NEW ORLEANS—March 16, 2009— For the first time since Hurricane Katrina, the Orleans Parish Marriage Office re-opened in Orleans Parish today.

The new Marriage Office is located in downtown New Orleans at 1010 Common St., Suite 1245. Before sustaining damage from Hurricane Katrina, the Marriage Office was located in the New Orleans State Office Building on Loyola Ave.  Since Katrina, the Marriage Office had been operating from the Jefferson Parish Health Unit in Metairie.

“We are very excited and proud to move back into Orleans Parish,” said Darlene Smith, State Registrar and Center Director of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals’ Vital Records Registry. “We know this new office will be much more convenient for the citizens of New Orleans to apply for their marriage licenses.”

Operated by the Vital Records Registry, the Orleans Parish Marriage Office issues marriage licenses authorizing couples to be legally married in Orleans Parish and throughout Louisiana.

Because so many people who live outside of Orleans Parish work and travel there regularly, the Orleans Parish Marriage Office is the only state marriage office authorized to issue marriage licenses for marriages taking place in any parish in the state.

“This new office makes it more convenient, not only for New Orleanians, but for all people who may work here during the day and who are unable to apply with the Clerk of Court's office in their home parish, or even for tourists who may travel here for the purpose of getting married in one of the most historic and romantic cities in the country,” Smith said.

Marriage Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. The office will observe all state holidays. 

Orleans Parish marriage license fees cost $27.50, with a charge of $5 for each certified copy requested at the time of filing. The office also registers marriage officiants wishing to perform ceremonies in Orleans Parish.

Contact the Marriage Office at (504) 568-3620. Additional information is also available by contacting the Center for Records and Statistics Customer Service at (504) 219-4500 or online athttp://www.dhh.louisiana.gov/offices/?ID=252.

The Louisiana Department of Health strives to protect and promote health statewide and to ensure access to medical, preventive and rehabilitative services for all state citizens. To learn more about LDH, visit http://www.dhh.louisiana.gov.

 

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