Find Marriage License in Bradley County
Bradley County marriage license records are kept at the County Clerk in Warren, the county seat. The clerk has held marriage records here since 1846, which makes for one of the deeper local indexes in south Arkansas. Couples who plan to wed in Bradley County come to the clerk in the Bradley County Courthouse to apply. This page lays out the clerk's address, hours, fee, and the online tools you can use to look up a Bradley County marriage license record from home.
Bradley County Marriage License Overview
Bradley County Clerk for Marriage License Records
The Bradley County Clerk's office is at 101 East Cedar Street, Suite 109, Warren, AR 71671. Call the clerk at (870) 226-2272. Fax is (870) 226-5404. Office hours are 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. CST, Monday through Friday. A photo ID is required for any record request. The main courthouse phone line is (870) 226-3464, which routes to several county offices at 101 East Cedar Street.
The clerk issues every Bradley County marriage license and keeps the record on file. The office also records minister credentials and keeps probate records from 1850 forward. The Circuit Clerk, a separate office in the same courthouse, handles divorce files, court cases, and land records.
For deeper genealogy work, the FamilySearch Bradley County wiki lists marriage records from 1846 and probate from 1850. The Bradley County marriage license records set is broad because of that early start.
The page above, a Bradley County records overview, pulls together the clerk's address, the Arkansas Department of Health, and phone numbers for each local office.
How To Apply for a Bradley County Marriage License
Both parties must appear in person at the Warren office. Bring a valid, non-expired, government-issued photo ID. A driver's license, state ID card, passport, or military ID is fine. If either of you has been married before, bring a certified copy of the divorce decree or the death certificate of the prior spouse. If a prior name was restored in a divorce, the decree must show the name change.
The fee is $60. Cash is accepted. The office may take a card at the window with a small extra fee for card use. Applicants 18 or older sign the application and the clerk hands over the license the same day. No wait applies to adults and no blood test is needed in Arkansas.
Applicants who are 17 must bring both parents. The parents sign a notarized affidavit of consent under Arkansas Code § 9-11-102. A 5 business day wait applies. No one under 17 may be issued a license except under the narrow pregnancy exception at § 9-11-103.
Items to bring to the clerk:
- Valid photo ID for each party
- Social Security number for each party
- Divorce decree or death certificate if you were married before
- Cash or card for the $60 fee
- Notarized parental affidavit if a party is 17
Bradley County Marriage License Rules
Bradley County follows the state rules at Arkansas Code Title 9, Chapter 11. The marriage license is valid anywhere in the state, which means a couple can pull the license in Warren and hold the ceremony in a different part of Arkansas. The license is good for 60 days from the date of issue. The signed license must be returned to the Bradley County Clerk that issued it, used or not, inside 60 days, or a $100 fine can apply.
Under § 9-11-213, officials and clergy who may officiate include current judges, justices of the peace, mayors, ministers, and a few others. Ministers first record their credentials with a county clerk. The Bradley County Clerk keeps those records on file, so a quick call can confirm whether a minister is in the county's index.
Arkansas has no residency rule. A couple from another state may apply in Warren for a Bradley County marriage license and hold the wedding anywhere inside Arkansas.
Note: Office hours at the Bradley County Clerk are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central time, so get to the window well before closing if you need the license issued the same day.
Bradley County Marriage License Search
For online searches, the statewide portal at CIS Arkansas is the best first stop. Not every county takes part, so if Bradley County is not listed, the clerk in Warren is the way to confirm a record.
For court cases tied to a marriage in Bradley County, the Arkansas CourtConnect case search covers civil, probate, and domestic relations cases for many of the state's trial courts. It does not hold the marriage license paper itself but can fill in the story around a past Bradley County marriage license.
The Association of Arkansas Counties directory keeps the current clerk's phone numbers up to date. Use it as a backup if the main line at the courthouse is busy.
For a broader set of Bradley County public records tied to marriage and family filings, see this Bradley County public records overview.
The page above lines up the county clerk, the circuit clerk, and state vital records for Bradley County so you can pick the right office on the first call.
Certified Copies and State Records
A certified copy of a Bradley County marriage license is a short trip to the clerk in Warren. The fee runs around $5 to $6. The copy carries a raised seal, which is what Social Security, passport offices, pension funds, and immigration services ask for. The clerk can hand the copy to you the same day at the window.
For a state-level copy of the marriage coupon, the Arkansas Department of Health Vital Records office is the stop. The fee is $10. You can also order online through VitalChek, the state's official online vendor, which adds a processing fee.
The state index starts in 1917, so older Bradley County marriage license records before that date live only at the county clerk. The clerk may need extra time to pull a handwritten ledger entry for a very old record, so mention the date range when you call ahead.
Bradley County Marriage License Process
The clerk's counter is inside Suite 109 of the Bradley County Courthouse. Staff take applications back to back, so try to arrive earlier in the day. A lunch hour lull is common. A bright and early arrival also helps on Mondays and the first day after a state holiday.
The clerk will ask each party to write out their full legal name, date of birth, and place of birth on the application. Both parties sign under oath. The statewide bond requirement at Arkansas Code § 9-11-210 still applies here, though in practice the clerk builds it into the standard $60 fee. The clerk will then print the license with a return coupon attached.
Couples on active duty may ask for a waiver under § 9-11-211. The county court can waive the bond and, for a 17 year old, the parental consent step, if the service member's petition is in order. Bring the service member's ID, rank, unit, and written petition. The circuit judge signs the order and the clerk then issues the license.
Nearby Counties
If the license isn't on file in Bradley County, try a county next door. The clerks in south Arkansas often share traffic.