In the most basic of explanations, marriage-records provide for a legal document stating that two people are married. It is important that anyone who is married have these forms in a safe place. You will receive a marriage license once you get married and it is filed by the church or the official. What you do with it is up to you after that point, but keeping it in a safe place is necessary.

Not only do you get these marriage-records, but so does the government agency in your area. It can be used in any number of cases throughout your life and well beyond it as well. In most cases, this information is open to the general public and simply tells that two people are married. In most cases, only this information is provided to the general public so as not to cause problems with exposing such private information as social security numbers or other personal items.

The point of marriage-records is to establish a record of marriage, not really for that of identification although it can be used as proof of this as well. For example, if your name is changed through your marriage and you have had a child prior to this, you would need your marriage-record to show this as proof that you are the child