Idaho marriage records provide a great deal of information for those who need to learn about their family's history or for other reasons. These records may help to answer questions about things like why property changed hands, which religion a person was a part of and even where they lived. You may learn about distant relatives or even learn about a person's great grandparents through these records. Obtaining them is important, but gathering this information can be difficult in many situations.
 

In Idaho, marriage records were not always kept. However, the state began to gather vital records, including birth and death certificates in 1907. These were collected by the state and until 1907, were not a requirement to report. That makes it hard to track some information beyond that time period since, of course, not everything was kept up to date. Prior to 1907, the only collection of this data, including marriage records, occurred through third party organizations, including churches, doctors, midwives and physicians in some situations.
 

If you wish to obtain Idaho marriage records for any event prior to 1900, you can contact Ricks College in Rexburg for some information and aid. The organization kept an index of all marriages recorded prior to 1900 onsite. However, it was not a requirement to report this information so in some cases, no records will be available. These early marriage records can be difficult to obtain in the state.
 

However, for marriage records, you can also search through church records, local clerk records or county recorder records. These will have the best information available for this type of information because these are the locations where marriages often took place. For those who wish to gather information regarding marriage records dated from 1947 and beyond, the best location to gather this information is through the state's health department. You may be able to find some information through local counties in regards to this information. Otherwise, you can obtain it from the following address:
 

State of Idaho Department of Health and Welfare

Vital Statistics

450 West State Street

Boise, Idaho 83720-9990
 

In addition to this, you should know that Idaho marriage records are not always considered public information. These are kept legally confidential until 50 years since the marriage occurred. For those that wish to obtain documents that are less old, it is important to be a primary part or to have a valid reason for obtaining this information, such as a dispute over property or if you are one of the people involved in the marriage.
 

Idaho marriage records can answer a great deal of questions for most people. These details often provide the location and the date of the event. They also provide the name of the official that presided over the union. In some cases, parent names are included on the marriage announcement, which can provide more clues in your search.

The best records are those held with churches and other religious organizations, but you may be able to learn more from state held records as well.

• Idaho Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

• Idaho Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage

• Idaho Marriage Certificates & Records

• Idaho Marriage License Laws