Run a Free Indiana Marriage Records Search (License Lookup)

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Free Indiana Marriage Record Search

Access anyone's marital information in Indiana, free of charge.

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Access free Indiana marriage records using the online databases linked within this brief resource.

Obtaining a marriage record is seamless when the citizen searching knows which agency to contact and the correct process to follow. Rest assured that this article clearly explains how to find information about marriages performed in Indiana via the various methods and search tools covered below.

Are Marriage Records & Certificates Publicly Available in Indiana?

According to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act (APRA), anyone can request to view or copy public records regardless of the requestor’s state of residence.^{1, 2}

Marriage license applications, licenses, and certificates are considered public records in Indiana. Per Indiana Code § 31-11-4-4, these records are maintained by the clerk of the circuit court in each county.

Additionally, statistical data acquired from records of marriages are available to the public for inspection, as per IC § 31-11-4-19.

However, some restrictions may apply. Only basic information on a marriage “license” (e.g., the couple’s names, the date and county of the wedding) can be accessed using searchable databases online. On the other hand, a marriage certificate, the document issued after the wedding ceremony, is not accessible online.

Furthermore, according to the Indiana Department of Health, only some individuals are eligible to get “certified” copies of marriage records. For example, a certified copy of a marriage certificate can be given to the spouses themselves, or persons who can provide documentation to prove they have a direct interest in it.

Also, certain marriage applications may be classified as “partially confidential” and may not be disclosed as per IC § 5-14-3-4 (a) and IC § 5-15-6-7(c).³ Such partially confidential marriage applications may only be disclosed for three reasons:

• If the applicant have a written consent
• A court order
• Marriage application was filed 50 years or more prior

According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Indiana’s marriage rate in 2022 was 6.1 marriages per 1000 total population, which is higher than the previous years. In 2020, the state marriage rate was 5.8 and increased to 6.0 in 2021.

How To Find Indiana Marriage Records & Licenses via a Free Search

To check if someone is married in Indiana, or to quickly run a marriage record search online, everyone can use the following resources without having to pay any fees:

1. Indiana Courts’ Marriage License Lookup Tool
2. Indiana State Library’s Online Resources

Indiana Judicial Branch: A Free Marriage License Search Portal provided by the Indiana Judicial Branch. It contains a statewide index to marriages filed from 1993 to the current year.

There are fields to identify the names of the bride and groom, county where they received their license and also the approximate range of years within which the marriage may have taken place.

Indiana State Library: The Indiana State Library offers a tool that provides free access to marriage records index for the period 1958-2021.⁵ This tool has been developed by the Indiana State Library. While these are more recent records, Indiana State Library also has archived indexes for much older events, which will be detailed in the later section.

It is worth noting that the tools listed above provide only online databases; they cannot be used to order copies of the actual marriage licenses or certificates.

Indiana Department of Health: A reliable way to verify someone’s marital status or to get certified copies of specific Indiana marital records, is to contact the State Department of Health (IDOH) — Division of Vital Records.

Those interested in making a request through the IDOH office, may complete a State Application Form for Certified Record of Marriage and send it along with the required fee and a copy of their own government-issued ID to the address below:⁶

Indiana Department of Health
2 North Meridian St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Phone: 317-233-1325

Before submitting a request, it is advisable to check the ‘identification’ and ‘direct interest’ requirements listed on IDOH Vital Records Office website.

Each marriage record search request costs $8.00 and when approved, a certified copy of the record will be sent to the requester (typically within two weeks). If a record cannot be found, the requester will be notified by mail.

Note: The Indiana Department of Health does not retain marriage records prior to 1958, so earlier records can be obtained at the county level, as seen below.

Accessing Marriage Records via Counties & Cities Throughout Indiana

There are many benefits to requesting a marriage record through the Indiana Clerk’s Offices, as outlined below.

