Getting a Marriage License in Humphreys County
In Mississippi, the marriage license is a county job, and it is most often handled by the Circuit Clerk. In Humphreys County that office is run by Circuit Clerk Marvin Jones. The clerk works out of the courthouse in Belzoni and can be reached at 662-247-3065. A license is the document a couple must have in hand before a wedding, and the clerk's office is where you start.
Humphreys County does not post a marriage license instruction page online, so the safest move is to call the Circuit Clerk before you show up. Mississippi county clerk offices consistently require both applicants to appear together, present proof of age and identity, and pay a license fee. Across the state that fee is commonly listed at about $37, but the exact Humphreys amount and accepted payment methods should be confirmed with the office. If either applicant was married before, the clerk may ask for the date the prior marriage ended and, in some counties, a copy of the divorce decree.
Bring a valid photo ID for each person. A driver's license, state ID, or passport is normally accepted as proof of age.
How to Apply for a Marriage License
The application is short, but both people have to be present, so a little planning helps. Since the county does not publish a license page, treat the call to the clerk as step one rather than an afterthought. The steps below reflect the standard Mississippi county process and the items a Humphreys couple should expect to handle.
- Call the Humphreys County Circuit Clerk at 662-247-3065 to confirm the fee, hours, accepted ID, payment methods, and whether you can walk in or need an appointment.
- Gather a valid photo ID for each applicant as proof of age and identity, plus prior-marriage information if either person was married before.
- Both applicants appear together at the Circuit Clerk's office in Belzoni during business hours.
- Complete the application, providing legal names, dates of birth, and parent information as requested by the clerk.
- Sign the application in the clerk's presence and pay the license fee.
- Receive the license and confirm any timing rules with the clerk before the ceremony.
Marriage License Application Fields
The application asks each person for the same core set of details. A few fields only apply if you were married before. The table lists the typical fields used on Mississippi county marriage license applications, since the Humphreys-specific form is not posted online. Confirm the exact fields with the Circuit Clerk when you call.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Applicant 1 legal name | Yes | Full current legal name. |
| Applicant 2 legal name | Yes | Full current legal name. |
| Date of birth / proof of age | Yes | Driver's license, state ID, passport, or birth certificate per the clerk. |
| Parents' names, including mother's maiden name | Commonly | Confirm with the Humphreys Circuit Clerk. |
| Prior marriage ended date | Conditional | Needed only if previously married. |
| Divorce decree copy | Conditional | Required in some Mississippi counties after a recent divorce. |
| Applicant signatures | Yes | Usually signed in the clerk's presence. |
| Fee / payment | Yes | Humphreys amount not posted; statewide pages often list $37. |
Humphreys County Marriage and Divorce Fees
Costs split across offices, and not every figure is published for Humphreys County. The marriage record copy fee is set by the state health department. The marriage license fee and the divorce-side fees are local and should be checked with the office that handles them. The table below shows the amounts confirmed in official sources and flags the ones you should verify.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Certified marriage record copy (MSDH) | $17 |
| VitalChek online or phone ordering | Adds a fee to the $17 charge |
| Marriage license (Circuit Clerk) | About $37, verify with Circuit Clerk |
| Certified divorce decree copy | Verify with Chancery Clerk |
| Divorce filing fee | Verify with Chancery Clerk |
Note: Mail ordering a marriage copy through the state health department avoids the extra vendor fee that VitalChek adds to online and phone orders.
How to Look Up Humphreys County Marriage Records
A marriage record and a marriage license are not the same thing. The license is issued at the county level before the wedding. The record is what proves the marriage happened, and in Mississippi those records are maintained by both state and county officials. Where you go depends on what you need and how old the marriage is.
The Mississippi State Department of Health explains how state and county offices share marriage record duties on its public marriage page.
The MSDH marriage-records page describes how to order a copy and how the state can search for the county where a license was issued.
That state search is useful when you know a couple married in Mississippi but are unsure of the county. For a Humphreys County marriage, you can also call the Circuit Clerk about county-copy options. The main channels are listed below.
- Contact the Humphreys County Circuit Clerk if the marriage occurred or the license was issued in the county.
