How to Get Florida Marriage Records Online or by Mail

To get Florida marriage records, you have three options: mail a paper application to the Bureau of Vital Statistics, order online through VitalChek, or walk into the Bureau’s office in Jacksonville. The Bureau holds marriage certificates from June 6, 1927 to the present. For anything earlier, or for a marriage that happened in the last 60 days, you’ll go to the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where the license was issued.¹

What To Have Ready Before You Request

A clean request moves faster and costs less. Gather:

Both spouses’ full legal names at the time of the marriage, including maiden names or prior surnames.
The date of the marriage, or as narrow a range as you can manage. Each extra calendar year the Bureau has to search adds $2, capped at $50.²
The county where the license was issued, if you know it.

If you don’t know the county, the Bureau can still search its statewide database. If you don’t know the year, give your best guess at the decade and expect the fee to climb with each year added to the search.

Requesting by Mail

Download Form DH 261, the Application for Florida Marriage Certificate, from the Department of Health’s website.³ Fill in both spouses’ names, the date and county of the marriage, your contact information, and sign it.

Send the application with a check or money order payable to “Vital Statistics” to:

Florida Department of Health
Bureau of Vital Statistics
Attn: Vital Records Section
P.O. Box 210
Jacksonville, FL 32231-0042⁴

Don’t mail cash. International payments must be by cashier’s check or money order in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S. bank. Processing runs 3 to 5 business days for computer-generated certificates covering marriages from 1970 to the present, plus mail time each way. Records from before 1970 take longer.¹

Ordering Online Through VitalChek

VitalChek is the only online vendor contracted with the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics.¹ It costs more than mailing a paper form, but the order goes to the Bureau electronically and includes rush processing. For a single certificate:

$15 Bureau fee ($5 search plus a $10 rush fee)
$7 VitalChek processing fee
$4 for each additional copy ordered at the same time¹

That’s $22 for one certificate before any shipping. Payment is by credit card. Use this route when you need the record quickly and don’t want to deal with checks.

Requesting in Person

You can walk into the Bureau of Vital Statistics office in Jacksonville:

1217 N Pearl St.
Jacksonville, FL 32202
Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.¹

Walk-in payment is by cash, check, money order, Visa, or Mastercard. Contactless and tap-to-pay are not accepted. Computer-generated certificates for marriages from 1970 onward can often be produced the same day. Records from before 1970 are photocopied rather than computer-generated and need the $10 rush fee for same-day service when it’s available. Local county health department offices also accept requests, though wait times vary.¹

Fees

The Bureau charges:

$5 for the first calendar year searched, which includes one certified copy if a record is found. If no record turns up, you get a certified “No Record Found” statement and the fee is not refunded.⁴
$4 for each additional certified copy of the same record ordered at the same time.
$2 for each additional calendar year searched when the year of marriage is unknown, up to a $50 cap.²
$10 rush fee for expedited processing or same-day walk-in service on older records.¹

Fees are nonrefundable once the search is done. One exception: if you paid for additional copies and no record was found, the additional-copy fees are refunded.²

If the Marriage Was in the Last 60 Days

The state record may not exist yet. After the ceremony, the officiant returns the signed license to the county clerk, who records it and later transmits the information to the state. If you need proof of marriage right away, request a certified copy directly from the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county that issued your license.¹ That’s the fastest path for a name change, insurance enrollment, or anything else on a short deadline.

Marriages Before June 6, 1927

The Bureau has no records from before June 6, 1927. Contact the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where the license was issued.¹

Apostille for Use Outside the United States

A certified copy alone usually isn’t enough for a foreign government. You’ll need an apostille, which authenticates the document under the Hague Convention. In Florida, only the Secretary of State issues apostilles, through the Division of Corporations.⁵

Start by getting an original certified copy from the Bureau of Vital Statistics or the county clerk. Photocopies won’t work. Then complete the Apostille and Notarial Certificate Request Form and mail it with the certified document, payment, and a self-addressed stamped return envelope to:

Division of Corporations, Apostille Section
2415 N. Monroe Street, Suite 810
Tallahassee, FL 32303⁵

The fee is $10 per document, or $20 if the certificate was certified by a Florida Clerk of the Court rather than the Bureau, because a Certificate of Incumbency has to be added. Pay by check or money order to the “Florida Department of State” in U.S. currency from a U.S. bank. Cash and credit cards are not accepted. Requests are processed in the order received, so build in time if you’re working toward an immigration or court deadline overseas.⁵

1
Florida Department of Health. Marriage Certificates
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code 382.0255 – Fees
3
Florida Department of Health. Application for Florida Marriage Certificate
4
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Where to Write for Vital Records – Florida
5
Florida Department of State. Authentications (Apostilles and Notarial Certifications)