Friday, January 24, 2014

New York Public Marriage Records

By Ben Kingsley


Applying for a marriage in New York will require both couples to head for the nearest town or city clerk. The application for a license has to be in the city or county where they are planning to get married at. The law states that the couples have to fill out the form in the presence of a clerk. This means that proxies or representatives are not allowed even if they have special powers of attorney or notarized marriage license affidavits. Thankfully, the state of New York doesn't require the couple to undergo physical exams such as a blood test or premarital examination.


Once the license is issued to the couple, they need to wait 24 hours before they can get married. This isn't a big issue as most couples have their wedding days scheduled months after getting their licenses. However if the couple wants to be married immediately, the can make a request from the supreme court or county court to waive the 24 hour waiting period. If one of the couple or both are 16 years old and below, the request to waive the 24 hour period can be obtained from the family court instead. The license to wed is valid up to three months or 60 days. For same sex weddings, the rules are the same.

The costs of getting a marriage license in New York City vary depending on the town or city where the couple applied. You may contact the nearest city clerk for the updated fees. If the application was submitted outside of New York City, the fee is $40. The fee already covers the certificate of marriage registration that will be sent to the applications within 15 calendar days.

Wedding records are also available for various purposes. The document can be used as reference for several reasons. Most of the time people look for wedding papers to help fill out their genealogical tree. The documents are also useful for legal purposes. Widows and widowers may use the records to prove that they were married. Others use them as reference and proof during divorce proceedings. The papers may also be used as documents to prove the legitimacy of children.

Licenses for other purposes cost about $10. For marriages after 1996, you can get copies at any New York City clerk. For copies in between 1930 to 1955 you need to go to the Manhattan office. The costs for getting marriage documents vary. For genealogical purposes, the fee varies and will depend on the number of years searched to find the wedding record. The standard fee is $22 to search for marriage papers within one to three years period. The costs can go up to as much as $202 for weddings that took place 81 to 90 years ago. When making a request, always provide a self-addressed stamped envelope.

If you don't like the hassle or cost in getting information about weddings, you may try websites that offer free marriage records. These websites have the index of weddings online and can be searched easily using your computer. All you have to do is log on and input the names of the spouses. If you require physical or certified copies, the websites offer the services for a small fee.




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