Marriage Records

On January 9, 1872, Governor George L. Woods said in his Message to the Legislature (Series 182):

There is no statute law in Utah upon the subject of marriage. I do no hesitate to say that in my judgment there ought to be. Marriage may be a sacrament. It is is none the less a civil contract. This is the established doctrine of the Republic. It ought to be so regarded in this Territory. (Box 1, p. 161)

At this point, the only mention of marriage in laws and statutes of the territory was in regard to divorces and the ages of defined minors (Acts, Resolutions and Memorials... (1870), p. 108)

Marriage licenses as a record issued by a government agency begin in Utah with the Edmunds-Tucker Act of 1887 (read the entire text from 24 Stat. 635). The law primarily meant to end polygamy required a record of marriage as a means of enforcement, though only in Territories of the United States where Congress had such powers. The new process was described in a Deseret News article of April 18, 1888, "Filing Marriage Certificates," which references the new "marriage law." Beginning with Section 2589 of the Compiled Laws of Utah , Volume II, 1888it reads:

§ 2589. s 7. Marriages shall be solemnized by the following persons only:
1. Ministers of the gospel or priests of any denomination, in regular communion with any religious society.
2. Probate judges, justices of the peace and judges of the district and supreme court

§ 2590. s 8. No marriage shall be solemnized without a license therefore, issued by the clerk of the probate court of the county in which the female resides at the time; Provided, That when she is of full age or a widow, and it is issued on her application in person or by writing, signed by her, it may be issued by the clerk of any probate court.

Today, the statute concerning marriage licenses is found in Utah Code §30-1-7, updated to reflect the succession from probate court clerks to county clerks as those tasked with issuing licenses.

The civil resigration of marriage begins with an application form, as described in Utah Code §30-1-8. Contents include: full names including a woman's maiden name, social security numbers, current address(es), date and place of birth, names of respective parents including maiden name of mother, birthplaces of respective parents, and race or nationality of each party. Upon successful application, a license is issued and shall be returned within 30 days with the marriage date, location, and names of two or more witnesses. The county clerk files the license and certificate of marriage either in a book or, more recently, in electronic form. A copy or transcript is also sent to the State Registrar for the compilation of statistics and, for marriages and divorces after 1978, an available certified abstract.

Helpful Resources

The Western State Marriages Index maintained by BYU-Idaho Special Collections indexes marriages from all counties in Utah for various date spans, including most before 1900.

Beaver | Box Elder | Cache | Carbon | Daggett | Davis | Duchesne | Emery | Garfield | Grand | Iron | Juab | Kane | Millard | Morgan | Piute | Rich | Salt Lake | San Juan | Sanpete | Sevier | Summit | Tooele | Uintah | Utah | Wasatch | Washington | Wayne | Weber

Series listed below without a link to an inventory may only be accessed at county offices.

