There are a number of reasons you might want to find a particular marriage record. For people building a family tree or researching their ancestry in general marriage records are a great source of information.

When searching for these marriage records you may wish to know if you can get them free of charge. Well, it depends. You often can find genealogical marriage records for free.

There's the local history section of your local library or courthouse. These buildings often house free archives that you can search through. After you find the record you need, you can ask for a copy of it.

Then, there's also marriage records databases on the internet. You can search for marital records on websites like Ancestry.com or RootsWeb.com. But, you need to understand that the records you find on these sites are for genealogical and ancestral tracking purposes.

If you're looking for very current marriage records you'll likely not find them there. Marriage licenses are classified as what are referred to as vital records. These like all vital records require you to complete an application and submit to a small fee in order to obtain a copy.

The fee will vary from state to state. In California the fee to obtain a marriage record is $13. Whereas in Florida it's much less: $5. In the state of Oregon the fee to obtain the records is different in every county. So the cost will really be dependent on where you live.

Your best bet when seeking a recent marriage record is to contact your state Department of Vital Records for information on how to obtain the document or documents you need. If you cannot locate the Department of Vital Records, you can start with your county or municipal government office.

These offices can refer you to the correct place to obtain copies of your birth and marriage certificates and so on.