A marriage license is a government permit that authorizes two people to marry, and in most of the United States, marriage licenses work like this: you apply in person at a county clerk’s office with photo ID and a fee, meet a short list of eligibility rules, wait any required period, have the license signed at your ceremony by an authorized officiant and witnesses, and return it to the clerk so the marriage can be recorded. Fees typically run $20 to $115. The process is straightforward, but the details vary enough between states and counties that missing a single step can leave you without a valid marriage.
The License Is Not the Certificate
These two documents get confused constantly. A marriage license is permission to get married, picked up before the wedding. A marriage certificate is proof you did get married, issued after your signed license is returned and recorded.
The license is temporary and has an expiration date. The certificate is the document you’ll use for the rest of your life: name changes, tax filings, adding a spouse to insurance, inheritance. When a bank or government agency asks for proof of marriage, they want the certificate.
Who Can Get a License
Every jurisdiction sets baseline qualifications. Fail any one and the application gets denied.
- Age. Both applicants must be at least 18 in most states. Some allow 16- or 17-year-olds with parental consent, a court order, or both. A growing number of states have set 18 as a hard minimum with no exceptions.
- Marital status. You must be legally single: unmarried, divorced, or widowed. Marrying while still legally married to someone else is bigamy, a criminal offense in every state, with penalties ranging from a misdemeanor to a felony carrying up to ten years in prison.
- Relationship. Every state prohibits marriages between close blood relatives such as parents and children, siblings, and half-siblings. About 25 states ban first-cousin marriage outright; the rest allow it, sometimes with conditions.
- Mental capacity. Both people must understand what they’re agreeing to. A license won’t be issued if either party is under the influence or otherwise unable to give informed consent.
Same-sex couples have the same right to a marriage license in every state. The Supreme Court established this in 2015, and Congress reinforced it in 2022 with the Respect for Marriage Act, which requires every state to give full faith and credit to marriages performed in other states and guarantees federal recognition of any marriage valid where it was performed.1Congress.gov. H.R.8404 – Respect for Marriage Act
What to Bring
Show up without the right paperwork and you’ll be sent home. The core items are consistent, though the exact list varies by county.
- Government-issued photo ID for both applicants: driver’s license, state ID, passport, or military ID.
- Proof any prior marriage ended. A certified divorce decree, annulment order, or death certificate. Some offices accept just the date and location, but bringing the paperwork avoids delays.
- Social Security number. Most states require it. Applicants without one, such as foreign nationals, can typically sign an affidavit instead.
- Parental information. The application asks for both parents’ full legal names and birthplaces for each applicant, for the vital records system.
No state still requires a blood test. Montana was the last holdout and dropped the requirement in 2019. If you’ve heard otherwise, that information is decades out of date.
Fees and Counseling Discounts
License fees run from under $20 in the cheapest jurisdictions to $115 at the high end, with most counties in the $35 to $90 range. Payment methods vary: some offices take only cash or money orders, others accept credit cards. Call ahead or check the clerk’s website.
About ten states offer a meaningful discount if you complete a premarital education course before applying. Savings typically range from $20 to $75, and a few states waive the fee entirely or eliminate the waiting period. Course requirements vary from four to twelve hours with a licensed counselor, therapist, or clergy member, and you’ll receive a certificate to present at the clerk’s office. Check with your state before enrolling to confirm the program qualifies.
Where to Apply and What Happens
You generally apply at the county clerk, recorder, or probate court in the county where the wedding will take place. Some states let you apply in any county statewide if at least one of you is a resident. If neither of you lives in the state, you’ll almost always need to apply in the county where the ceremony is happening, and the license may only be valid in that county.
Both applicants must appear in person. During the appointment, you’ll fill out the application, present identification and supporting documents, swear under oath that the information is accurate, and pay the fee. Some jurisdictions now allow the initial application online, but most still require at least one in-person visit to verify identities and sign under oath. The appointment usually takes 15 to 30 minutes if your paperwork is in order.