• Availability of Early Records: Counties have marriage records since as early as the 1800s whereas the state office of vital records began keeping the copies only in 1958.
• Confirmation/Official Certified Copies: While the state government provides free search tools to find marriage records, they cannot be used to confirm a specific record or to receive a certified copy. To do so, searchers need to contact the Clerk of Court in the county where the marriage application was originally made.
• In-Person Requests: The IDOH office does not accept in-person requests. On the other hand, county clerks allow the public to come into their offices and interact with staff.
• Less Expensive, Faster Service: Same-day service can be availed at the local clerk’s office, state level searches may take longer due to more rush and larger volume of requests processed at the state office.

At the clerk’s office, inquirers may be asked to provide their name, address, the names of the applicants, and the date of marriage (approximate, if not known). They also need to specify whether they want a “certified” copy or a “non-certified” copy.

A certified record of a marriage is officially signed, issued with a raised seal, so it holds great legal importance and can only be obtained by presenting valid identification (e.g., a copy of a government-issued photo ID).

To approach a county clerk of courts, it is important to know how they prefer to receive a request.

Marion County: Marion County Clerk allows citizens to request for a certified copy of a marriage license by mail (by submitting a Certified Marriage License/Application Form and a money order with $4 for each copy). A request can also be made in person by visiting the Records Department office at the following address.

Marion County Clerk’s Office
Records Division
1330 Madison Ave.
Indianapolis, IN: 46225

Phone: 317-327-4740

Lake County: The Lake County Clerk processes Orders for Certified Copies of Marriage Licenses following a similar formal process, i.e., completion of the form, proper identification of either applicant and submission of the request at:

Lake County Clerk 
Marriage License Office
Courts Building, 1st Floor
2293 N. Main Street
Crown Point, IN 46307

Phone: 219-648-6996

Residents can also refer to the instructions for obtaining Lake County marital information for additional insight.

Allen County: The Allen County Clerk has an Online Requests Portal for Ordering Copies of a Marriage License.^{7, 8} The requester can also print, complete the form and mail it to the office given below:

Allen County Clerk of the Courts
Central Services Division
Rm 201, 715 South Calhoun St.
Fort Wayne, IN 46802

Phone: 260-449-7890

People can order a copy also by sending an email to copyrequest@co.allen.in.us. The fees are mentioned on the Allen County Courthouse website.

Similarly, both Hamilton County Clerk and St. Joseph County accept requests for certified copies of marriage records through online forms as well as in-person requests. More details, including the forms, fees and addresses can be found on the respective websites.

Those who know the county of the marriage but unsure about the specific date of the marriage, may request a search through the circuit court clerk for a minimal fee.

In the U.S., counties and cities may have their own separate systems of government and in some cases, they merge into a form of consolidated government (e.g., a common city-county council). Even so, marriage licenses mostly continue to be issued and managed by county clerks.

For example, individuals residing in Indianapolis will have to visit the Marion County Clerk’s Office to get copies of a marriage license. Likewise, nuptials performed within the city of Fort Wayne are recorded in the Allen County Courthouse and can be obtained through the Clerk of the Court.¹⁰

In the city of Evansville, anyone can approach the Vanderburgh County Clerk’s Office for marriage information. Similarly, the South Bend City Clerk does not keep marriage records, instead, the responsibility rests on the St. Joseph County Clerk’s Office. The fees, forms, procedures and guidelines vary by county and are available on their official websites (linked above).

However, a county clerk may not be able to process a request if the marriage license was issued in a different county. Also, marriages were not very consistently recorded until the 1900s, so some data has been lost/never recorded.

If the date and the county of marriage are both unknown, a search may be performed using the state’s archived marriage indexes. Searchers can also request copies of them from the archives for genealogy-related purposes (e.g., finding someone’s ancestors).

How To Track Down Family Marriage Records via Archived Indexes in Indiana

Many counties have transferred their early marriage records to the Indiana State Archives.

To identify these counties, people can visit the State Archives Records Series & Collections page and run a search with the word “marriage”.¹¹ The results will show where a specific series of records is housed.

A specific record can be retrieved by visiting the library in person and utilizing the reading room of the Indiana State Archives as long as the visitor follows the IARA guidelines for research inquiries and use of records.¹² An index to marriage records between 1957—1992 is available for viewing at the archives.

