NEWS / Wyoming implements marriage and divorce record centralization

The State of Wyoming is implementing a new law that transfers all marriage and divorce records from counties to the state. The law was passed with the aim of making the records more secure in compliance with the state’s strict privacy laws regarding vital records already in place.

Until this year, many counties published marriage license reports in local newspapers. Reading these reports was a popular pastime for residents of some rural Wyoming counties, but this will now be coming to an end as state law prohibits publication of marriage information until 50 years after the fact.

“I used to read them all the time,” Sweetwater County Clerk Cindy Lane was quoted by local online news resource Sweetwater Now as saying.

The new law, known as House Bill 248, came into effect on July 1, 2023, after it was signed by Governor Mark Gordon. It provides for all marriage and divorce records to be maintained solely by the state as the software many counties use is not considered secure enough. The only software suite recognized by the state is the VSS system Wyoming uses. Also, many counties were more lax on privacy rules, which contradicted state law on keeping marriage records confidential until 50 years after the fact.

Lane said that state vital statistics office representatives came and retrieved the records maintained by her office. She also noted that the county will now be forwarding all marriage and divorce information to the state through its VSS system.

Wyoming is the only US state that prohibits most third parties (including powers of attorney) from retrieving marriage or divorce records less than 50 years old. Only the individuals named in the marriage certificate or their attorneys can do so according to Wyoming State law.

A&M Logos International is still able to get your Wyoming vital records apostilled or authenticated for use abroad. Also, with almost any other state, we are able to retrieve certified copies of your marriage and divorce records. Call us today at (212) 233-7061 or e-mail us at info@apostille.us. You may also wish to apply on our website.