The Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment used to let visitors search by name for anyone in Colorado who had been divorced or had received a marriage license within the state. Now, the Web site requires applicants to provide proof of their relationship to the family or documentation establishing their legal interest in receiving the information.

The change became effective on Jan. 1, but state officials took the site down last week.

"Several months ago, as we became more and more concerned about it, we spoke with our attorneys ... and asked if those records should be as accessible as they were. Given the increasing threat from identity theft, we decided we should take that information to a more confidential level," Ronald Hyman, the state registrar of vital stastics told the Daily Camera.

Marriage records can still be accessed through individual counties.

According to the Camera, Hyman said his department hasn't gotten any reports of stolen identities, but since the database browsers allowed people to find information such as a mother's maiden name, the Web site was taken down.