Marriage License. Hmm! Sounds so formal doesn't it, like driving license, or fishing license and the like. Still, the point is that a marriage license is a formal document, and in order to have a 'right' to marry, we must meet certain conditions, mainly that we are free to marry, of legal age, and a number of other deciding factors that confirm the request is both legit and genuine.
Some states in America have different sets of conditions but the basic requirements are the same nationwide, and that it you are free to marry. There are many countries around the world that permit a man to have than one wife, but not so here in the USA.
Of course, folks can re-marry, but once again, they have to be divorced before they can proceed with their application for a marriage license and merely a legal separation will not suffice. So, once the happy couple-to-be are issued with their marriage license, the authorized person performing the ceremony must have a copy of the marriage certificate by law, otherwise the marriage is not legally binding.

It's strange how the laws pertaining to wedlock differ so greatly between western democratic nations. In the UK, Scotland, right up until 1929 allowed a girl to marry at just 12 years of age and a boy at 14. However, despite those laws, such young marriages were practically unheard of. Today the legal age for marriage in the UK is just 16 but Scottish law does not require parental consent like England, and Wales. This is why the small southern Scottish village of Gretna Green became so popular, as may young English runaway lovers used to make a dash for the border so their marriages could be performed despite parental disapproval.

Things are a little stricter in the US, and any new marriages become part of a public record. When US citizens apply for a marriage license, it most likely publicized in the local newspaper(s), so it's imperative that all the information supplied is correct, or someone might just report any falsehood to the appropriate authorities,

Like birth and death certificates, copies of marriage licenses are stored in your county courthouse indefinitely. Public records such as these are often used by the law or private investigative firms when attempting to track folks down. Of course, old records and old details are no fast route to who you are and where you are now, but they are useful in finding out names (married or maiden), and some indication or where you are residing. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, there is very little of us these days that isn't stored somewhere by some data center and pretty easily accessible for those in the know.

If you have ever got into the study or investigation of ancestry and family history, otherwise known as genealogy, then you will know that marriage licenses are useful documents when attempting to piece together the family tree. With the rapid development of the internet, a lot of great research can be done online, and this includes finding old marriage licenses, but depending on the state and requirements of obtaining such documents, you may need to visit the courthouse in person in order to obtain one.

So you see, a marriage license is a formally recorded legal document, which begins a history at the time of application and gets stored in the marital archives

   By: Mike South