How to get married in New York City?

If you are planning to Tie the Knot in New York City, here are some basic things your need to know.

1. You absolutely don’t need to live in the United States or be a New York resident to be married in NYC. You don’t need to be a US citizen to be wed in New York either.
2. The first thing you need to do is obtain your marriage license. To that end, you begin by making an appointment with the City Clerk office by going to this page: City Clerk’s office 
   New appointments become available every Monday at 9:00AM. We recommend that you visit the appointment website about 4 weeks prior to your wedding date, and you make an appointment for at least a day before your wedding.
3. After you secured your appointment (to see the City Clerk officer in person) you can fill out your application for a marriage license, this will speed up the process greatly. At the end of your application you will receive a confirmation number which indicates that your information was submitted and it is now in our government’s data base.
   
4. Next, both you and your spouse to be must go TOGETHER to the City clerk’s office to pick up your license.
5. Virtual appointments are no longer an option. You will visit the office in person at the date and time of your appointment.
6. *New in-person appointments become available every Monday at 9:00AM. HERE: https://clerkscheduler.cityofnewyork.us/s/MarriageLicense
   
7. During your interview, you must both show a form of Id (passport, drivers license, state id, etc) during your interview. You should also bring a copy of your divorce papers, if you were married before.
8. After you obtained your marriage license you will need to wait 24 hours to have your ceremony. This means: You can NOT have your wedding ceremony the same day that you obtained your license.
9. Of course you don’t need to get married immediately after you obtained your license. Your license is good for 60 days. After you have your license in your hands you can get married within 60 days.
10. On the day of your wedding, you will bring us your marriage license, and the officiant, the witness (you only need one witness), and the couple will sign it.
11. We will take care of the filling of the paperwork and you will receive your Wedding Certificate in the mail within 4 weeks.
12. If you are in a hurry and you don’t want to wait 4 weeks to receive your Marriage Certificate, you may go back to the City Clerk’s office with your signed license in hand and obtain your wedding certificate right there on the spot. Please read HERE.

I hope this was helpful. ?

How to obtain a marriage license?

Super easy! When you are ready to get married, and if you want to speed up the process, simply go online to this address: https://www1.nyc.gov/cityclerkformsonline/formslist.htm?recordType=CANCEL fill out the application for a “marriage license”. After this is filled out, you will go to the City Clerk’s office to pick up your license. Filling out the paperwork online will expedite this process & you can obtain your license in 10 minutes.

The fee for a Marriage License is $35 by credit card or money order payable to the City Clerk. A New York State Marriage License is valid for 60 days. Meaning we must conduct your ceremony within 60 days of your obtaining your license. A Marriage License issued in New York can be used anywhere within New York State.

Is a marriage legal elsewhere?

YES! Your marriage is legal absolutely everywhere else. Some non-English speaking countries will require you to do an extra step to validate your certificate in your country. You can learn more about that process in this article: https://weddingpackagesnyc.com/wedding-resources/marriage-license-in-new-york-city

Not a US Resident:

There are no residence or citizenship requirements to be married in New York. Just bring your passport.

What if you are divorced?

• If you were married before, you must list all prior marriages. You must include your previous spouse’s full name; the date the divorce decree was granted; and the city, state, and country where the divorce was issued.
• All divorces, annulments, and dissolutions must be finalized before you apply for a new Marriage License.
• You may be asked to produce the final divorce decree.
• If your spouse is deceased, you must provide such spouse’s full name and date of death.

Proper Identification

You and your prospective spouse must have one form of proper identification in order to apply for a Marriage license.

Blood Test Not Required