Guide to Arkansas Marriage Records

Arkansas marriage records are official documentation of legal unions, capturing important details like the names of the spouses, their ages, the wedding date, and the location of the wedding ceremony. Arkansas marriage records are maintained by the Arkansas Department of Health, Vital Records Division.

A lot of paperwork is involved in a marriage process. These include a marriage license and marriage certificate. While people refer to these documents as marriage records and sometimes use the terms interchangeably, there are distinct differences.

A marriage license is the document you obtain before the wedding to authorize the ceremony, while the marriage certificate is the recorded document created after the ceremony to prove you are legally wed. Together, these documents form the complete marriage record.

Arkansas residents look up marriage records for different reasons. Some need a marriage record for standard legal purposes like updating their names or adding spouses to health insurance policies. Others use these records for genealogy and tracing family trees, as well as handling legal situations like settling an estate or processing a divorce.

Types of Marriage Records in Arkansas

The following are common types of marriage records in Arkansas:

Marriage Certificates

An Arkansas marriage certificate confirms that a wedding actually happened. Counties in the state are responsible for issuing copies of the certified marriage license or certificate. Meanwhile, the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) maintains its own statewide file, known as the marriage coupon, which includes marriage registrations from 1917.

While the information included in a state certificate is only a summary of relevant marriage facts, the county certificate contains more comprehensive marriage data. The county-issued certificate usually contains the full names of the spouses, the date of the marriage, the county where the marriage was registered, and the full name of the marriage officiant.

People obtain certified copies of this marriage record for actions such as changing their legal name with the Social Security Administration and processing insurance benefits.

Marriage Licenses

A marriage license is the formal permission required for couples to get married within the state. Unlike a marriage certificate, which proves that a person is married, a marriage license is obtained before the ceremony.

In Arkansas, marriage licenses are issued by the county clerk's office and are valid for 60 days upon issuance.

Are Marriage Records Public in Arkansas?

Marriage records are not immediately public in Arkansas. Under the Arkansas Vital Statistics Act, the State Registrar cannot permit the inspection or disclosure of information contained in state vital records unless it is authorized by law, regulation, or court order.

According to state law, marriage records in the custody of the state registrar only become available to the public without restriction if 50 years have elapsed after a wedding.

Still, the passage of 50 years does not make all information contained in a marriage record will become publicly available. Any information designated for statistical purposes only on a marriage certificate remains protected except under limited circumstances.

What Information Is Included in a Marriage Record?

Depending on the age and form of an Arkansas marriage record, the following information may be available:

• Full names of both spouses
• Premarital or maiden surname
• Date of marriage
• County where the marriage license was issued
• Date the license was issued
• Age or date of birth of the parties
• Residence of each spouse
• Birthplace, particularly in some later records
• Marriage-license number
• Name of the person who performed the ceremony
• Title or authority of the officiant
• Date the completed marriage was recorded
• Marriage record book and page number

Note that to prevent identity theft, certain sensitive details on marriage record copies are redacted. For instance, Social Security numbers and precise medical data, if any was collected historically, are unavailable to the public.

How to Find Marriage Records in Arkansas

Step 1: Identify the Marriage Details

Prior to beginning your search, compile every detail of the marriage you can find, such as the complete names of both spouses (with their maiden names if relevant), an approximate date for the marriage, and where it occurred (county/city).

Step 2: Find the Record Custodian

Next, determine the custodian of the record you want. If the event occurred after January 1917, the custodian is the Arkansas Department of Health Vital Records Division. For older marriages, you may contact the county clerk's office that issued the marriage license.

Step 3: Choose How to Search

There are a few options through which to order a marriage record. You may search official indexes online, order by mail, or walk in to the county courthouse or state office. If you want a historical record, use genealogical databases like FamilySearch.

Step 4: Submit a Record Request

Upon choosing your preferred order option, complete an application form, present a valid government-issued photo ID, and pay the appropriate processing fee. Mail requests must include a copy of acceptable identification.

