Before the Internet became available to the general public, acquiring public information such as vital records was the kind of task that only professionals were equipped to handle. And if you factor in a state like California that ranks first in the country in terms of total population, you can see the dilemma in obtaining California Marriage Records that most of the people back then were facing. Fortunately, getting these types of information these days is no longer as problematic as it was in the past.

Marriage records in the state of California are collected, stored and maintained by the California Department of Public Health's Office of Vital Records. Marriage documents that are ruled confidential are only available at the county office where the marriage license was issued. And due to the California Public Records Act and the Freedom of Information Act of 1966, any member of the public has free access to any public record, for viewing and replication purposes.

As far as state marriage records are concerned, an individual has two options to choose from when attempting to acquire access to public records: free service or fee-based access. The conventional means of obtaining free marriage records is through government information services. Believe it or not, most government services are free of charge, even though there are processing fees and administrative costs involved. Whether you realize it or not, but only the information itself is free, not the process.

Fee-based sources, on the other hand, are more up front and convenient. Accessing California Marriage Records [http://www.states-marriage-records.com/] or any other type of vital information using fee-based resources is usually achieved through commercial record providers in place of government information services. These types of data search websites are equipped with the appropriate tools to help provide a high standard service and accurate information. For anyone who is serious about information gathering, online record providers are among the most reliable resources out there, especially when it comes to background checks and genealogy.

With the birth of the Internet and the increased demand for convenient access to vital information, commercial record providers have gained considerable prominence among genealogists and serious researchers. Boasting of a comprehensive database of public records that is capable of providing accurate nationwide search results, these online record providers are considered by many as among the most efficient methods in acquiring any form of public information.

Conducting genealogy or marital history research in an efficient manner requires the use of reliable tools and resources. And needless to say, commercial record providers have certainly occupied that void perfectly. Even though there are a lot of free services out there that offer free marriage records and other forms of vital information, a fee-based service is still considerably more dependable. And if you're serious about gathering accurate information, a one-time fee shouldn't be any trouble, especially when in exchange you'll be getting unlimited access to the site's wide-ranging database.