view or request copies of records. The procedure varies from one county to the next, so call ahead to check.

A practical solution to get around the lead-time and legwork is by turning to commercial record providers. With their experience and infrastructure, they can speed things up considerably for you. They can turnkey the whole thing for you. Their service includes searching and retrieving the marriage records based on the information that you supply, placing order for them and follow through on the delivery of their certified copies.

The public records business is demanding and competitive. Industry leaders are highly professional and have extensive experience in getting public records from county offices. In order to survive in the game, they have to charge affordable rates also. They will get the forms, enquire the fees and advise on applicable state laws. Many of them have in-house databases of marriage and divorce records for existing or potential customers, completely circumventing the need to wait on government agencies to produce those records.

With over 36 million residents living in California today, on top of the hundreds of millions in years past, there are quite a bit of California marriage records on file and archive. Finding just the ones spot-on is potentially daunting and error-prone for the amateur. In all practicality, it will be worth the cost to hire professionals for the task. After all, the subject of marriage records is hardly ever a trivial matter.