How to Get a Certified Marriage Certificate in Arkansas

To obtain a certified marriage record in Arkansas, you must meet the state’s eligibility requirements. Under Arkansas law, a certified marriage record may be provided to the person named on the record, that person's spouse, child, parent, guardian, or authorized representative. Other applicants may qualify if they can demonstrate that the record is necessary to sustain an interest in personal or real property.

To obtain the certified record, you must submit a valid government-issued photo ID (such as a valid driver’s license, a state ID, a passport, or two forms of approved alternative identification) and a completed application (available from the Arkansas Department of Health website or a local health unit). You must provide information on your relationship to the persons named on the record and the reason for requesting the record.

Currently, the Arkansas Department of Health charges $10 for each marriage record. Online requests also currently carry a $5 processing fee and a $1.85 identity-verification fee, plus any optional expedited-delivery charges.

Requests may be submitted:

• Online: Use the Arkansas Vital Records ordering system. Processing will usually take 7-14 business days.
• By mail: Send the completed marriage coupon application, proof of identity, and payment to Arkansas Vital Records. Mail orders normally take 10-14 days.
• In person: The ADH Vital Records office in Little Rock accepts in-person requests and processes orders on the same day.
• By telephone: Arkansas accepts telephone orders through its Vital Records service.

If you want to obtain the county marriage license record, contact the county clerk where the license was issued. Note that county-certified copy costs vary, but several counties charge about $5 for a certified marriage-license copy.

Once you have your certified copy, you can use it for legal name changes, passport applications, immigration paperwork, insurance claims, and other legal or administrative purposes.

How to Get a Marriage License in Arkansas

If you intend to obtain a marriage license in Arkansas, an application must be submitted to a county clerk's office in the state. Typically both applicants must appear together at the county office and present acceptable government-issued photo identification to complete the application process. Acceptable photo identification includes a driver's license, passport, or military ID, showing the applicant's correct name and date of birth.

While there is no residency requirement for applicants, the state sets an age limit for couples looking to obtain a marriage license. You must be at least 18 years old to marry on your own. If you are 17, state law requires both parents to be present to sign a consent affidavit and wait five business days before they may use the license to marry.

The standard fee for a marriage license in Arkansas is $60. However, the state allows counties to impose an additional fee of up to $5 for a copy of the license. Sevier County charges $65 for a marriage license, including a certified copy.

For adults aged 18 or older, there is no waiting period after obtaining a license; hence, they can marry on the same day. An Arkansas marriage license must be used and returned within 60 days of issuance. Note that the license must be returned to the county clerk for recording within this period, whether used or not. Failing to return it may result in a bond being charged against the applicant.

An Arkansas marriage ceremony must be conducted by a state-authorized officiant, such as justices of the peace, certain judges, ordained ministers or priests, or qualifying mayors. No witnesses are required for a marriage ceremony.

After the ceremony the officiant must return the license to the official who issued the license within 15 days. The responsibility of ensuring that the license reaches the issuing county official within the overall 60-day license period falls on the couples.

Who Can Request Marriage Records?

Since Arkansas restricts access to recent marriage records, only certain people can request certified copies before that 50-year public-access window opens. These include:

• Either spouse named on the marriage record
• A parent of a person named on the record
• A child
• A grandchild
• A qualifying grandparent
• A legal guardian
• An authorized representative
• A person who demonstrates that the record is needed to establish or protect a personal or property right
• Court officials or certain government agencies acting within their official duties

Generally, if a record remains within the restricted period, a third party will need authorization, proof of relationship, legal documentation, or evidence of a qualifying personal or property interest to obtain it. However, once 50 years have passed since the marriage, the marriage record held by the state registrar becomes available to the public.

Free and Online Marriage Record Searches

You can obtain informational copies of Arkansas marriage records for free online. Note that these copies do not have a raised seal and cannot be used for legal or administrative purposes. Since free searches only reveal basic text summaries like the spouses' names, the marriage year, and the certificate number, you will need to pay the official state or county fee for detailed or certified copies.

Some Arkansas counties host their public search portals where users can find basic marriage record details online at no cost. For instance, Benton County provides a marriage license search form on its county clerk's webpage. Platforms like FamilySearch also offer free indexes of historical Arkansas marriages.

