Marriage occupies a nebulous gray area between state and religion, and it has since the 16th-century English government began overseeing marriages to prevent young lovers from wedding against their parents' wishes. In the United States, public cohabitation was sufficient to validate a marriage until the mid-1800s, but state licenses became the norm from that point on. Today, virtually anyone of majority age can get a marriage license, though the exact requirements for application vary by state. Finding a license when you intend to marry is as simple as taking a trip to the county courthouse.
Step 1
Contact the nearest County Clerk of the Court in the state in which you intend to marry. Marriage licenses are issued by the state and administered at the county level, so once you've obtained your license, you are free to marry anywhere in the state. Applicants must present a minimum of two forms of ID and the license fee in person to apply. There are additional requirements in some counties such as a record of the dissolution of marriage for divorced applicants, but these additional requirements vary state by state.
Step 2
Visit the website of your County Registrar or even Voter Registration website to see about online or downloadable options. For example, California counties offer an online application for a marriage license distributed through their lavote.gov portal. Yet this is not the same as the license itself. It is a preliminary step that saves you time, but you still must appear in person at the County Clerk of the Court to complete the process.
Step 3
Ask the officiant conducting your ceremony if he can provide a "same day" license. Some counties mandate a waiting period for license processing. But in counties that don't require a waiting period, you may be able to show up at your chosen ceremony location with your ID and license fee, and the officiant will witness the signatures and mail in your payment and certificate. The authorized copy of the license comes in the mail a few weeks after you've wed.
