Public San Mateo County Marriage Records

While at the outside, marriage may seem to be something that would involve only the bride and the groom and their families, the truth is that it is something that would actually affect the whole world, because marriage is something that would change the status of a person, and status is something that would follow the person no matter where he or she may go. It is for this reason that a person who is validly married under one jurisdiction could not get married to another person not his spouse in another jurisdiction. Once one begins to understand this, one begins to understand as well the importance of marriage records like San Mateo County Marriage Records.

As the official records of the government, these marriage records are the best evidence that one could use in order to prove the existence of the marriage, and because the marriage exists, there are some rights and obligations that are binding upon the whole world as much as they are binding upon the parties to the marriage. One, of course, would be the limitation to their right to get married. Certainly, a married person could get married again, but during the existence of his first marriage, he could only get married to his spouse and to no one else, otherwise, he risks the chance of being prosecuted for bigamy.

Marriage records are actually not available at the state level in the state of Texas, but certifications of the existence of the marriage may be done at this level. Before one could go about searching though, one must first remember that marriage records are public records and as such, they are afforded the presumption of regularity. This means that they are presumed to be correct at all times and the person who would claim otherwise would have the burden of proving that allegation.

The procedure to request for marriage certification at the state level would first require the person who desires the certification to write a letter of request to the state department of health, detailing in the same the name of the parties to the marriage and the approximate date when the marriage was celebrated. At the same time, it must also include the personal contact information of the person making the request. The office would then send the certification to the person who made the request and this is often enough to show that there is a valid marriage as under Texas law, a marriage must be registered at the state level before it is effective. The certification letter may also be used to request for the actual records at the local level.

Copies of San Mateo County Marriage License Records are also available online through the use of online databases. These are mostly privately owned, but they do present substantially the same information as the official sources and they are also faster and more efficient in presenting their information. Of course, because they are not official sources, any and all information obtained from them could not be used in official proceedings.