Introduction to Tennessee Marriage Certificates

This article is designed to help you get a Tennessee Marriage certificate.  Marriage Certificates are a bit more difficult to obtain than Marriage Certificates and Death Certificates.  The main difficulty in obtaining Marriage Certificates is that states have not been registering marriages for as long as other vital records.  There are some states that still do not register marriages.  Due to this lack of centralization it is common to contact the county in which the marriage took place.

Counter to common belief, not everything is a few clicks away on the Internet.  Marriage Certificates are one of the items that you can’t just click some links and get a copy of your Marriage Certificate; this is probably a good thing.  You do not want your Marriage certificate in the public domain, where it can be seen by anyone.  However, this does not mean that you can’t easily get your Marriage certificate by following the correct procedure. 
 

Tennessee Marriage certificates have been maintained by the Tennessee Department of Health – Vital Records for individuals married in the state of Tennessee since 1914.

Tennessee Marriage Certificate Authorized Persons

By Tennessee state law, Tennessee Marriage certificates are confidential records and can only be obtained by the following authorized individuals:

• Person Named on the Tennessee Marriage Certificate
• Mother/Father (or Legal Guardian) of Person Named on the Tennessee Marriage Certificate
• Grandparents and Great Grandparents of Person Named on the Tennessee Marriage Certificate
• Husband/Wife of Person Named on the Tennessee Marriage Certificate 
• Adult Son/Daughter of Person Named on the Tennessee Marriage Certificate
• Adult grandchildren of Person Named on the Tennessee Marriage Certificate
• Sister/Brother of individual named on the Tennessee Marriage certificate
• Aunt/Uncle of individual named on the Tennessee Marriage certificat
• Legal Representative of an Authorized Person of Person Named on the Tennessee Marriage Certificate

Tennessee Marriage Certificate for Genealogy Purpose

Most information from Tennessee Marriages, deaths, marriages, and divorces can be provided to any requestor as a hand written transcript. This is called a verification.

Requests for verification should be made in writing to the Vital Records office.  You must provide enough information so that our staff can locate the record you would like verified.  The fee is $15.00 per record per year searched.  This fee is charged for the search for the record and is not refunded even if no record is found.  The Vital Records Office keeps Marriage records for 100 years and keeps death, marriage, and divorce records for 50 years; after that time, the records are sent to the Tennessee State Library and Archives for public access and family research.

Cause of death is not verifiable and is not released except to immediate family members or their legal representatives for certain reasons as specified by state law.

Tennessee Marriage Certificate Ordering

Options Option 1 – Order Tennessee Marriage Certificate Online

This option is the simplest and easiest way to get your Tennessee Marriage Certificate.  Order online and you will get your Tennessee Marriage Certificate usually in less than a week.  Many times you will have the option of receiving your vital record by next-day or second-day service.

Order Birth and Death Records Online!  

Option 2 – Order Tennessee Marriage Certificate through the Mail

Follow the instructions below, if you are not ordering your Tennessee Marriage certificate online.  It usually takes 2 weeks upon receipt of request to be sent to you:

Step 1: Download Mail-In Application

Step 2: Please provide as much of the following information as possible to locate the Tennessee Marriage certificate:

• Full name of husband on the Tennessee Marriage certificate
• Full maiden name of wife on the Tennessee Marriage certificate
• Date of Marriage on the Tennessee Marriage certificate
• County (or city) of Marriage on the Tennessee Marriage certificate
• Your name 
• Your signature 
• Your relationship to the person whose Tennessee Marriage certificate you are requesting 
• Address where the Tennessee Marriage certificate is to be mailed 
• Self addressed stamped envelope
• Your daytime phone number
• By Mail: Send the above information and the appropriate fee to:

Tennessee Vital Records

Central Services Building

1st Floor

421 5th Avenue North

Nashville, Tennessee  37243

Option 3 – In Person

In Person in Tennessee: You may go to any county health department in the State of Tennessee to obtain a certified copy of a Tennessee Marriage certificate. Most Tennessee Marriage certificates can be issued while you wait.

Tennessee Marriage Certificate Ordering Cost

The fee to search for a Tennessee Marriage certificate is $15.00, which includes one certified copy of the Tennessee Marriage certificate or a "Certificate of Failure to Find." For each additional copy of the Tennessee Marriage certificate ordered at the same time, the fee is $5.00. Checks or Money Orders should be made payable to "Tennessee Vital Records." Please do not send cash. Fees are not refundable. Additional fees are required for expedited service.