Beaver County Clerk
Marriage license applications, 1920-[ongoing] Series 83771
Marriage licenses, 1887-[ongoing] Series 6120
Box Elder County Clerk
Marriage licenses and applications, 1887-1898. Series 23352
Marriage license applications, 1974-[ongoing] Series 82843
Marriage licenses, 1887-[ongoing] Series 6121
Marriage license record books, 1887-[ongoing] Series 23142
Marriage license record book indexes, 1887-[ongoing] Series 23143
Cache County Clerk
Marriage certificate record books, 1887-[ongoing] Series 23375
Marriage license applications, 1911-[ongoing] Series 83780
Marriage license indexes, 1888-[ongoing] Series 23374
Marriage licenses, 1887-[ongoing] Series 6122
Carbon County Clerk
Marriage license applications, 1978-[ongoing] Series 83865
Marriage license indexes, 1894-[ongoing] Series 23393
Marriage license record books, 1894-[ongoing] Series 23395
Marriage licenses, 1894-[ongoing] Series 6341
Daggett County Clerk
Marriage license applications, 1920-[ongoing] Series 83792
Marriage license register, 1985-[ongoing] Series 17550
Marriage licenses, 1918-[ongoing] Series 6039
Davis County Clerk
Marriage certificate record books, 1887-1888. Series 23383
Marriage license applications, 1916-[ongoing] Series 6344
Marriage license book indexes, 1887-[ongoing] Series 23378
Marriage license record books, 1888-[ongoing] Series 23384
Marriage licenses and applications, 1887-[ongoing] Series 6040
Duchesne County Clerk
Marriage license applications, 1915-[ongoing] Series 20104
Marriage licenses, 1915-[ongoing] Series 84243
Emery County Clerk
Marriage licenses, 1888-[ongoing] Series 6124
Marriage records, 1886-1966. Series 23475
Garfield County Clerk
Marriage licenses, 1887-[ongoing] Series 84071
Grand County Clerk
Marriage license record books, 1890-[ongoing] Series 6125
Iron County Clerk
Marriage certificate record book, 1887-1893. Series 23480
Marriage license applications, 1916-[ongoing] Series 83750
Marriage license record books, 1888-1938. Series 23481
Marriage licenses, 1887-[ongoing] Series 83749
Juab County Clerk
Marriage certificate record books, 1887-1895. Series 23483
Marriage license applications, 1911-[ongoing] Series 84140
Marriage license record books, 1887-[ongoing] Series 84137
Kane County Clerk
Marriage certificate record book, 1888-1901. Series 23492
Marriage license record book, 1901-1966. Series 23491
Millard County Clerk
Marriage license applications, 1887-[ongoing] Series 83668
Marriage license record book indexes, 1887-1966. Series 23493
Marriage license record books, 1887-1966. Series 23494
Marriage licenses, 1887-[ongoing] Series 6130
Morgan County Clerk
Marriage licenses, 1869-[ongoing] Series 83805
Piute County Clerk  
Marriage license applications, 1921-[ongoing] Series 84047
Marriage licenses, 1887-[ongoing] Series 84046
Rich County Clerk
Marriage license applications, 1888-[ongoing] Series 9914
Marriage licenses, 1858-[ongoing] Series 9913
Salt Lake County Clerk
Marriage applications and licenses, 1887-[ongoing] Series 6688
Marriage license index books, 1887-[ongoing] Series 10360
Marriage license record books, 1887-1955. Series 4000
Duplicate marriage license record book, 1893-1914. Series 10469
also see Salt Lake County Archives
San Juan County Clerk
Marriage licenses, 1888-[ongoing] Series 6126
Sanpete County Clerk
Marriage license applications, 1888-[ongoing] Series 84104
Marriage licenses, 1873-[ongoing] Series 84103
Sevier County Clerk
Marriage license applications, 1901-[ongoing] Series 84259
Marriage licenses, 1887-[ongoing] Series 6127
Summit County Clerk
Marriage license applications, 1887-[ongoing] Series 20004
Marriage licenses, 1887-[ongoing] Series 6128
Tooele County Clerk
Marriage licenses, 1876-[ongoing] Series 6117
Monthly marriage license report, 1986-[ongoing] Series 1889
Uintah County Clerk
Marriage license applications, 1913-[ongoing] Series 84021
Marriage license record books, 1888-[ongoing] Series 23289
Marriage licenses, 1888-[ongoing] Series 84019
Utah County Clerk
Marriage license applications, 1897-[ongoing] View Online Series 5585
Marriage license record book index, 1892-1912 Series 23297
Marriage licenses, 1904-[ongoing] Series 6129
Marriage record books, 1887-[ongoing] Series 23290
Wasatch County Clerk
Marriage license applications, 1879-[ongoing] Series 9991
Marriage license index, 1879-[ongoing] Series 23201
Marriage license record books, 1879-1966. Series 23200
Marriage licenses, 1879-[ongoing] Series 83876
Washington County Clerk
Marriage license applications, 1921-[ongoing] Series 84258
Marriage license record books, 1885-[ongoing] Series 23174
Marriage licenses and applications, 1885-[ongoing] Series 83156
Wayne County Clerk
Marriage license applications, 1933-[ongoing] Series 84078
Marriage license record books, 1892-[ongoing] Series 84075
Weber County Clerk
Marriage record book, 1887-1896. Series 23148
Marriage licenses, 1887-[ongoing] Series 6118
Marriage license index books, 1888-1949. Series 22634
Marriage license applications, 1888-[ongoing] Series 84260

Page Last Updated December 22, 2021.