View Free Miami-Dade County Marriage Records

Search free Miami-Dade County marriage records on anyone without stress or tedious research.

With seemingly endless information to sift through and several different places that may seem like a good bet to start searching, refer to this resource and the links and information within to streamline any search for marriage records in Miami-Dade County.

How To Search Miami-Dade County Marriage Records for Free (Florida)

To search for Miami-Dade County marital information, begin searching at the county’s Online Marriage License Bureau.

Every other local government site, such as the County Clerk of the Courts & Comptroller, or the official Miami-Dade County website, that mentions marriage license records will redirect users to the Online Marriage License Bureau’s Marriage License Search Tool.^{1, 2}

From here, they can conduct a standard search for marriage license records in the county, but will need to have certain relevant information as displayed below:

• First, middle, and last names of both parties
• Birthdates of both parties
• Dates of the marriage

OR

• Marriage License Number (this number will be all four digits of the year of the marriage followed by up to 6 more numbers)

If ordering a certified copy of a Miami-Dade County marriage record, requests can also be placed via phone at (305-275-1155). Non-certified copies are not available within the county. Use the following address for requesting by mail or in-person:

Marriage License Bureau
Overtown Transit Village South
601 NW 1 Court, Suite 1900
Miami, FL 33136

Fees and charges will apply when ordering certified copies of marriage licenses for Miami-Dade County; the first copy is $9 and all additional copies will be $7. If the year of the marriage license is unknown, an additional $2 will be charged for each year searched. For example, if someone searches three times for a marriage record, first trying 1997, then 1998, and finally 1999, there will be an additional $4 added for the two extra years searched.

If someone was looking for marriage records for genealogy purposes, archived records are also available through the county; more on this can be found below.

How Do You View Archived Marriage Records in Miami-Dade County Florida?

How to go about viewing archived Miami-Dade County marital records depends on the year the ceremony occurred. Any marital license from 1995 or later can still be viewed and obtained online through the Online Marriage License Bureau.

For marriage records between the years 1971 and 1995, certificates can be viewed online but must be ordered by mail, and licenses from before 1971 (going all the way back to the 1800’s) can only be ordered by mail, using the following address:

Marriage License Bureau
Overtown Transit Village South
601 NW 1 Court, Suite 1900
Miami, FL 33136

Include the following when requesting a copy by mail:

• A completed Marriage License Certified Copy Request form³
• Payment (refer to amounts and methods)
• A return envelope, both self-addressed and stamped

Boundary lines changed for Miami-Dade County around the turn of the 20th century, which affected the archiving process of some marriage licenses from the early 1900’s that were originally within the county lines, but have since been redesignated to either Palm Beach or Broward County.

For the time period of February 1905 to October 1911, there is an available index for what was then just called “Dade County” that can be accessed. There are not many corresponding certificates available for these records, however.

The state of Florida does not have any legislation addressing relationships besides formal marriage, so the legality of other types of unions is on a county-by-county basis.

Aside from formal marriages, there are two other unions recognized in Miami-Dade County: domestic partnerships and reciprocal beneficiary relationships. Civil unions and common law marriages are not recognized in this county.

However, because common law marriages were at one time allowed in Florida, the county has made some exceptions; if a common law marriage was entered into before January 1st, 1968, it is still honored by Miami-Dade County.

Lastly, some other resources that may host information or documents on historical marital events include libraries, churches or other religious institutions, or even past newspapers.

How To Find Marriage Records Throughout the State of Florida

Often, an obstacle when searching for a marriage license is knowing the county in which the ceremony took place. In these cases, Miami-Dade County custodians may not help, but these records are also available through a statewide database.

The Miami-Dade County Clerk of the Circuit Court has archived marriage records, along with records for the entire state of Florida dating back to 1927. These certificates can be accessed at the state’s Bureau of Vital Statistics.⁴

When a license has been searched through the Bureau of Vital Statistics, the certificate viewed will not be a certified copy; instead, it serves as a summary of the information on the actual marriage license. That said, it is still considered a valid form of evidence that a marriage has taken place.

The only ways to order one of these certificates through the Bureau is by mail or in-person. In either case, an Application for Florida Marriage Certificate will need to be printed and filled out.⁵ Fees will apply for these license summaries as well, and can be found at the bottom of the linked page.

You can pay an additional $10 to rush your copy, and $1 for shipping and handling if using the mail-in option. For walk-ins, head to the following address:

Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics
1217 N Pearl Street
Jacksonville, FL 32202

For the mail-in option, send documents to the following P.O. Box:

Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics
P.O. Box 210
Jacksonville, FL 32231-0042

How To Apply for a Marriage License in Miami-Dade County Florida

If a couple in Florida wishes to get married, they need to apply in-person and be at least 18 years old. In Florida, a marriage license will allow the couple to get married anywhere within the state, regardless what specific county issued the license.

In Miami-Dade County, while walk-ins are accepted for both marriage license application appointments and marriage ceremony appointments, wait times are much higher. It’s recommended to schedule an appointment for either via the Online Marriage License Bureau.

If scheduling an appointment for a license application, there is a pre-application form available online to fill out and bring to the appointment. As for where to go, Miami-Dade County offers several locations for either appointment; couples can head to the following address:

Marriage License Bureau
601 NW 1 Court, Suite 1900
Miami, FL 33136

The Marriage License Bureau is open from 9:00am – 4:00pm Monday – Friday, and can be reached by phone at (305)275-1155.

Alternatively, there are six district courts throughout the county where a couple can also head to either apply for a marriage license or to get married.⁸

When applying for a marriage license in Miami-Dade County, both parties must be present and bring with a valid federal or state ID off the following list:

• Passport
• Driver’s License (issued by any US state)
• US Military ID
• Alien Registration Card
• State ID Card (issued by any US state)
• Naturalization Certificate (must be original copy)

Other information will be requested as well, such as social security numbers, or the date of a previous divorce if applicable to either party. The entire list of documents and information needed at this appointment can be found through the Clerk of the Court & Comptroller site under the “Requirements” tab.⁹

After a marriage license is issued, there is a mandatory three-day wait period before it can be used. However, a couple can bypass this by taking a premarital course by a registered provider.

Not only does this option allow the couple to marry sooner, but the license fee will be reduced; instead of paying $86 (the price of a marriage license in Miami-Dade County) a couple will only pay $61.

After a ceremony, marriage licenses are returned to the Clerk of the Circuit Court office to be recorded. From there, they are forwarded to the Bureau of Vital Statistics, where they are permanently filed. This process can take up to two months.

If evidence of the ceremony is needed before this, a search can be done within the county where the license was issued. So, in this case, someone could search for marriage records in Miami-Dade County and would be able to locate their license.

While it may seem like there are many different places to turn for different questions about these records, the Online Marriage License Bureau is the best starting point. Other helpful resources are the County Clerk of the Court and Comptroller office and the Bureau of Vital Statistics, and applications and forms concerning domestic partnerships are over at the official county website.

Referring back to the links and resources mentioned in this article, though, will provide the quickest way to find any Miami-Dade County marriage records.