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Find the parish that issued the license

A Louisiana marriage lookup starts with the issuing parish, not simply the place where the couple now lives. Louisiana Vital Records keeps Orleans Parish marriage records for 50 years. Older Orleans records go to the State Archives. For every other parish, request the recorded license or certified marriage copy from the Clerk of Court where the license was issued. There is no statewide marriage-license search in the Orleans archive service.

Decide whether you need an index entry for family research or a certified document to present to an agency. Applying for a new license is a separate service. If your question is whether a marriage ended in divorce, obtain the decree from the clerk in the parish where the divorce was granted; Vital Records cannot issue that decree.

Prepare a request that can find the right marriage

For an Orleans certificate, use the official copy application. Supply both spouses’ first, middle and last names, the marriage date, the number of copies, a delivery address and daytime contact details. Include the photo identification required by the ordering instructions. Search older indexes under a maiden surname, a groom’s surname or the couple’s married name; partial names are supported. Compare both spouses and the date before selecting an entry.

If you do not know the parish, use family documents or an existing license number to narrow the issuing office before paying for searches. An entry with only a similar name is a lead, not proof of identity. Ask the receiving organization whether it needs a certified certificate, a recorded license or another form of proof so you do not order the wrong product.

Order a recent Orleans certificate and budget the charges

LDH lists $5 per Orleans certified marriage copy and a $0.50 state charge per mail or VitalChek order, not per copy. A mailed order for two copies therefore has a $10.50 state total. Mail a completed application, photo-ID copy and check or money order payable to Louisiana Vital Records to Vital Records Registry, P.O. Box 60630, New Orleans, LA 70160. LDH publishes approximately 8–10 weeks for mail delivery.

VitalChek is the authorized internet, fax and telephone ordering service and adds its own charges; expedited services can cost more. For an existing VitalChek order, the published inquiry number is 1-877-605-8562. Keep the order confirmation and delivery selection. The $5 certificate fee is different from the $27.50 fee for a new Orleans marriage license.

Check the current pickup instructions before traveling

The central office is at 1450 Poydras Street, Suite 400, New Orleans, LA 70112, with published service hours of 8 a.m.–3:30 p.m., excluding state holidays. The marriage-order page describes application-and-ID walk-ins and exact cash, check or money order, with no card payment at that counter.

However, the Vital Records main page currently directs New Orleans walk-in customers to order through VitalChek and choose Will Call, then wait for a ready-for-pickup email. Because the two official pages describe different walk-in procedures, confirm the method at 504-593-5100 before going. Do not treat office hours as a promise that a certificate will be ready that day.

Use the Orleans archive index without overstating its coverage

As checked October 2, 2026, the archive marriage-search service displays certified microfilm-copy coverage for 1870–1975. It can return names and dates from the 1831–1869 index, but the corresponding individual marriage records are not held there, so those early entries cannot produce certified license copies. Older archive information pages show earlier end years; use the live index’s stated range and ask the Archives about a boundary-year record.

The Archives charges $5 for a noncertified copy and $10 for a certified copy. Its mail application asks for both spouses, a date or three-year span, and volume/page if known. Send a check or money order, not cash, to Secretary of State, Vital Records, P.O. Box 94125, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9125; the form limits a mailing to ten requests. Assistance is available at 225-922-2012. Search fees cover a three-year surname search and are retained when no record is found.

Handle another parish, a missing record or a correction

Other-parish copy prices and delivery options vary by clerk; the Orleans $5 rate does not establish their price. Tell the issuing clerk both names, the approximate license date and whether you need certification, then obtain that office’s payment and delivery instructions. For a recent marriage, ask whether the completed record has been received and recorded before repeating a paid request.

LDH also retains its search fee when no record is found and describes a search across the stated year plus two years on either side. A miss therefore means no match within that search, not proof that the person never married. For an incorrect Orleans record, contact Vital Records about an amendment rather than editing a copy yourself; its schedule lists a $23.50 marriage-license amendment. Describe the error and obtain the required evidence and total before applying.

Related Record Guides

Sources

Authoritative next stops

Official custodian or official program guidance

LDH: vital-record service fees

Per-copy and per-order charges; amendment and failed-search rules

Checked October 2, 2026