To apply for a marriage license, both people visit the county clerk’s office together, present valid government-issued photo ID, complete a short application under oath, and pay a fee that runs roughly $20 to $110 depending on where you live. The clerk issues the license the same day in most offices. That license authorizes a wedding ceremony; it does not by itself make you married. You still need an authorized officiant to perform the ceremony and return the signed license for filing.
Every state runs its own system, but the core steps are the same everywhere. The differences worth knowing before you go are your county’s fee, whether your state imposes a waiting period, how long the license stays valid, and what documents the clerk expects if either of you has been married before.
What to Bring to the Clerk’s Office
Both applicants need current, unexpired, government-issued photo identification. A driver’s license or passport is accepted everywhere. Military IDs and state-issued non-driver ID cards are also widely accepted. The name on your ID must match what you put on the application exactly, so skip nicknames and abbreviations and keep any suffix, hyphen, or accent mark consistent across both.
Non-citizens can legally marry in the United States. You do not need a visa, green card, or any immigration status to obtain a marriage license, and a valid foreign passport works as ID. Marrying a U.S. citizen does not by itself change your immigration status.
Federal law also requires states to record each applicant’s Social Security number.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 666 – Requirement of Statutorily Prescribed Procedures to Improve Effectiveness of Child Support Enforcement The requirement exists for child support enforcement, not because the clerk needs the number to process your application. Some states print it on the license itself; others keep it internal. If you don’t have an SSN, ask your county clerk what alternative documentation they accept.
Proof That Any Prior Marriage Has Ended
If either of you has been married before, bring a certified copy of the final divorce decree or annulment order, with the judge’s signature and the court’s raised seal. Photocopies almost never satisfy this requirement. If a former spouse has died, bring an original or certified death certificate. The document has to clearly show the date the previous marriage ended and the jurisdiction where it happened. Foreign documents that are not in English need a certified translation with a signed statement from the translator. Ordering these records can take weeks, so start early.
Who Is Eligible to Marry
Neither party can already be legally married to someone else. Bigamy is a criminal offense in every state, which is why clerks require proof that any prior marriage has ended.
Same-sex couples can marry in all 50 states under the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which held that the Fourteenth Amendment requires every state to license and recognize marriages between two people of the same sex.2Justia Law. Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015)
Close family members cannot marry. Every state prohibits marriages between parents and children, siblings, and grandparents and grandchildren. First-cousin rules vary: some states allow it, others ban it, and a few permit it only under conditions such as age minimums or inability to reproduce. If there is any question about eligibility on this ground, check with the clerk before applying.
Age
The minimum age to marry without special permission is 18 in nearly every state. As of 2025, 16 states and the District of Columbia have banned marriage entirely for anyone under 18, with no exceptions. The remaining states still allow minors to marry under certain conditions, most commonly with parental consent for 16- and 17-year-olds or with a judge’s approval. A handful of states set no minimum age at all when both parental consent and judicial approval are obtained. Applying with false identification to get around age rules exposes you to criminal charges for perjury or document fraud.
Filling Out the Application
The application asks for full legal names, dates of birth, places of birth, addresses, and the full legal names of both sets of parents, including maiden names. This information feeds state vital records and public health tracking. Most county clerks post the form on their website, so you can review the fields or fill it out online before your visit.
Precision matters. If the name on your application does not match your ID character for character, the clerk will reject it or you will face an amendment process later.
The Fee
You pay at the time of submission. Fees run from about $20 to $110 depending on state and county. Most offices accept cash, money orders, and credit cards, though some add a convenience fee for cards. A number of states offer a discount, typically $25 to $60, for couples who complete a certified premarital education or counseling course before applying. Bring the certificate of completion to claim it.
The In-Person Visit
Both parties must appear together before the clerk. This is not optional and cannot be done by proxy in most states. The point is to confirm that both people are entering the marriage voluntarily and that the signatures on the application are genuine. Some offices take walk-ins on a first-come, first-served basis; others require appointments booked days or weeks ahead. Call ahead or check the clerk’s website, especially during peak wedding season.
At the counter, you present your IDs, hand over any supporting documents such as divorce decrees, and sign the application under oath. The clerk reviews everything, collects the fee, and issues the license. In some offices this takes 15 minutes; in busier urban counties it can run over an hour.
Waiting Periods and Expiration Dates
Two timing rules catch people out.
Many states let you hold the ceremony immediately after the license is issued. Roughly a third of states impose a waiting period between issuance and when the ceremony can legally take place, typically one to three days. Judges can sometimes waive that requirement for hardship reasons like military deployment or medical emergencies. If you are planning a destination wedding or elopement on a tight timeline, confirm whether your state has a waiting period before booking anything.
Every license also has an expiration date. Some states give you just 30 days to hold the ceremony; others allow up to a full year. The most common window is 60 days. If the license expires before you marry, it is void, and you have to reapply from scratch, pay the fee again, and make another in-person trip. Check the expiration date printed on your license the day you receive it and plan accordingly.
After You Have the License
A marriage license authorizes a wedding but does not complete one. You still need a ceremony performed by someone legally authorized to do so. The categories vary by state but generally include ordained clergy, judges, magistrates, justices of the peace, and in some states certain elected officials. Many states also recognize marriages performed by officiants ordained online through organizations such as the Universal Life Church, though a few jurisdictions are stricter. Confirm your officiant’s legal standing in the state where the ceremony will take place.
About half of states require one or two adult witnesses to sign the license at the ceremony; the other half do not. Where witnesses are required, they can typically be any adult who attended. Your officiant can tell you what your state requires, but confirm it yourself so you are not scrambling at the last minute.
Filing the Signed License
After the ceremony, your officiant signs the license and returns it to the county clerk or recorder’s office for filing. This is the step that makes your marriage a matter of public record. Return deadlines vary, but most states give the officiant 10 to 30 days. If the officiant misses that deadline, your marriage is still legally valid in most cases, but you may run into problems getting a certified marriage certificate later. Follow up with the clerk’s office a few weeks after the wedding to confirm the paperwork was filed, and order certified copies of your marriage certificate for your records. You will need those copies for any name changes, insurance updates, or benefits enrollment that follow.