If a clerk denies your application, it’s usually because of missing documentation proving a prior marriage ended. Get the required records and reapply. Some jurisdictions have a formal appeal process routed to an administrative hearing, but in most places the fix is simply bringing the right paperwork back.
Waiting Periods and Expiration
Roughly half the states impose a waiting period between when the license is issued and when you can hold the ceremony, typically one to three days. A few states have no waiting period, meaning you could apply and marry the same day.
Where waiting periods exist, most states let a judge waive the requirement for a legitimate reason: military deployment, medical emergency, travel constraints. Some judges handle it informally with a call to the clerk’s office; others require a written petition.
Every license has an expiration date. If you don’t hold the ceremony and return the signed license within that window, the permit becomes void and you’ll start over, fees included. Expiration periods range from 30 days to a full year, with 60 days being most common. A handful of states set no expiration at all. Don’t assume your license is good for months without checking; the 30-day states catch procrastinators off guard.
The Ceremony: Officiants and Witnesses
For the marriage to be legally valid, the license must be signed by an authorized officiant and, in most states, one or two witnesses.
Who Can Officiate
The list is broader than most couples realize. It typically includes judges, justices of the peace, magistrates, ordained or licensed clergy of any denomination, and in many states anyone holding an elective public office. Most states also recognize ministers ordained through online churches like the Universal Life Church or American Marriage Ministries. A small number of counties have occasionally pushed back on online ordinations, so have your officiant confirm their credentials with the county clerk before the ceremony.
Self-Solemnization
A handful of states allow couples to marry themselves without any officiant. Colorado is the most permissive, requiring neither an officiant nor witnesses. Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. offer self-uniting licenses. Several other states, including Wisconsin, Illinois, Kansas, and Maine, allow officiant-free ceremonies under religious exemptions for traditions that have historically practiced self-solemnization, such as Quaker and Mennonite communities.
Witnesses
Most states require one or two adult witnesses to sign the license at the ceremony, confirming the marriage took place. They don’t need any special qualifications beyond being of legal age and mentally competent. Friends, family members, even strangers will do. Colorado and D.C. don’t require witnesses under their self-solemnization rules, but they’re the exception.
Returning the License and Getting the Certificate
After the ceremony, the signed license must go back to the issuing clerk’s office. The return deadline varies but is typically 10 to 30 days. The officiant is usually responsible for filing it, though in some jurisdictions the couple handles this. Missing this deadline is one of the most common mistakes. If the signed license isn’t returned, the marriage may not be recorded, no certificate gets issued, and you’ll have trouble proving you’re legally married.
Once the clerk receives and records the signed license, they generate the official marriage certificate. Processing times vary from a few days to several weeks. You can usually request certified copies at the time of recording or order them later. Get at least two or three. You’ll need them for name changes, insurance updates, and other legal processes, and ordering more later costs additional fees and time.
Alternatives to a Standard License
A few states offer or recognize paths that work differently from the standard license-and-ceremony route.
Covenant marriage is available in Arizona, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Couples sign a declaration of intent to stay married permanently and must complete premarital counseling before the license is issued. The tradeoff is on the other end: covenant marriage eliminates no-fault divorce. Ending the marriage requires proving specific grounds like adultery, a felony conviction, abuse, or a lengthy separation, plus counseling before filing.
Proxy marriage lets someone who can’t physically attend have a stand-in. It exists primarily for active-duty military stationed overseas. California, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, and Texas authorize some form of it. Montana is the only state that allows double proxy, where neither spouse is present. Immigration authorities don’t recognize unconsummated proxy marriages, so this option has real limitations for couples where one spouse is a foreign national.
Common law marriage is still recognized in about eight states and D.C., meaning a couple can be legally married without ever obtaining a license or holding a ceremony. Requirements generally include mutual agreement to be married, cohabitation, and presenting yourselves to others as married. States that recognize some form of common law marriage include Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Rhode Island through case law.2National Conference of State Legislatures. Common Law Marriage by State A common law marriage carries the same legal rights and obligations as a licensed one, but proving it exists can be difficult and disputes tend to be messy. If you live in a recognizing state and want the legal protections, getting a license is still the cleaner path.