If someone wants to seek information remotely, they can either send an email to arc@iara.in.gov, or send a letter to the postal mailing address below:

Indiana State Archives
6440 East 30th St.
Indianapolis, IN 46219

Indiana State Library and Allen County Public Library are two other institutions that have county-by-county marriage databases (generally from 1850 to 1920) in print.

The Indiana State Library provides an Online Database of Historical Marriage Licenses before 1850.⁵ This tool enables users to search free marriage records by entering just a name as a keyword.

The Indiana State Library keeps a great number of indexes to marriage records in print and some original records on microfilm. Here is a list to find out the range of years for which marriage records are available here. In addition, the library houses many genealogical resources that can be used for family history research.

Those unable to find a marriage record online, can make a trip to the Indiana State Library, or alternatively utilize their Ask-a-Librarian and Live Chat services to ask for general information.

It is evident that local and state government agencies provide various means to look up marriage licenses in Indiana. Some marital information from the remote past can be found in other sources as well, such as old newspapers, church records, historical societies and local libraries.

Another convenient option is running a marriage record search through reputable third-party websites. While the accuracy or completeness of the third-party databases cannot be guaranteed, they allow for quick access to a large collection of public marriage information, based on data collected from across the web.

Indiana Common Law Marriages

A common law marriage is a relationship between two persons who are living together and consider themselves married without having acquired a license to marry or having their marriage solemnized.

Indiana is not among the few U.S. states that approve common law marriages. No common marriages performed in the state after January, 1958, are legally recognized (Indiana Code § 31-11-8-5). Hence, there is no official source to access information about Indiana couples who are currently in a common law marriage.

Same-sex marriages have been permitted in Indiana since a Supreme Court decision in 2014.¹³ However, the Indiana State Code has not yet been amended (IC § 31-11-1-1) regarding this issue so even to this day, there are no statutory provisions allowing same-sex marriages. A marital union is sanctioned by Indiana law when it’s “between one man and one woman”.

A premarital agreement (also known as a “prenup”), is considered to be valid, but it does not constitute a “public record”. Also, the contract has to be carried out according to the Indiana Code § 31-11-3 to be legally acceptable.

How To Apply For & Submit an Indiana Marriage License

To marry in Indiana, a couple is required to obtain a license from the clerk’s office in the county where they wish to file. Before applying for a marriage license, the applicants need to ensure that they meet the following criteria:

• Both parties must be at least 18 years of age. If they are 16-17 years old, they must have received permission to get married by a juvenile court order under IC § 31-11-7.
• Both applicants can be physically present at the county clerk’s office, each of them with a valid government-issued ID card that shows their identity, residency, and date of birth. Some counties allow couples to pre-apply for a marriage license online prior to arriving at the clerk’s office, to save time. Details can be found in the websites linked below.
• If either party was married before, they can provide information on the date and manner (for example, annulment, divorce or death) of how their past marriage ended.
• Applicants are not closely related (e.g., as first cousins).
• Both parties applying to marry are of complete sound mind, not under any influence of substance abuse, when applying.

Upon meeting the requirements, an Indiana marriage license can be purchased for $25 if both of the prospective spouses are residents of the state.

For out-of-state residents, the license costs $65 (along with any additional fees as may apply). Couples can refer to Indiana Code 31-11 for more details on the state marriage laws.

Once a marriage license is issued, it remains valid for 60 days and it can be used to marry only in the state of Indiana. Below are some of the largest counties and the marriage application process as outlined on each of their websites.

• Marion County Marriage License Application
• Lake County Clerk’s Marriage Office
• Allen County Marriage License Information
• Hamilton County Marriage Application Process
• St. Joseph County Marriage License Application

After the ceremony, the “officiant” who authorized the wedding is responsible for returning the marriage license (verified, properly filled and signed) to the county clerk for having it officially recorded. Next, the couple receives certified copies of the license and their marriage certificate from the clerk’s office.

Since there is no one single portal to search Indiana marriage records that would fit the needs of every searcher, this resource includes all possible options and scenarios to help individuals seamlessly find the specific information they are looking for. 

Searchers can also track down many other types of public information using the Indiana free public record lookup overview; this tutorial clearly explains how to access records of deaths, births, divorces, background checks, crimes, arrests, and more.