The term “marriage certificate" can be easily confused for two different types of documents: the
Commemorative Marriage Certificate and the
Certified Record of Marriage.
Counties may provide you with a
Commemorative Marriage Certificate.
This is a decorative certificate meant for display. It is NOT a legal document. Completed by hand, there are spaces for you to record the names of the bride/spouse and groom/spouse, date and location of the ceremony, name of the officiant, names of the witnesses, date of the marriage license, and name of the county clerk who issued the license.
The
Certified Record of Marriage is a copy of the
Application, License, and Record of Marriage form that was submitted after the ceremony. Many counties offer certified copies immediately or shortly after the final paperwork is submitted to the county clerk's office.
This certificate can be used as proof of marriage for most situations but may not be accepted by all organizations (for example, Certified Records of Marriage from the county are not sufficient for U.S. passport applications).
Oregon Vital Records issues an official certified copy of the marriage record.
This certificate has a state file number and is printed on special security paper. It may take several weeks for a couple's information to be fully registered with the State, so typically, an official marriage certificate is not available from Oregon Vital Records for approximately one month from the date the paperwork was submitted to the county.