Texarkana, Arkansas Marriage Records

Texarkana is a unique twin city that straddles the Arkansas-Texas state line, and marriage records here depend entirely on which side of the line the marriage took place. For marriages on the Arkansas side, the Miller County Clerk in Texarkana, AR handles all license applications and maintains the official record. This page covers how marriage records work on the Arkansas side of Texarkana, where to go, what to bring, and how to access records if you cannot visit in person. If your marriage took place in Texas, you need to contact Texas offices, not the Miller County Clerk.

Miller County Clerk: The Arkansas-Side Office

The Miller County Clerk is at 400 Laurel Street in Texarkana, AR 71854. This is the office that issues Arkansas marriage licenses and maintains marriage records for Miller County. The phone number is (870) 774-4501, and office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Miller County records go back to 1820, giving this office one of the longer record histories in the state. The clerk's office is on the Arkansas side of Texarkana, which matters because the city spans two states with separate legal systems.

Texarkana, Texas is a separate city with its own county clerk in Bowie County. A marriage license issued in Texarkana, TX is a Texas document filed with Bowie County. If you are looking for a marriage that took place on the Texas side of the city, you need to contact Bowie County or the Texas Department of State Health Services, not the Miller County Clerk. This is a common point of confusion for people who grew up in the area or have family records spanning both sides of the state line.

For marriages specifically on the Arkansas side of Texarkana, the Miller County Clerk is the right place. The City of Texarkana's official website covers both sides and can help you figure out which offices are on which side if you are not sure. The site also has general civic information for the broader Texarkana metro area. The Texarkana Chamber of Commerce can sometimes help direct residents to local government contacts when navigating the dual-state setup.

Note: If you applied for a marriage license on the Arkansas side but then held the ceremony in Texas, the legal question of where the marriage is recorded can get complicated; contact an attorney or the clerk's office directly if your situation spans both states.

Getting a Marriage License in Texarkana, Arkansas

To get married under Arkansas law, both applicants must appear in person at the Miller County Clerk's office at 400 Laurel Street. There is no online application. No proxy applications are accepted. Both people need to bring a valid, government-issued photo ID. A driver's license, state ID, or passport all work. If either person was previously married, bring proof that the prior marriage ended, either through a certified copy of the divorce decree or the former spouse's death certificate.

After the license is issued, there is a 72-hour waiting period required by Arkansas law before the ceremony can take place. The license stays valid for 60 days. If you do not use it within that time, it expires and you need to apply and pay again. There is no residency requirement, so couples from Texas, Louisiana, or any other state can get an Arkansas license in Miller County and marry here legally. No blood test is required. Arkansas has not recognized common law marriage since 1941, so the formal license and ceremony process is mandatory for any valid marriage under state law.

Age requirements follow state law. Both parties must be at least 18 to marry without any additional steps. A 17-year-old may marry with written parental consent. Anyone under 17 needs a court order. All of these rules are in Arkansas Code Title 9, which you can read at the Arkansas legislature's official website. The fee for a license is around $60; call (870) 774-4501 to confirm the current rate before you visit. The rules in Arkansas differ from Texas, so if you are used to the Texas process, read up on the Arkansas requirements before your appointment.

Note: Texarkana, TX has its own marriage license rules set by Texas law; do not assume the Arkansas rules apply on the Texas side of the city or vice versa.

Searching Marriage Records in the Texarkana Area

For people who cannot visit the clerk's office in person, Arkansas offers several routes to access marriage records remotely. The Arkansas Department of Health holds certified copies of marriage records from 1917 onward. Their address is 4815 W. Markham Street in Little Rock. You can submit a written request by mail or visit in person. Each certified copy costs $10. This is the most direct official route for records from that date range, and the Department of Health's records cover all 75 Arkansas counties, including Miller County.

For online ordering, VitalChek is the authorized vendor for Arkansas vital records. You complete the request form online, pay by credit card, and VitalChek processes the order through the Department of Health. Additional service fees apply. Check the current rate on the VitalChek site before you finalize your order. This is useful for Texarkana residents who need a record quickly and want to avoid the wait for a mail-in request. Processing times vary, but the online system often moves faster than paper mail.

