Georgia Records and Their Custodians
Georgia uses a three-office split. The Probate Court in the issuing county owns the marriage license and recorded certificate. The Clerk of Superior Court in the granting county owns the divorce petition, orders, exhibits, and final decree. The Georgia Department of Public Health State Office of Vital Records can search and certify limited historical marriage information and provide historical divorce confirmation for its stated coverage windows. It does not keep the full divorce litigation file.
Quick Reference:
New or original marriage license: The issuing Georgia Probate Court.
Historical Georgia marriage search: Georgia State Office of Vital Records for its stated coverage period.
Full Georgia divorce file or certified decree: Georgia Clerk of Superior Court in the granting county.
Historical Georgia divorce confirmation: Georgia State Office of Vital Records for its limited date range.
| Record | Original Issuing / Filing Office | Certified Copy Source |
|---|---|---|
| Georgia marriage license and recorded certificate | Georgia Probate Court that issued it | Issuing Georgia Probate Court; state office only within covered years |
| Georgia marriage application | Issuing Georgia Probate Court | Georgia form instructions limit application access to the spouses |
| Georgia divorce petition and case file | Georgia Superior Court where filed | Georgia Clerk of Superior Court in that county |
| Final Georgia divorce decree | Georgia Superior Court that granted it | Georgia Superior Court clerk; state office offers only covered historical confirmation |
Getting a Georgia Marriage License
Marriage licenses are Probate Court records in Georgia. If either applicant is a Georgia resident, the couple commonly may apply in a Georgia county; nonresidents generally apply in the county where the ceremony will occur. Confirm the chosen court's instructions before travel. Both applicants typically complete the oath and signatures in person, even if a county offers an online worksheet.
Georgia applicants provide identity and age evidence plus prior-marriage details. The ordinary Georgia minimum age is 18, with special rules for younger applicants. Georgia has no general premarital waiting period. After an authorized officiant conducts the Georgia ceremony, the license and certificate return to the issuing Georgia Probate Court for recording. That Georgia court is the direct source for an original certified county copy.
Apply for a Georgia License
Choose the Georgia Probate Court before gathering papers because local scheduling, payment, and worksheet practices differ. Ask whether the Georgia court requires an appointment and how it wants proof of any prior marriage ending. Georgia premarital education affects the state base fee, but local and certificate charges can remain.
- Select the proper Probate Court based on Georgia residency and ceremony location.
- Review that Georgia court's identification, age, prior-marriage, appointment, and payment rules.
- Complete any local Georgia worksheet, then appear as directed to swear to and sign the application.
- Present premarital-education proof if claiming the state base-fee treatment.
- After the Georgia ceremony, ensure the officiant returns the completed certificate to the issuing court.
- Order a certified Georgia recorded copy from that Probate Court when needed.
Georgia Marriage Application Fields
No single web worksheet controls all Georgia counties. The following inventory reflects common fields documented in the state research. A Probate Court may ask for added local details and proof. Sensitive identifiers belong on the official form, not in an ordinary email.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Legal and post-marriage names | Common | Match official identification and local instructions. |
| Residence, birth date, age, birthplace | Common | Used for identity and eligibility. |
| Parents' names and birthplaces | Common | Record details may follow the local worksheet. |
| Prior marriages | When applicable | Number and termination date or method. |
| Identification | Required | Use the type accepted by the selected Probate Court. |
| Ceremony and officiant plan | Local form | Supports completion and return of the certificate. |
| Premarital course | If claimed | Documentation supports the state base-fee treatment. |
Georgia Marriage and Divorce Fees
Georgia's state marriage-license base is $40 without qualifying premarital education and no state base fee with qualifying education. Counties may add local or certificate charges, so the final total must come from the chosen Probate Court. DPH charges a nonrefundable $10 marriage search fee that includes one certified copy if found, with simultaneous extra copies at $5 each. Divorce filing, service, e-filing, retrieval, copy, and certification costs vary by county.
