King County Marriage Records, 1853-present

King County has generated a variety of marriage records that are held at three different repositories: the King County Archives, the Puget Sound Regional Branch of the Washington State Archives (external link) and the King County Recorder's Office. A given marriage in King County may have several corresponding records. Not all marriage records have been kept, and these pages delineate which records are available and where they are kept.

Since the organization and location of these records vary, the marriage record you are looking for may not be simple to find. There is no master name index for all the marriage records at this time. We can help you most effectively if you can provide us with an actual or approximate date of the marriage, or a short span of dates during which the marriage might have taken place. If you have any questions, please contact the King County Archives.

Types of Marriage Records

The following is a list of the official steps (and corresponding forms/certificates) that have been involved in the marriage process in King County over time. Please click on each record for further explanations and locations of available records and indexes.

1. License Application (formerly License Affidavit) - this is completed to acquire a marriage license, ensuring that the couple can legally marry.

2. License - this authorizes an official to solemnize the ceremony.

3. Certificate - this officially documents that the ceremony took place.

4. Return - this is similar to the certificate, but contains more detailed statistical and personal information. It was also filed with a different county agency.

(Note: In many United States counties, the terms license, certificate and return are often used interchangeably as names for same official document proving that a marriage has occurred. In King County, they represent distinct records.)

• King County marriage records available by year.

• Locating divorce records in King County.

History of Marriage in King County, Washington

King County was formed on December 22, 1852. The first recorded marriage in the county was solemnized between David Denny and Louisa Boren on January 23, 1853; which also represents the oldest surviving record of King County government. Although this was the first marriage under King County government, the first known marriage to occur in geographical King County was solemnized between John Bradley and Mary Relyea on November 19, 1852 (in what was then part of Thurston County). Although marriage records have been kept by the King County, laws and regulations were enacted by the Territory and later the State. Laws and regulations in Washington Territory's earliest years were few and far between. It was not until 1866, that record of licenses or witnesses were required or that the content of marriage certificates was regulated. Marriage laws have been amended many times since then.

Some specific laws have changed over time or have been repealed due to cultural changes. For example, interracial marriage was illegal in Washington Territory from 1854 until 1868. The legal age for marriage has also changed over time. Originally, females had to be 16 years old and males had to be 21 years old (or 12 and 16 with parental consent). Currently, both parties must be 18 years old (or 17 with parental consent). For a number of years, the following people were barred from marriage: common drunkards, habitual criminals, epileptics, imbeciles, feeble-minded persons, idiots or insane people (unless they were a woman over the age of 45 years). A major cultural shift has been the debate over same-sex marriage and the recent (2007) legalization of domestic partnerships in Washington State.