When marriage record details such as the exact county are unknown, you can search by both spouses' names and use an approximate year range. Alternatively, try maiden surnames and similar spellings. Furthermore, consider looking up old newspaper wedding announcements, census data, or church registries. These sources often list the county where couples filed their paperwork.

Common Law Marriage in Arkansas

Common-law marriages formed in Arkansas are not recognized by the state. Regardless of the length of period a couple cohabits or shares a home, they do cannot qualify as legally married under current Arkansas marriage law unless an official marriage license was issued and a marriage ceremony conducted.

However, Arkansas will recognize a common-law marriage legally established in another state that permits this institution. In such cases where a marriage is legally valid in some other state, Arkansas will respect that status upon the couple’s relocation to its jurisdiction.

Since common-law marriages do not involve an official marriage license, there are no official marriage records in Arkansas, and couples must therefore refer to alternate documents to prove their status in court, like joint tax returns or property deeds.

How to Correct an Error on a Marriage Record

Errors may occur during the record creation process for marriage records. Commonly found errors include:

• Misspelled names
• Incorrect dates
• Incorrect ages or birth information
• Incorrect residence information
• Clerical mistakes
• Information omitted from the original record

To amend a mistake on an Arkansas marriage certificate, Arkansas Vital Records Rules stipulate that an application to amend the certificate must be filed jointly by both parties to the marriage or the surviving spouse. However, if the marriage has already ended through dissolution, divorce, or annulment, an applicant may request changes only to information on the marriage certificate relating to them.

Typically, most marriage certificate amendments in the state require an affidavit identifying the following:

• Marriage record
• Information currently shown
• Information alleged to be incorrect
• Corrected information that should appear

Typically, applicants must supply documented proof supporting the correction. Per state rule, the evidence should either be created five years or more before the request for correction or within the period of seven years from the initial event. However, the state registrar may allow some exceptions. Note that the state sets a $15 fee for the amendment of a marriage record.

There is a separate process for clerical or scrivener's errors on a recorded county marriage license. In such a case, the licensee must submit proof of the error to the the circuit court via an ex parte proceeding. If the court finds that an error occurred, it can order the county clerk to correct it.

Once the amendment has been made at the local level, the corrected information will be sent to the state registrar for the update of the state record.

The processing times for amendment requests vary depending on the complexity of the request. While some requests may take a few business days, those requiring additional documentation or a court order may take weeks to process.

Marriage Records and Name Changes

One of the most common reasons people request for marriage rerecords is to legally change their last name after getting married. In this situation, when you apply for a new driver’s license with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), you may need to provide an original copy of your marriage certificate to prove the name change. The Social Security Administration (SSA) may also require the marriage certificate when you update your Social Security card.

It is important to remember that using a certificate to change your name is not the same as altering or amending the marriage record itself. When you get married and change your name afterward, your marriage certificate can be used as proof of the name change, allowing the entity holding the marriage record to update their records. However, amending a marriage record is done to correct wrongly entered information when the marriage record was issued.

Marriage Records for Genealogy and Family History

County recordkeeping practices began in Arkansas before the state established its statewide marriage-record files in 1917. Hence, access is available to historical marriage records, which allows genealogists to trace ancestral lines easily using county records. Note county officials historically maintained marriage books, licenses, and marriage returns, and state law requires existing county marriage records and indexes to be preserved permanently.

For genealogical researchers, the FamilySearch Arkansas County Marriages collection is one of the most useful starting historical marriage sources. This collection includes marriage indexes from 1837 to 1957 and images preserved in partnership with the Arkansas Genealogical Society.

Typically, Arkansas historical marriage records can be searched by either spouse's name, maiden surname, approximate marriage year, county, residence, or parents' names when available. However, if a search does not yield results, researchers may try nearby counties. This is because couples did not always obtain the license in the county where they later lived, and county boundaries and recordkeeping practices changed over time.

Be aware that historical marriage records may be incomplete. Some earlier marriage books only contain spouses' names, marriage date, and the officiant's name. Spellings may also vary from one document to another, while some records never made it into a searchable index.

Frequently Asked Questions