Free Tarrant County Marriage Records Search (Resource)

Look up free Tarrant County marriage records on anybody today.

You can do so as part of a genealogy search, to assist in resolving a legal or business situation, or just to satisfy a curiosity. Regardless of your reason, citizens are authorized to access these records through Texas’ Public Information Act.

While the law mandates the availability of these records, it doesn’t require that the information be provided through a specific medium or agency, so it’s vital to know where to look and how to submit requests for these details.

Rest assured that this article provides all information needed to understand the types of marriage records that can be accessed and requested at no cost and how to find them. Use the tools and resources outlined below to conduct your marriage records search in Tarrant County, Texas.

This resource was written by Attorney Robert Bailey Jr, who holds a Juris Doctorate from Widener University School of Law.

How To Complete a Tarrant County Marriage Records Lookup for Free

The first step in performing a search is to know the records custodian. For Tarrant County marital records, the custodian is the County Clerk. A quick way to look up marriage records is by using the Clerk’s online search tool.¹

To use this search tool, select “marriage license” under the search types option. The document types option allows you to search formal marriages, informal (common-law) or both.

Once you make your selections, you can enter the person’s name and a date range for either the marriage or application date. The results will provide you with the license number, book and page location, names, marriage and application. You can then click on the license number to view a PDF of the original marriage certificate.

A citizen can print this off for informational purposes. You can use this search guide if you have any questions about conducting a search.²

If you want to request a certified or non-certified record, you can do it online through their official records search tool.³

You can also request a marriage record by mail or in person with the Tarrant County Clerk.⁴ A citizen can make a request in person at any Tarrant County Vital Records location.

A request by mail must include the full name of both individuals on the record and the date of marriage. A request should also include the fee (check or money order made payable to Tarrant County Clerk) and a self-addressed stamped envelope, which can be sent to the address below:

Tarrant County Clerk
200 Taylor St., Ste. 301
Fort Worth, Texas 76196

The first copy costs $21.00 and additional copies cost $10.00. For additional questions, you can contact the Tarrant County Clerk by phone at 817-884-1195 or email at [email protected]. They are available Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

The next section discusses archived marriage records, which can be helpful for genealogy purposes.

How Do I Access Historical Records of Marriage in Tarrant County Texas?

Accessing historical and archived marriage records can be a unique process. The older a record, the harder it may be to find, as people in the past did not maintain records as reliably as they do now. In some cases, archived marriage records are held with a different custodian.

For archived marriage records, you can start by checking with the Tarrant County Clerk’s Office to see how far back these documents go.⁵ They can be reached by phone at 817-884-1195 or visited in person at the address below:

Tarrant County Clerk
200 Taylor St. 
Fort Worth, Texas 76196

You can also check with Tarrant County Archives to see what types of documents they have available.⁶ You can start by using their online search tool.⁷

They are open for research Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM. For more information, you can contact them by email at [email protected] or by phone at 817-884-3272.

Citizens also may find archived marriage records in indexes and old newspapers held by public libraries and historical societies. You may also find marriage records from churches and other religious institutions that perform wedding ceremonies.

If you need to conduct a broader search, you can check with the Texas State Library & Archives Commission for marriage indexes.⁸ For questions on available records, email them at [email protected] or call them at 512-463-5474. If you want to talk to someone in person, you can go to the following location:

Texas State Library & Archives
1201 Brazos St. 
Austin, Texas 78701

Another state option is to look for marriage records through the Texas State Archives & Libraries Family History Centers.

You can also search records for common-law marriages. A common law marriage is legal in Texas and recognizes a couple as married without obtaining a license and following the formal process. Domestic partnerships are not recognized by Texas statute.

How To Search Texas Marital Records Outside of Tarrant County

After searching records of marriage limited to Tarrant County, you may still not have found what you were looking for. It could be that the person you are searching for was married in a neighboring county, although you may be unsure. The quickest way to broaden your search is to look for marriage records with a state agency.

In Texas, a citizen can request marriage records through the Vital Statistics Section of the Texas Department of State Health Services. They can provide verifications of marriages in Texas from 1966 to the present. However, they cannot provide a certified copy of the marriage certificate, which can only be requested by the county clerk who originally issued it.

To request a verification from the Vital Records section, you must be considered a qualified person. A qualified person can be the person listed on the record, a family member (e.g., spouse, parent, guardian, children, siblings, grandparent) or a legal representative. If you are not one of these people, you will have to provide legal proof (e.g., court order) that you have a right or need for the record.

One option to obtain a marriage verification is by submitting an online request with the Vital Statistics Section.⁹ You can also complete an Application for Marriage Record Form, which can be brought in person to a Vital Statistics office location or mailed to the address below:¹⁰

Texas Vital Statistics
Department of State Health Services
P.O. Box 12040
Austin, Texas 78711

However you make a request, you will need to provide your contact information, relationship to the person on the certificate and reason you are seeking the marriage verification. You then must provide the names of the people married and the date and location of the marriage. Lastly, you will have to indicate how many marriage verifications you want, as the cost is $20.00 each (additional fees for expedited shipping).

Another option from the Vital Statistics office is to view their online marriage indexes.¹¹ These indexes, available starting in 1966, contain the file number, name of both parties, their ages, date and location of their Texas marriage.

If you have additional questions about requesting verification or reviewing these marriage indexes, you can review the Vital Statistics Section Marriage FAQs. You can also call them at 888-963-711 or email them at [email protected]. The Vital Statistics Section is available for inquiries Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

How To Acquire a Tarrant County Marriage License

Once a couple decides to get married, they will have to proceed with the process of obtaining a marriage license. A marriage license comes with various requirements.

To apply for a marriage license, one will need to follow the requirements outlined by the Tarrant County Clerk.¹² They provide options to apply in person and virtually through a video conference.¹³

If you choose to go in person, you can still complete their online marriage application and then go in person to finalize everything at any Tarrant County Clerk location. To receive a marriage license in Tarrant County, both individuals must provide a valid government-issued identification to confirm their age and a person’s legal name.

Acceptable forms of identification include the following:

• Passport
• State ID
• Driver’s License
• Military ID
• Visa

To receive a marriage license, you must provide a social security number if you have one. Parties must be at least 18 years old and also provide a completed Affidavit of Age & Identity. Both parties must be present and if not, you will have to complete an Absentee Affidavit and have it notarized.¹⁴

Lastly, both parties must be at least 30 days removed from a divorce to get a marriage license, unless waived by a judge. This requirement can be ignored if you are marrying the person you divorced.

Once you receive a marriage license, make sure to wait at least 72 hours before holding your wedding ceremony. There are only limited exceptions to this requirement, such as if one of the people getting married is on active military duty or the parties completed and received a certificate for the Twogether in Texas premarital counseling. The only other exception is if you receive a signed waiver from the District Judge.

The fee for a marriage license is $75.00, which is further reduced to $15.00 with a certificate of completion of state-approved premarital counseling. There is an additional $100 charge on any marriage license application if both parties are nonresidents of Texas.

Once you receive your marriage license, make sure you get married within 90 days or it will expire. If you have any additional questions about obtaining a marriage license, you can contact the Tarrant County Clerk at 814-884-1550.¹⁵ Their office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

The links and resources above will allow you to smoothly apply for a marriage license in Tarrant County; you now also know how to access Tarrant County marriage records through local and state resources.