Yes, you can legally get married on a Sunday anywhere in the United States. No state law restricts which day of the week a wedding ceremony can happen, and a Sunday marriage is just as valid as one performed on any other day. The catch is administrative, not legal: county clerk offices that issue marriage licenses are almost all closed on weekends, so the license itself has to be picked up on a weekday before the ceremony.
Older “blue laws” once restricted various Sunday activities for religious reasons, and some still apply to things like alcohol sales. None prohibit marriage ceremonies. If you have a valid license in hand and an authorized officiant, Sunday works.
Timing Your License Around a Sunday Wedding
Because clerk offices operate Monday through Friday in most counties, you cannot walk in Sunday morning and marry Sunday afternoon. The visit has to happen earlier in the week, or earlier still if your state imposes a waiting period.
Roughly 18 states require a waiting period between applying for the license and using it. These range from 24 hours to three business days. In a three-day-waiting-period state, a Sunday ceremony means applying no later than Wednesday. The remaining states have no waiting period, so the license is valid the moment it’s issued.
Licenses also expire. Most states give you between 30 and 90 days to hold the ceremony after issuance. Apply too early and the license lapses before Sunday arrives; apply too late and a waiting period can trap you. One to four weeks ahead tends to be the practical window.
What You Need to Qualify
Marriage requirements are set state by state, but the pattern is consistent. Both people must be at least 18 in most states, though some permit marriage at 16 or 17 with parental consent or a court order. Both parties need the mental capacity to understand they’re entering a binding legal agreement, which rules out anyone incapacitated by alcohol, drugs, or a condition that prevents genuine consent. Neither person can already be married to someone else. States also prohibit marriages between close relatives, with the exact boundaries varying; about half of states ban first-cousin marriages entirely, and others allow them with conditions.
Blood tests, once standard, have been almost entirely eliminated. No state currently requires a general blood test as a condition of getting a marriage license.
At the Clerk’s Office
Both applicants typically need to appear in person at the county clerk’s office (or equivalent local office) in the jurisdiction where the wedding will take place. Bring government-issued photo identification such as a driver’s license, passport, or state ID, along with your Social Security number. If either of you was previously married, most jurisdictions want proof the prior marriage ended, meaning a divorce decree or death certificate.
License fees generally fall between $20 and $120, depending on the jurisdiction. Most states do not require you to be a resident, which is why destination weddings in places like Las Vegas or Hawaii work smoothly. You apply in the state where the ceremony will happen, regardless of where you live.
Who Can Perform the Ceremony
Your marriage has to be solemnized by someone the state authorizes. That generally includes ordained clergy of any denomination, judges, magistrates, justices of the peace, and certain elected officials like mayors. Many states also recognize ministers ordained through online organizations, though a few jurisdictions have pushed back on that, so confirm with the local clerk’s office if your officiant was ordained online.
A handful of states plus Washington, D.C. allow self-solemnization, where the couple effectively marries themselves without an officiant. Colorado and D.C. are the most flexible and require neither an officiant nor witnesses. Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Illinois also permit self-uniting marriages, though they generally require witnesses or a religious basis. California offers a similar path through its confidential marriage license. If finding an available officiant for Sunday feels hard, self-solemnization in a state that permits it is a clean workaround.
If One of You Can’t Be There in Person
A small number of states allow proxy marriages when one partner physically cannot attend, which comes up most often with deployed military members. Texas, Colorado, Kansas, and Montana permit single-proxy marriages, mostly limited to active-duty military or state residents. Montana is the only state that allows double-proxy marriages, where neither party is physically present. Each program carries specific residency or military-status requirements.
Virtual ceremonies were common during the pandemic but have mostly ended. Utah is the only state that offers virtual marriage ceremonies as a permanent option, administered through the Utah County Clerk’s office. The officiant has to be physically located in Utah during the ceremony, but the couple can participate from anywhere in the world. Couples who use this route should know Utah now requires signing an affidavit agreeing to personal jurisdiction in Utah for any future divorce or annulment proceedings.
Witnesses and Returning the License
Most states require one or two witnesses at the ceremony to sign the marriage license alongside the couple and officiant. A few, including Colorado, require none. Where witnesses are required, they generally need to be adults, though some states set no minimum age and instead ask only that the witness be competent to testify about what they observed. Friends or family members work fine; no special qualifications are needed.
After the ceremony, the signed license has to be returned to the issuing clerk’s office within a deadline that ranges from about 5 to 30 days depending on the state. This step is the officiant’s responsibility in most jurisdictions, not the couple’s. Missing the deadline doesn’t automatically invalidate the marriage, but it can cause real friction: some states fine officiants who miss it, and you may need to go through a delayed-registration process to get your certified marriage certificate.
Getting the Certified Certificate You’ll Actually Use
The signed license returned to the clerk isn’t the same document as your certified marriage certificate. Once the clerk processes and records the returned license, you can request certified copies. Processing times vary widely, from under a week in some counties to several months in others. Certified copies are what you’ll need for changing your name on a driver’s license, updating Social Security records, adding a spouse to insurance, or updating bank accounts. Order several upfront, since many institutions require originals rather than photocopies.
Recognition Across State Lines
A marriage performed legally in one state is recognized in every other state. The Respect for Marriage Act, signed into federal law on December 13, 2022, requires all states and the federal government to recognize any marriage that was valid where it was performed.1Congress.gov. H.R.8404 – 117th Congress (2021-2022) Respect for Marriage Act A Sunday wedding in Nevada is fully recognized in Texas, New York, or anywhere else you later move. No re-registration or additional step is needed when you cross state lines.