| Item | Amount | Where Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage license state base without course | $40 plus local charges | County Probate Court |
| Marriage license state base with qualifying course | No state base fee; local charges may remain | County Probate Court |
| DPH marriage search and first copy if found | $10, nonrefundable | State Office of Vital Records |
| Extra simultaneous DPH marriage copy | $5 | State Office of Vital Records |
| County marriage certificate | $10 in the statewide probate schedule | County Probate Court; verify locally |
| Divorce filing or certified decree | Current county schedule | Clerk of Superior Court |
Search Georgia Marriage Records
Georgia DPH Form 3913 states that the state office holds Georgia marriage records from June 28, 1952 through November 27, 1996. A Georgia marriage before or after that range must be requested from the Georgia Probate Court that issued the license. A negative Georgia state search outside the covered dates says nothing about whether the marriage occurred. Use both spouses' names as they appeared before marriage, the Georgia event date or a narrow span, and the county of license.
The public Georgia marriage record is not the same as the underlying application. Georgia Form 3913 says only the bride or groom may obtain the application. Older Georgia county books may be on microfilm or in an archive, so ask for the index entry, book and page, recorded certificate, and certification level. Georgia recognizes qualifying common-law marriages formed before January 1, 1997, but not new in-state common-law marriages formed after that date.
Find Georgia Divorce Records
Superior Court has exclusive Georgia divorce jurisdiction. Search the county that granted the divorce, not a county where a former spouse later moved. Try both spouses' former and later names. The file may be indexed as domestic relations, and later contempt or modification proceedings can have another case number. Georgia generally requires a filing spouse to satisfy the researched six-month bona fide residency rule, subject to venue law, but the clerk cannot give legal advice about where a new case belongs.
The full file can include the verified complaint, summons, service or acknowledgment, answer, financial affidavit, parenting plan, temporary orders, settlement, final judgment and decree, and later enforcement or modification papers. Custody evaluations, protected addresses, financial identifiers, and sensitive exhibits can be sealed or redacted. DPH's historical divorce confirmation, roughly June 1952 through August 1996, supplies neither the pleadings nor the property and custody details.
Order Georgia Certified Copies
Ask the receiving agency what document it will accept. A certified county marriage certificate, DPH historical certificate, certified final divorce decree, and DPH divorce verification are not interchangeable. For name restoration or legal terms, the signed decree from the Superior Court clerk is usually the relevant source. Certification takes longer than a portal download because the custodian must authenticate the filed record.
- Identify the event, county, year, parties' names at the time, and exact document needed.
- Choose DPH only when its date coverage and product fit the request.
- Otherwise contact the issuing Probate Court or granting Superior Court through the county directory.
- Ask for the current fee, accepted payment, identification rule, and delivery time.
- Submit the signed request and retain the receipt or tracking information.
Georgia State Vital Records
The Georgia Department of Public Health State Office of Vital Records is the official state channel for the limited historical marriage and divorce products documented above. Form 3913 requires a signed request, event details, valid photo identification, and payment. Accepted identification categories are broad and include qualifying government, military, school, employer, and other photo IDs listed on the form. Check the current form before mailing.
The official DPH screen is the correct place to confirm current order channels and forms. The researched mail address is State Office of Vital Records, 1680 Phoenix Blvd., Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30349. Form 3913 directs mail payment by U.S. money order or certified check and says not to send cash. Its published phone is (404) 679-4702.
Vital Records versus court record: DPH's limited historical product does not replace the issuing Probate Court's marriage file or the granting Superior Court's divorce file.
Georgia State Office of Vital Records
1680 Phoenix Blvd., Suite 100
Atlanta, GA 30349
(404) 679-4702
Find Georgia Marriage and Divorce Offices
Georgia has 159 county Probate Courts and a Clerk of Superior Court in each county. Choose the issuing county for a marriage license and the granting county for a divorce decree. The full Georgia county directory routes to local court information. Ask a Probate Court about its marriage index, recorded certificate, application access, and archive. Ask a Superior Court clerk for the case number, final decree, certification, and any later order. A careful request names the exact document and avoids paying for a product that cannot meet the intended use.
Note: A missing DPH result outside the state office's covered years is not proof that no Georgia marriage or divorce occurred.