Find your ancestors in Western Australia marriage index

What can these records tell me?

This record set contains over 500,000 transcripts. The amount of available information varies among transcripts, but most will include the following details:

  • First name(s)
  • Last name
  • Marriage year
  • Marriage place
  • Spouse’s first name(s)
  • Spouse’s last name
  • Registration number
  • State

Discover more about these records

Starting 1 September 1841, civil registration came into effect in Western Australia. This meant that the responsibility for registering births, marriages, and deaths now resided with the state instead of with the churches.

Marriage records can provide you with useful information in your family history research. These records can help you discover where, when, and to whom your ancestor was married. For example, we learn that Brenda May Alcock was married in 1965 in Perth to Trevor Edward Black.

Ordering a marriage certificate

In Australia, each state administers its own birth, death, and marriage certificates and manages the ordering process. The level of detail contained in these certificates varies widely.

Once you have located the relevant marriage transcript within our record set, you can order the marriage certificate itself from the Western Australian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages.

For marriages that occurred 75 years ago or more, there are no restrictions or identification requirements for obtaining a marriage certificate. For more recent marriage certificates, there are eligibility and identification requirements. For family access, you must satisfy one of these three requirements:

  • You are one of the parties of the marriage

  • You are a child of the marriage or another relative (restricted, unless: you can provide written authorization from the bride or groom; or you can provide proof that both bride and groom are deceased; or you can provide evidence that the certificate is necessary for a legal right or entitlement.)

  • You are requesting access to original information from an adoption record

Three forms of identification are required when you apply for a certificate. Applications can either be mailed or requested in person. There is a fee associated with this application. For more information visit the Western Australian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages link in the Useful Links & Resources section.