For historical research, the Arkansas State Archives has materials related to Miller County going back to the county's earliest years. Some older records have been microfilmed or digitized. The FamilySearch Arkansas Vital Records wiki is also a strong reference for genealogists who want to understand what is available online before submitting a formal records request. Some Miller County marriage records from the 1800s have been indexed and are searchable through FamilySearch at no cost.

Certified Copies of Arkansas-Side Marriage Records

A certified copy is the legal form of a marriage record. It carries an official seal or certification mark that makes it acceptable to courts, government agencies, employers, banks, and insurance companies. An uncertified copy or a printout from a genealogy database does not carry the same legal weight. You need the real thing if you are using the record to change your name, settle an estate, apply for benefits, or file with a government agency.

For Arkansas marriages from 1917 forward, the Arkansas Department of Health issues certified copies at $10 each. Multiple copies of the same record cost $10 each as well. You can order through VitalChek online or submit a paper form directly to the Department of Health at healthy.arkansas.gov. For marriages before 1917, the Miller County Clerk at (870) 774-4501 is the source. Their records go back to 1820, though the older the record, the longer it may take to locate and reproduce.

Remember: a marriage certificate is different from a marriage license. The license is what you apply for before the ceremony. The certificate is the document signed after the ceremony is completed, then filed with the county. Certified copies are made from the certificate of record. If you need a copy of just the license application, that is a different request and may not be available in certified form. The clerk's office can clarify what they have on file for your specific situation.

Note: For records from the Texas side of Texarkana, contact the Bowie County Clerk in Texas or the Texas Department of State Health Services; the Arkansas Department of Health does not hold Texas records.

Arkansas Marriage Law in the Twin-City Context

Living in a twin city creates real legal questions about which state's law applies to a given situation. For marriage purposes, the rule is simple: where the license was issued and the ceremony took place determines which state's law governs the marriage. If you got an Arkansas license from the Miller County Clerk and married in Texarkana, AR, your marriage is an Arkansas marriage recorded in Miller County. If you got a Texas license from Bowie County and married in Texarkana, TX, your marriage is a Texas marriage recorded in Texas.

Both Arkansas and Texas require a license before a marriage is valid. Neither state recognizes the other's license as sufficient on its own. This matters if you are planning a ceremony and have not decided where to apply. Arkansas has a 72-hour waiting period; Texas has a 72-hour waiting period as well, so the timelines are similar. The fees and specific requirements differ somewhat, so check both if you are deciding which side of the line to use. Arkansas Code Title 9 covers the Arkansas side.

For students and faculty at Texarkana College, which serves both Arkansas and Texas residents, the dual-state nature of the city is a common source of questions about which government services apply to which residents. For marriage records specifically, the answer always comes down to where the license was issued and the ceremony was held. If you are not sure, call the Miller County Clerk at (870) 774-4501 for guidance on the Arkansas side, or contact Bowie County for the Texas side.

Texarkana College and State Records Reference

Texarkana College serves students from both sides of the state line and is one of the city's most recognizable institutions. The screenshot below is from the college's official website, shown here as a reference for the community context of the Texarkana area.

Texarkana College at texarkanacollege.edu serves the regional community, and while the college does not provide marriage record services, it is a central part of the city's civic life and sometimes helps residents navigate local government services and resources.

For statewide vital records access, the CDC's "Where to Write" guide for Arkansas confirms the Arkansas Department of Health as the state-level agency for certified marriage records from 1917 forward. The authorized online order vendor is VitalChek, shown in the screenshot below.

VitalChek processes orders through the Arkansas Department of Health and is the fastest online route for residents who need a certified copy without visiting in person.

Nearby Cities

Texarkana is in the far southwestern corner of Arkansas. The closest qualifying Arkansas city is El Dorado, to the northeast in Union County.

• El Dorado - Union County

El Dorado is approximately 90 miles to the northeast. Marriage records for El Dorado are held by the Union County Clerk. The Arkansas Department of Health and the Arkansas State Archives both hold records spanning all Arkansas counties, which can be useful if you are researching family records across multiple parts of southwest and south Arkansas.