Applying for a Marriage License

Everyone knows the first step towards becoming (legally) married is applying for your marriage license (and if you didn’t know you do now ;) ). But, how do you apply for it? Where do you go to get the application? How do you fill it out correctly? What do you do with it after it’s filled out? If you’ve never been married before all these questions and more are probably running through your head. Fear NOT! Your answers are here.

The first step will decide which road you go down as to how to obtain your marriage license. If you are hiring a professional officiant, priest, pastor, etc., then your questions on this should be directed towards them. They will know exactly where you will need to go to obtain your marriage license, they may even be able to get it for you. You can also get help from them as to how to fill it out if there are any questions about the information requested on the form. Their business is marriages and they will have dealt with marriage licenses many times before.

If you are going to be married by a Judge, Friend, or other non professional officiant then you will want to call your local city or county courthouse. Marriage licenses are legal documents that are recorded at the courthouse. That means your local courthouse will know exactly who you need to contact and where to go. Once you’ve found out the person or department you need to contact, their phone number, and where their located give them a call and ask a few questions. In some counties/states they require a waiting period between the application for your marriage license and when your wedding ceremony can actually occur. Find out if your area is one of them. Also ask what the fees are, how you can pay for them, and when they are due. Most areas are up to date enough to accept credit cards but not all. Many do not accept cash either. In addition to asking about the timeline and fees, if your going to have a judge marry you, find out when they are available and any other things you need to do before or bring with you. They will be able to explain the entire process to you. Remember to ask these questions of the person/department that handles marriages, NOT the receptionist who you first contact. The only question for them is who you need to contact for marriage licenses.

Getting married is an exciting time and there are many things to be done to worry about. Hopefully this has shown you how simple the actual marriage license is to get your hands on and it will be one less thing for you to worry about before your big day!