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Certified Records

Contact Information
Phone

(614) 525-3899
Email
Email

[email protected]

Court Hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except legal holidays.

  • Cashier Closes at 4:30 p.m. Please arrive no later than 4:00 p.m. if your business with Court requires a filing fee or payment.
  • The Court remains open until 5:00 p.m. for informational, non-transaction purposes only.
The Probate Court maintains records for all matters filed with the Court including Estates, Guardianships, Name Changes, Marriage Licenses, and various other actions. Some of the Court's records are confidential by law and are not open for public inspection, including records of Adoptions, Mental Illness, and Developmental Disabilities. 
  • The Court maintains records for review, copy, and certification in several formats - including hard copy original, microfilm, microfiche, electronic image - depending on the age of the document. Electronic images are available on most filings received on or after August 2, 1998.
  • The Court also maintains birth and death records for Franklin County, Ohio, for the years of 1867 through 1908, Marriage Records from 1803 to present, and Estate, Guardianship, and Name Change records from 1898 to present.
    • The State of Ohio did not maintain birth or death records prior to 1867.
    • Death records from December 20, 1908 to 1944 are held with the Ohio History Connection.
    • Birth records after 1908 and death records after 1944 are held with the Ohio Bureau of Vital Statistics/Department of Health.

Regular and Certified Copies of Court Documents

Certified Copies

$1.00 per page

Regular Copies on Paper

$0.10 per page

Regular Copies on CD (CD can hold muliple cases/images)

$1.00 per CD

Preferred payment is certified check, cashier's check, money order, attorney check.
Visa, MasterCard and Discover are accepted when picking up documents. There is a separate 3% service charge for all credit/debit transactions that take place in the Probate Court.

Record searches may be requested by U.S. Mail or by email at [email protected]. A Deputy Clerk will contact you regarding the cost. 

For requests submitted by U.S. Mail, please send a self addressed stamped envelope with your request and payment to the following address:
Franklin County Probate Court
ATTN: Certified Desk
373 South High Street, 22nd Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215-6311

Record searches may be conducted in person at the Court with an appointment. 

Certified Copies of Marriage Abstracts

Certified Marriage Abstract

$2.00 per copy

obtain a certified copy of your Marriage Abstract online, in person or requesting by mail.

Before you order your Marriage Abstract in Franklin County, please review the following information. We cannot issue refunds for orders once they are placed, even if the license was issued in another county. Please make sure you can answer “Yes” to the following two questions:

1.)    Was the Marriage License issued in Franklin County, Ohio?

  • If not, please contact the Probate Court in the county where the marriage license was issued.
  • If “Yes” proceed to question #2.
2.)    Have you verified that your officiant has returned the signed Certification to Probate Court?
  • To confirm this, please search for your names in the Marriage License Index Search. If there is no date listed under “Certif Returned” in your case entry, contact your officiant to see when they will return the Certification to Probate Court.  The Court cannot issue a Marriage Abstract until the Certification has been signed by your officiant and returned.
  • If Married BEFORE 1/1/1995, please first email the Franklin County Probate Court Marriage Department  to verify the license was issued in Franklin County.
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Order Online

Use your credit or debit card to order copies through Point & Pay. The cost is $2.00 for each certified copy, plus postage fees. There will also be a service fee charged by Point & Pay in the amount of $1.00 per transaction.

If you were issued your marriage license in Franklin County Ohio, the link below will take you to the Point & Pay website to process your request and make payment for your marriage abstract(s). If you did not get your marriage license in Franklin County Ohio, please contact the Probate Court of the county where your license was issued to obtain your marriage abstract.

Make a Payment

*Due to technical and procedual issues, the Franklin County Probate Court will no longer send certified marriage abstracts through an expedited mail delivery method. All certified marriage abstracts will be sent through standardU. S. Mail.We apologize for the inconvenience. The Probate Court wil look into providing an expedited mail delivery method in the future.

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Request by Mail

MAIL REQUESTS TO:
Franklin County Probate Court
ATTN: Marriage Records
373 S. High St., 22nd Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6311

IN YOUR REQUEST YOU NEED TO INCLUDE:

  1. APPLICANT 1 name (maiden or previous to this marriage, if applicable)
  2. APPLICANT 2 name (maiden or previous to this marriage, if applicable)
  3. The year of the marriage (the Court needs an approximate year to be able to search for the record, please let us know in your request if you are unsure of the date)
  4. Daytime phone number where you can be reached
  5. $2.00 for each copy that you are requesting, payable by money order, cashier's check, attorney or perosnal check
  6. A self addressed stamped envelope so the Court can send the abstract back to you
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Request in Person

You may order a copy of your Marriage Abstract by visiting the Probate Court Marriage Department at: 373 S. High Street, 23rd floor, Columbus, Ohio, and obtain the record while you wait. Court hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm. The Court is closed for all legal holidays. The cost for each certified copy is $2.00, payable by cash, money order, cashier's check, attorney or personal check, or credit/debit card. There is a 3% service fee for credit/debit card transactions.

YOU WILL NEED THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

  1. APPLICANT 1 name (maiden or previous to this marriage, if applicable)
  2. APPLICANT 2 name (maiden or previous to this marriage, if applicable)
  3. The year of the marriage (the Court needs at least an approximate year to be able to search for the record)

Legal Practice in the Probate Court

Legal practice in the Probate Court is restricted by law to attorneys who are licensed by the Supreme Court of Ohio. Due to the complexity of the law and desire to avoid costly errors, most individuals who have filings before the Court are represented by an attorney. Court employees are prohibited by statute from practicing law and cannot give legal advice.