Marriage records are maintained at the individual county courthouses where licenses were granted. Early marriages were required to take place in the county where the license was obtained. However, Tennessee law changed in the late 20th Century to allow marriages to take place in any Tennessee locale after a legal license is obtained from a Tennessee County Clerk.

Many counties have marriage records dating to the county's formation. Marriages prior to the county's formation may have occurred in the parent county.

Before 1838, marriage records were not recorded in the large books familiar to researchers.  Individual bonds were the only records filed with the Clerk.  Beginning in 1838, state law required the bonds to be recorded in permanent volumes.  Clerks recorded the bonds retroactively, but many of the original documents could have been lost before the recording began.  Likewise, transcription errors could have occurred.

Beginning in 1914, Marriage and Divorce Records were registered in the State Department of Vital Statistics in Nashville.

Divorce records are also maintained at the county level. Some early divorces were granted by the State General Assembly from 1797-1858; they have been transcribed into a book.  Divorces were also granted by the Superior Courts (1799-1810), Circuit Courts (1810-present), and Chancery Courts (1835-present). The TNGenWeb Project Web site has an article on early Tennessee divorce laws.

The Tennessee State Library & Archives has a detailed explanation of marriage and divorce records. TSLA offers limited look-up services by mail for a fee. Click here to view details.

The Shelby County Register of Deeds has a database on-line for searching Tennessee marriages and divorces from 1980-2005. Click here to go to the site.