Obtain Free Tippecanoe County Marriage Records on Anybody

Find free Tippecanoe County marriage records on anyone who was married locally. These records are filed together with a single custodian, which makes locating them quite convenient.

Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act protects the right of citizens to view or request public records regarding the official acts of government. There are, however, additional places to go if seeking archived marriage licenses, records from elsewhere in the state, or other special circumstances; this resource covers how to search marital records in Tippecanoe County, no matter the scenario.

How To Look Up Tippecanoe County Marriage Records (Indiana)

Begin any search for marital information at the county clerk’s office.¹ From here, record seekers can submit requests via the “internet service request” tab. The Access to Public Records Act, also known as APRA, or Indiana Code 5-14-3, not only states that citizens can inspect public records, but they reserve the right to make copies of them, too.

There will be an option to select the type of record being searched for; this is where citizens should select “Marriage Record – Certified.”²

Details of both the marriage and the individual seeking the information will be needed to complete the submission; these required details are listed below.

• Marriage Record Details:
  • Names of Both Parties Involved in the Marriage
  • Maiden Name (if applicable)
  • Approximate Date of the Wedding
• Details of the Individual Seeking the Record:
  • Name
  • Street Address
  • Phone Number
  • Email
  • Number of Copies Requested

Once the submission is made, the individual will receive emails establishing the processing and completion of the request. Citizens will be prompted for payment at this stage.

Go back to the county clerk’s page, and there is another “PayGov” tab utilized for payments of public records.³ The county charges $3 per certified record, plus an additional $1 for the document to be emailed or faxed.

The county clerk’s office can be reached by phone (765-423-9326) or email ([email protected]). The office is located in the courthouse:

Tippecanoe County Clerk’s Office
301 Main Street, 2nd Floor
Lafayette, IN 47901

For mail correspondence, use the following Post Office Box:

Tippecanoe County Clerk’s Office
P.O. Box 1665
Lafayette, IN 47901

The department is open from 8:00am – 4:30pm from Monday to Friday (the first Tuesday of every month, the doors and phones stay open until 6:30pm). Any payments made within the last half an hour of closing will be processed the following day.

All towns or cities within Tippecanoe County will redirect users back to the county clerk’s office for all inquiries about marriage license records, as they are exclusively held at the county level. Archived marriage records are also available to the public, but at the state level.

How To Search Archived Marriage Records in Tippecanoe County Indiana

To obtain copies of older marriage records, the county clerk’s office is still the best option.

Fill out the exact same Tippecanoe County Clerk Marriage Record – Certified form as earlier stated, and if there is an archive of the sought-after record, a copy will be made for any inquiries. The waiting period for older marriage records may take longer, as the clerk’s office may have to utilize state resources to complete the request.

The Tippecanoe County Public Library (TCPL) is another place to look for marriage license archives, though individuals will not be able to obtain certified copies of these documents through the library. Some marriage indexes for the county, like those from the years 1902 – 1952 from the Lafayette Journal & Courier, are digitized and accessible remotely, while others are only able to be viewed in-person at the downtown library, which can be found at:⁴

Tippecanoe County Public Library
627 South Street
Lafayette, IN 47901

The TCPL has a department called the Family Memory Center, which contains all the microfilm for the library, and is home to old newspaper articles and state censuses dating back to the 1850’s. There is also a room at the library called the Swezey Room of Indiana History, and here citizens can expect to find print versions of many of the same archives as the Family Memory Center, including marriage indexes within the county and the state.

Common law marriages were abolished by the state of Indiana in 1958 as per Indiana Code 31-11-8-5, and the state will not recognize common law marriages that were once legal before this time.⁵ However, pre-1958 common law marriage records were archived, and would potentially be able to be tracked down through the library’s resources as well.

Often, the Tippecanoe County Clerk’s Office will enlist the help of the Indiana State Library when locating older, archived marriage records, the oldest of which on file date back to 1829.⁶ Once again, these archives are most likely newspaper articles or census indexes, and will only aid the county clerk’s office in locating the official record, all of which are stored at the courthouse.

How To Locate Indiana Marriage Records Outside of Tippecanoe County

It is not uncommon that during a marriage records search, individuals begin thinking that they may be looking in the wrong county for a particular marriage license, and that the event may have actually happened in another area in the state. When this happens, the Indiana Department of Health has some resources available to help.

Within the department is the state’s vital records office, which has a Marriage License Public Lookup Tool where individuals are prompted to fill out as much information about the marriage as possible, including the first and last names of both parties, the date range in which the marriage occurred, and the possible county or counties where it took place.⁷

All fields are optional, but the more information inputted will yield a smaller number of results. Additionally, this database houses records from 1993 through the present, but does not claim to have all licenses from within this timeframe.

The Indiana State Library is once again recommended if the state’s Department of Health doesn’t appear to have the documents. It keeps two collections on marital records: Indiana Marriages through 1850, and Indiana Marriages 1958 – 2021.⁸

Once all the details of the marriage license is known, anyone interested in a certified copy of a marriage record can fill out State Form 54764, which can be found on the department of health’s website. There is a fee of $8.00 per record ordered.

Along with the filled out application, citizens should include a check or money order made out to the Indiana State Department of Health for $8.00 (or more if ordering more copies), and a photocopy of his or her ID, and send all contents to:⁹

Indiana State Department of Health
Vital Records Division
2 North Meridian Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204

How Do I Apply for a Marriage License in Tippecanoe County?

Much like locating marriage records, the clerk’s office also serves as the place individuals will go to obtain a marriage license.¹⁰ Both parties must be present in order to obtain the license, and must each provide documentation with a date of birth, such as a state driver’s license or passport.

Citizens will need to fill out a Marriage License Application, and can do so online to save time before arriving at the courthouse in-person to obtain the license.¹¹ Full information on state fees and county fees for the license are available on the county’s Marriage License e-File page.

The clerk’s office is on the second floor of the courthouse, which is located at:

Tippecanoe County Clerk Office
301 Main Street
Lafayette, IN 47901

The timeframe for obtaining a marriage license is 8:00am – 4:15pm (6:15pm on the first Tuesday of every month).

If at least one party resides in Tippecanoe County, the fee for the license is $29; if neither party resides in the county, the license will cost $69. Residents should bring a form of ID that shows their address being in Tippecanoe County, or another acceptable document with a printed address within the county lines, such as:

• Copy of Lease
• Utility Bill
• Bank Statement

Whether folks are looking for previous marriage records or intending to obtain a license from the county, the clerk’s office is going to be the place to contact, whether over the phone, by email, or in-person. All information is conveniently accessible via the official website, as well.

While some of the other resources mentioned – such as the public library or the state’s vital records office – come in handy in unique situations like when searching for historic licenses, the clerk’s office has essentially all information necessary for searching Tippecanoe County marriage records.