Iowa Marriage Records

You may want to search through Iowa marriage records for many reasons, including genealogy searches. Sometimes a state’s marriage records can contain a wealth of information that’s good to have for family tree data and even legal reasons such as proving immigration status. You may simply want to find out if someone you have a love interest in has been married previously or what the status is now before going on with the relationship. Whatever your reason, you can search through Iowa marital records by requesting the certificate through the Iowa Department of Public Health and Bureau of Health Statistics. You can even request a commemorative marriage certificate and present it as a gift. To initiate a marriage record search, you’ll first need to obtain a copy of the “Iowa Application for Search” through vital records. After filling out the application as best you can, submit it by mailing to:

Iowa Dept. of Public Health
Bureau of Vital Records
Lucas State Office Bldg.
321 East 12th St.
Des Moines, IA 50319-0075
Phone: (515) 281-4944

Include a check or money order in the sum of $15 as a fee for the search. You’ll notice on the application that you must state your relationship to at least one of the people on the certificate and the reason you want the information. This data is needed to comply with privacy laws that some states require before releasing vital records information. You may also search for Iowa marital records through the county where the event took place if you know the location.

A popular, fast and easy way of searching through a state’s vital records is to use an Internet online search services. For a reasonable fee, you can submit what information you know about the marriage and the databases and search engines will do the search for you. These search services have the ability to plow through many more records in a very short amount of time than state services do. You may also receive data that you wouldn’t get from a state-based search because of the privacy laws that some of these states employ. Most of these online services state that if no record is found you don’t pay anything. Your information is encrypted and is therefore safe from anyone knowing that it was you who requested the record. Many genealogists and legal professionals use these sites on a regular basis to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of the search. No one wants erroneous data when it comes to information about your family or an important legal reason. The vital statistics department in Iowa records as many as 100,000 statistical events on an annual basis, so you can understand why it might take a state quite a while to find the record you need and want. To find out more about how to use an Internet search service to bypass long waits and red tape to find Iowa marriage records, click on the link.