Dear Cousins,

Richard May asked, "How long should it take to get a copy of a 1931
marriage record, with both certificate number and date known, >from the New
York City Department of Public Health (not the Municipal Archives)?"

I answer: Richard is getting trapped in the New York City bureaucracy.
The Department of Health has given *all* their marriage records to the
Department of Records and Information Services, which has given them to
the Municipal Archives, which in turn makes them available via microfilm.

Health no longer has *any* marriage records. At best, they'll direct
Richard, or his request, to the proper place. At worst, they'll send
him/it to the wrong place, or tell him that no records exist.

There used to be two sets of marriage records, one set recorded at the
Dept. of Health, and the other at the Office of the City Clerk. The
latter is still there, for marriages recorded during 1930 and afterward.
City Clerk records >from 1929 and prior are at the Municipal Archives, just
like all the Health records.

But there is a way out of the bureaucracy. Write to the Municipal
Archives or make the request on line, both ways using the information at
http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/html/vitalrecords/marriage.shtml, which
states that the turnaround time is 4 to 6 weeks. )It's usually a little
shorter.)

I hope that this helps.

Ira
Ira Leviton
New York, N.Y.