Bradford County Marriage Records

Bradford County marriage records are kept by the Register and Recorder in Towanda. This office has served the county since 1885 and holds all marriage license applications on file. You can search these records in person or request copies by mail. Bradford County sits in the northeast part of Pennsylvania and was named for William Bradford, a former chief justice. The Register and Recorder can help you find old and new marriage records alike. An appointment is needed to apply for a new license, but record searches can start with a phone call to the office.

Bradford County Register and Recorder

The Register and Recorder in Bradford County handles all marriage license work. This office is at 301 Main Street in Towanda. Staff issue new licenses, store old records, and provide copies. Sheila Johnson has led the office since her election in 2019. The office also handles adoptions, estates, and old birth and death records from 1893 to 1905.

You can reach the Bradford County Register and Recorder at 570-265-1702. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Recording hours end at 3:30 PM each day. If you plan to visit in person, call first to check what you need to bring. The staff can look up marriage records by name or date and provide copies while you wait.

The Bradford County office provides online access to its records, which is a helpful tool for people who live far from Towanda. Computer searches can be done by name, date, or instrument type. Marriage license records are available online from 1885 to the present day.

How to Get Bradford County Marriage Records

There are a few ways to get marriage records from Bradford County. The best method depends on how old the record is and what kind of copy you need. For recent records, a phone call or visit to the Towanda office works well. For older records, online tools or archival searches may help. Bradford County has marriage license records going back to 1885, so the office holds well over a century of filings.

To search in person, go to 301 Main Street in Towanda. Bring your ID and any details you have about the marriage. Staff can search by name or year. You can get plain copies or certified ones with a raised seal. Certified copies cost more but are needed for most legal uses. Plain copies work fine for family history research in Bradford County.

Under Section 1309 of Title 23, marriage license applications in Pennsylvania are public records. This means anyone can request to view them. You do not need to be named on the license to get a copy from Bradford County.

The Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System portal at ujsportal.pacourts.us lets you look up court cases by name or case number across all counties.

Mail requests are another good option for Bradford County marriage records. Send your request to the Register and Recorder at 301 Main Street, Towanda, PA 18848. Include the full names of both spouses, the approximate date, and a check for the copy fee.

Note: The three-day waiting period for new marriage licenses in Bradford County does not start until both applicants sign and approve the application in the office.

Bradford County Marriage License Rules

Pennsylvania law requires a marriage license before any ceremony can take place. Under Section 1301 of Title 23, no marriage may be solemnized without a license. Bradford County follows all state rules for issuing these licenses. Both people must apply together at the Register and Recorder office in Towanda.

An appointment is required to apply for a marriage license in Bradford County. Call 570-265-1702 to reserve a time slot. Slots are open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM. Both applicants must be at least 18 years old. You need to bring a valid photo ID such as a driver's license, state ID, or passport. Your Social Security card is also required. If you were married before, bring a certified copy of your divorce decree or a death certificate for your former spouse.

The marriage license fee in Bradford County is $46.00 as of March 2024. Veterans and active military pay $40.00 instead. Cash is the only accepted form of payment. After you apply, there is a three-day waiting period before the license becomes valid. Once issued, the license is good for 60 days and can be used anywhere in Pennsylvania.

Bradford County also offers self-uniting marriage licenses. These do not need an officiant but require two witnesses to sign. After the ceremony, the officiant or witnesses must return the duplicate certificate to the Bradford County office within 10 days. A $50.00 penalty applies if the return is late.

Historical Marriage Records in Bradford County

Bradford County was formed from Luzerne and Lycoming Counties on February 21, 1810. The county seat has been Towanda since its founding. Marriage records in Bradford County date back to 1885, when Pennsylvania began requiring county-level marriage licenses. There is no known record of any courthouse fire or disaster in Bradford County, so the historical files are well preserved.

For records before 1885, you may need to check church records, newspaper archives, or the Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg. The State Archives holds digitized microfilm of some county marriage records. You can visit in person to view these films. The Pennsylvania State Archives also has some digital images of early marriage entries from the 1880s that you can browse from home.

The Bradford County Register and Recorder office also holds birth and death records from 1893 to 1905. These can be useful if you are building a full family history. The office probates about 350 to 400 estates each year, so staff are used to handling old records and research requests.

Note: Bradford County marriage license records from 1885 to the present are available through the office's online access system at no charge for index searches.

What Bradford County Marriage Records Show

A marriage record from Bradford County will contain key facts about both spouses. The license application lists each person's full name, age, date of birth, and place of residence. It also shows Social Security numbers, though these may be redacted on public copies. Parents' names and birthplaces are part of the file as well.

The returned certificate shows the date and place of the ceremony. It names the officiant or, for self-uniting licenses, the witnesses. Bradford County marriage records also note whether either person was married before. If foreign-language documents were part of the application, notarized English translations are included in the Bradford County file.

• Full names of both spouses
• Date and place of the marriage
• Names of parents for each spouse
• Name of the officiant or witnesses
• Prior marriage history

Bradford County Marriage Record Research

Family history researchers often need Bradford County marriage records to trace bloodlines and confirm dates. Several free and paid tools can help. The Ancestry.com collection of Pennsylvania marriages from 1852 to 1854 includes early Bradford County entries. Pennsylvania residents can access this for free through the State Archives partnership with Ancestry.

FamilySearch also holds county marriage records from 1885 to 1950. These include registers, affidavits, and license copies from Bradford County. You can browse these from home at no cost. The Library of Congress provides a research guide for Pennsylvania vital records that links to several online collections.

For in-person research, the Bradford County Historical Society in Towanda may have church records and newspaper clippings that fill gaps before 1885. The Prothonotary's office at 570-265-1705 handles court records that may relate to marriage or family matters in Bradford County.

Nearby Counties

Bradford County borders several other Pennsylvania counties. If you are not sure which county holds the marriage record you need, check where the license was issued. Marriage records are filed in the county where the couple applied, not where the ceremony took place.

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