Marriage Licenses

How to apply for a Marriage License

Requirements for applying for a Marriage License:

• Both applicants should come in together when applying.  If one of the applicants cannot make it, they will need to obtain an Absent Applicant Form (see below for more information).
• You will need an original State or Federally issued ID that shows your date of birth (Driver's License, State ID, etc.) or a certified copy of your birth record.  Your ID or birth record must state your correct, legal name.
• You need to know your Social Security Number and place of birth, but you do not need to provide proof of these.
• You must be over 18 years old.
• The license is $81.00 - no checks accepted.
• If you are divorced, your divorce must be final for over 30 days before you can apply for a new marriage license (unless you are remarrying the same person you just divorced or if you have a court order waiving the waiting period).
• There will be a 72-hour waiting period before you can use your Marriage License (unless you are in active military, work for the U.S. Department of Defense or have obtained a court order waiving the waiting period).
• Texas does not require a blood test to be conducted on the applicants.
• The Marriage License is valid for 90 days and may be used anywhere in the State of Texas.
• We issue Marriage Licenses from 8:00 am - 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm; Monday - Friday.  No appointment is necessary.

If you need to use the Absent Applicant form:

• The applicant who cannot appear will need to fill out the Absent Applicant Form.
• This form is to be filled out completely and notarized.
• When applying for a Marriage License, you must present both this form and the absent applicant's original identification.

Persons qualified to conduct the marriage ceremony:

• Any licensed or ordained minister or priest, Jewish rabbi, a person who is an officer of a religious organization and who is authorized by the organization to conduct a marriage ceremony, a judge (for a specific list, see Family Code Sec. 2.202).

Requirements for applying for a Declaration of Informal Marriage:

• Both applicants must come in together when applying.  You cannot use the Absent Applicant form.
• You will need an original State or Federally issued ID that shows your date of birth (Driver's License, State ID, etc.) or a certified copy of your birth record.  Your ID or birth record must state your correct, legal name.
• You need to know your Social Security Number and place of birth, but you do not need to provide proof of these.
• You must be over 18 years old.
• The declaration is $46.00 - no checks accepted.
• You will need to provide a date that you began living together as a married couple.
• We issue Declarations of Informal Marriage from 8:00 am - 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm; Monday - Friday.  No appointment is necessary.

How to obtain a copy of a Marriage License

• To obtain a copy, you may come into our office or send a request by mail.
• If you send a request by mail, you need to fill out the Copy Request Form completely and send it to us along with payment and a copy of your driver's license for ID purposes.
• Marriage License copy fees vary, so please contact us to ask about the fee before sending a request.  You may call us at 409-882-7055 or email us at countyclerk@co.orange.tx.us.