Berks County Marriage Records
Berks County marriage records are maintained by the Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court at the Berks County Services Center in Reading. The office holds marriage applications from 1885 to the present and offers a free online search tool for the public. Berks County has about 420,000 residents and is one of the larger counties in southeastern Pennsylvania. Whether you need a certified copy of a recent license or want to trace old records back through the generations, the Register of Wills in Reading is your starting point for Berks County marriage records.
Berks County Quick Facts
Berks County Register of Wills
The Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court is the office that handles marriage licenses in Berks County. It sits on the second floor of the Berks County Services Center at 633 Court Street in Reading. The main phone number is (610) 478-6600. General office hours run Monday through Friday. Genealogical inquiries are handled Tuesday through Thursday from 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Email genealogical requests to bprothy@countyofberks.com.
To apply for a marriage license, both people must visit the office together with valid photo ID. Under Section 1301 of Title 23, a marriage license is needed before any ceremony in Pennsylvania. Berks County also offers an online marriage license application portal. You can start your application online to cut down on time at the office. The portal lets you track the status of your application too. Contact the Register of Wills at (610) 478-6600 for details on fees, which follow the standard Pennsylvania rate.
Berks County provides a court records portal for public searches.
This page shows how to access Berks County court records, including marriage and divorce filings in the Reading area.
| Office |
Register of Wills/Clerk of Orphans' Court Berks County Services Center, 2nd Floor 633 Court Street Reading, PA 19601 Phone: (610) 478-6600 |
|---|---|
| Hours | Genealogical Inquiries: Tuesday through Thursday, 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM |
| bprothy@countyofberks.com |
Search Berks County Marriage Records Online
Berks County stands out because it offers a free online marriage search tool. You can look up marriage applications from 1885 to the present at the Register of Wills website. The search page lets you enter a last name and a first name or initial. You can use a partial last name to catch variant spellings. For example, searching "Weis" will pull up records for "Weiser" and other similar names. Large index sets are broken into time period tabs. You do not need to re-enter the name when you switch tabs.
There is also a separate search page for marriages that took place in Reading specifically. This is useful if you know the marriage happened in the city but are not sure of the couple's full names. Both search tools are free. If you know the volume and page number from a previous search, you can enter those directly to pull up the record and confirm both names.
A statewide portal also lists Berks County marriage records and related court filings.
This resource covers how to find Berks County marriage records through state and local search tools.
For certified copies, contact the Register of Wills office directly. Online searches show index data but do not produce official copies. The UJS Portal at ujsportal.pacourts.us is another free way to search court records across all Pennsylvania counties.
Note: The Berks County online marriage index is updated monthly, so very recent records may not yet appear in the search results.
Berks County Marriage License Process
After you apply for a marriage license in Berks County, a three-day waiting period begins. The count includes the day of application. After three days, the license is ready for pickup. Once issued, it is valid for 60 days. If the ceremony does not take place within that window, the license expires and you need to reapply.
Berks County does not require residency. Anyone can apply here. The license works for ceremonies anywhere in Pennsylvania. After the wedding, the officiant must complete the license and return it to the Register of Wills within 10 days. That step creates the permanent marriage record in Berks County. Marriage records are public documents under Section 1309 of Title 23, so anyone can request a copy.
Berks County Historical Marriage Records
Berks County was formed on March 11, 1752 from parts of Chester, Lancaster, and Philadelphia counties. It was named after Berkshire, England, the home of William Penn's family. The county has a long history, and its marriage records stretch back to 1885 when the state mandated county-level recording. Earlier marriages may be found in church records or justice of the peace records from before that date. The Recorder of Deeds office has indexed and imaged all documents recorded since the county's founding in 1752, though marriage records specifically are with the Register of Wills.
Berks County marriage requirements are covered on a resource page that outlines what applicants need.
This page spells out the ID, fees, and documents you must bring when applying for a Berks County marriage license.
Original marriage records from 1885 to 1929 are also available on Ancestry.com for online researchers. Both male and female names are indexed and searchable in the Berks County system. FamilySearch.org has the "Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950" collection, which includes Berks County records. These are free to view with a FamilySearch account. The Pennsylvania State Archives at phmc.pa.gov may have microfilm of older Berks County records as well.
Other Berks County Record Offices
The Berks County Prothonotary is at the courthouse at 633 Court Street in Reading. Their phone number is (610) 478-6970. The Prothonotary handles divorce records and other civil court filings. If you need a divorce record along with a marriage record, both offices are in the same building. The Recorder of Deeds is on the third floor at 633 Court Street. Their phone number is (610) 478-3380. That office handles property records, not marriage records.
For birth and death records from 1906 onward, contact the Pennsylvania Division of Vital Records in New Castle. Berks County offices have birth and death records from 1893 to 1905. For records from before 1885, church records from the many German Reformed and Lutheran congregations in the Berks County area can fill the gap. The State Library of Pennsylvania at pa-gov.libguides.com has a guide to Pennsylvania marriage and divorce records that can help point you to the right source.
Note: For marriage records in Berks County, contact the Register of Wills, not the Recorder of Deeds, as those are two separate offices with different duties.
Legal Help in Berks County
Pennsylvania Legal Aid at palegalaid.net provides free help to Berks County residents who meet income limits. The Pennsylvania Bar Association lawyer referral line at (800) 692-7375 can connect you with a family law attorney in the Reading area. The Berks County Bar Association may also offer a local referral service for family law matters.
Cities in Berks County
Reading is the county seat and largest city in Berks County. All marriage licenses for the county are issued from the Register of Wills office in Reading.
Nearby Counties
Berks County is in southeastern Pennsylvania. Several counties border it. Make sure you know which county issued the license you need, since records stay with the issuing county.