Since 1949, the Department of Health and Senior Services has been the official state registrar for marriage records (MO Revised Statute, Chapter 193, Section 185), “A report of each marriage performed in this state shall be filed with the department and shall be registered if it has been completed and filed in accordance with this section.”). The county which issued the marriage license is responsible for forwarding reports of marriage to the department.

Reports of marriage document some of the social characteristics of a population, such as number of previous marriages, age at time of marriage, level of education, etc.