- Order a state certified marriage copy from MSDH Vital Records, which can also search for the county of issuance.
- Use VitalChek for online or phone ordering only if you accept the added vendor fee.
- For older or genealogy records, contact the county office and Mississippi archives resources when state coverage is incomplete.
Mississippi Vital Records Office
Certified marriage copies for legal use come from the Mississippi State Department of Health Vital Records office. The certified-copy charge through the state is $17. Online and phone orders run through VitalChek, which adds its own fee, so a mailed request is the cheaper route for people who are not in a hurry.
The department keeps its ordering steps and payment paths on a single vital records page.
The MSDH Vital Records ordering page lays out the certified-copy request process and the $17 marriage-record charge.
Remember that the state office handles marriage copies, not divorce decrees. Divorce paperwork stays with the chancery court that granted it, which is covered further down.
How to Find Humphreys County Divorce Records
Divorce is a chancery matter in Mississippi. The Humphreys County Chancery Court sits at 102 Castleman Street, Suite 2, in Belzoni, and can be reached at 662-247-1740. Chancery Courts handle domestic matters including divorce, custody, guardianship, and adoptions, so a divorce file lives with that court rather than with the Circuit Clerk or a state vital records office.
The Mississippi Judiciary outlines this jurisdiction on its Chancery Court page.
The Mississippi Judiciary Chancery Court page confirms that divorce and other family cases are decided in Chancery Court.
Humphreys County Chancery Court went live on the Mississippi Electronic Courts system on May 14, 2019. Case information for chancery matters may be available through MEC and its public side, Public Access Mississippi Electronic Case Management, known as PAMEC. Online access is limited by subscription rules and by any sealed or redacted material, so not every divorce detail shows up in a digital search. To confirm a filing, you generally need the parties' names and an approximate year. The Chancery Clerk can help locate older files that predate electronic records or that are not posted online.
Confidential Family Information in Divorce Files
Divorce files often contain material the court protects. Financial disclosures, medical details, and anything involving children can be sealed or redacted before the public sees a file. The chancery case-management system uses flags to mark sensitive parts of a record, and those flags affect what is visible.
Among the flags chancery records can carry are Minor_Child for cases involving children and GAL for a guardian ad litem appointed to represent a child's interests. Exhibits tied to those issues may be withheld. The points below show why a public copy can look incomplete.
- Cases marked SEALED are closed to general public viewing.
- Minor-child details and custody exhibits are commonly redacted.
- Financial and medical exhibits may be removed from public copies.
- A guardian ad litem flag signals child-related protections in the file.
Getting Certified Divorce Copies
A certified divorce decree is the official, court-stamped copy you need for things like a name change, remarriage, or benefits paperwork. Unlike marriage copies, divorce decrees do not come from the state health department. They come from the chancery court where the divorce was granted.
For a Humphreys County divorce, request the certified decree from the Chancery Clerk, Mack Liddell Jr., whose office handles the county's chancery filings. The mailing address is PO Box 547, Belzoni, MS 39038, and the office email is mliddell@humphreyscounty.org. Ask the clerk about the copy fee and accepted payment when you place the request, since those amounts are not posted online. The same office is the right contact for older decrees, sealed-status questions, and full file copies. The Chancery Clerk also keeps the county's probate records, so the office is a single point of contact for several chancery matters.
Filing a Divorce in Chancery Court
People who need to start a divorce, not just pull a record, file in Chancery Court rather than Circuit or Justice Court. The case opens with a complaint, and the court sets the path from there. Residency, venue, grounds, property division, and any minor-child issues are legal questions, and most people benefit from counsel or an official court-help resource before filing.
The clerk's office can confirm where and how a filing is accepted, and whether a matter can be submitted electronically through the MEC system. If your case involves the same parties as an existing chancery file, mention that when you contact the office so the records can be matched. For broader chancery questions, including how the Chancery Clerk processes filings and copies, that office is the place to start.
Service on the other spouse, waiting periods, and final-decree steps all run through the court, so confirm each requirement with the Chancery Clerk before you rely on a timeline.