Delaware Marriage Records Search

Thousands of couples tie the knot in Delaware annually. The proof of a marriage, also known as Delaware marriage records, is issued once the marriage takes place.

Most couples must show this proof if they want to change their last name on all legal documents, such as a bank, ID, and social security cards.

Additionally, the spouses may decide to file for a loan or purchase a property together, which might be another reason to inquire about how to find marriage records online in Delaware.

Apart from that, you would need Delaware marriage records when deciding to immigrate or to apply for spousal benefits.

Most marriage records in Delaware are stored in the vital offices or state health departments; you need to check how you can obtain them.

Delaware marriage records are also helpful for the government to keep track of the community and its statistics.

This article will solely focus on how to find marriage records online in Delaware, including who is eligible to do that.

Types of Marriage Records in Delaware:

Knowing how to differentiate between marriage records in Delaware will noticeably speed up the Delaware marriage records search.

Whenever you log into the website where you want to download Delaware marriage records, you need to know which one exactly you need.

There are two types of Delaware marriage records: marriage license and marriage certificate.

The county clerk's office usually issues a marriage license before the marriage to prove there are no canonical impediments for the couple to get married.

A marriage certificate, on the contrary, is issued right after the wedding and is used by many legal institutions as legal proof of marriage.

As a rule, every marriage certificate contains the following information:

* Names of Couple

* Maiden Name of the Wife

* Place, Where the Marriage Took Place

* Date, When the Marriage Was Concluded

What Do I Need to Run a Delaware Marriage Records Search?

Unfortunately, you need to know some information to run a free marriage records search.

Irrespectively of which website you use or which county clerk you go to, it would help if you had the following information beforehand:

* Names of the Spouses

* Wife's Maiden Name

* Marriage Date

* County, Where the Marriage License was Issued

Who Is Eligible to Run a Delaware Marriage Records Search?

As a rule, Delaware's marriage records are public. In other words, everybody interested can run Delaware marriage records search if they are of age.

Everybody who has reached 18 years is considered eligible unless stated otherwise by the court.

However, being eligible does not allow you to run a Delaware marriage records search if you do not satisfy all the following conditions:

* You need to fill out the special written request form, where you would need to state your personal and contact information as long as you provide your ID photo and indicate the type of Delaware marriage records you want to obtain.

* You need to pay a small fee for downloading Delaware marriage records online, which typically ranges between 15-20$.

However, keep in mind that if you were not permitted to run a Delaware marriage records search, you could still change that.

This usually happens when the third party wants to download the Delaware marriage records of other people.

Suppose you were rejected to download Delaware marriage records online.

In that case, you could ask the couple whose marriage records you are aiming to obtain to issue legal written permission with their signatures to authorize you to run a Delaware marriage records search.

How To Find Marriage Records Online in Delaware?

Having established that you are eligible to run a Delaware marriage records search, you can answer the question of how to find marriage records online in Delaware.

It is worthy of note that even though there is a possibility to run a free marriage records search, most of the platforms we will examine below would charge a small fee per download.

You have several possibilities to find Delaware marriage records online by using any of the websites below, namely: 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | (cdc.gov)

CDC should be the first website to use when trying to run a free marriage records search.

CDC serves mainly as a mediator website with all the information and links to where and how to download Delaware marriage records online.

Delaware Government Website | (delaware.gov)

Delaware government website allows you to download or change all the Delaware marriage records online.

Independent Platform | (backgroundcheck.co)

Alternatively, you could use some independent search platform like backgroundcheck.co to back up free marriage records search with some background information on the spouses, such as:

* Employment and Education History

* Contact Information

* Civil and Criminal Court Records (if applicable)

If you have more questions about finding marriage records online in Delaware, contact the vital records office via phone or email.