Georgia Marriage And Divorce Records

Choose the proof that answers your question

Georgia marriage records and divorce records are separate documents held through different channels. A marriage certificate records a marriage; a divorce decree records the court’s final divorce order. A marriage verification can help establish an event or identify its county, but it does not reproduce the decree’s terms. Ask the receiving organization whether it needs a certified certificate, a verification letter or a certified final decree before ordering.

For marriage documents outside the state’s limited certificate holdings, start with the Probate Court in the county that issued the license. For a divorce decree, use the Clerk of Superior Court in the county that granted the divorce. A current residence or the county where a couple later lived is not enough to identify either custodian.

Check the marriage date, including the 1996 boundary

DPH’s marriage page lists applications and certificates from June 1952 through August 1996. Its separate verification service covers marriages on or after January 1, 2014. These are different collections: the verification service does not make every recent marriage certificate available from the state.

There is a published discrepancy for late 1996. The DPH webpage ends certificate coverage in August, while linked Form 3913 says November 1996. For a September–November 1996 marriage, contact Vital Records at 404-679-4702 before paying the nonrefundable state search fee, or request the record from the issuing Probate Court. Do not assume that a state search failure means the marriage never occurred.

Who can request an application or certificate?

Form 3913 describes marriage records as public, but the marriage application itself is available only to the two parties to the marriage. This distinction matters when a relative or researcher wants the application’s additional information. Choose the certificate or verification product that you are entitled to request rather than assuming all documents in the marriage file have the same access rules.

Complete the appropriate form with both parties’ legal names and last names at the time of marriage, the marriage date and place, your relationship, contact details, signature and mailing address. Send a legible copy of valid photo ID with a mailed request. The form lists accepted identification, including an unexpired U.S. passport and qualifying state driver’s licenses; use that list rather than sending original identification.

Mail the correct form and exact fee

Use Form 3913 for the state’s marriage application or certificate search and Form 3970 for a marriage verification. Each request has a $10 nonrefundable search fee, including one copy if the record is found; additional copies ordered at the same time cost $5 each. Two copies therefore cost $15. A fee pays for the search even when no matching record is located.

Mail the completed form, ID copy and a U.S. money order or certified check to State Office of Vital Records, 1680 Phoenix Boulevard, Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30349. Make payment to the GA State Office of Vital Records and use one payment per application. Do not mail cash. Form 3970 requests the names, event details and delivery address even when the reason for the verification is uncertainty about the county; explain missing information rather than inventing it.

Plan around the published mail service

Georgia’s general vital-record guide publishes an 8–10 week mail response time. That is a planning estimate, not a guaranteed deadline for a particular marriage search. The marriage-specific instructions direct requesters to mail the applicable form. The general guide’s online ordering options are limited to birth and death certificates, so do not pay an online birth/death vendor expecting it to retrieve a marriage certificate through that service.

Ask the granting Superior Court for the divorce decree

DPH may confirm a divorce, but Georgia directs requests for copies of divorce records to the Superior Court clerk where the divorce was granted. Prepare both parties’ names, the case number if known and an approximate filing or final-order date. Specify the final decree, the number of copies and whether certification is needed. If you also need a settlement agreement or later order, identify it separately so the clerk can quote the correct file and page count.

The state marriage fee and state mail estimate do not set the price or delivery time for a county divorce order. Ask the identified clerk for its search, copying, certification and delivery charges and any access requirements for the requested filing. If the county is unknown, first check existing court paperwork or ask which court issued the divorce confirmation.

Check the returned document before using it

Compare the spouses’ names, event date, issuing county and document type with your request. DPH directs changes to a marriage application or certificate to the relevant county Probate Court. For a discrepancy in a divorce order, take the case number and exact disputed entry to the granting Superior Court clerk for the applicable court process. Keep an unaltered copy of what you received; editing your copy does not correct the government record or establish that a later divorce never occurred.