Marriage License

There comes a time in your relationship when you decide to take it to the next level, marriage. In the United States of America, you have to obtain a marriage license for the marriage to be considered legal. Each state has its own laws regarding getting a license for your marriage. Since the laws differ from state to state, you should ensure that you have followed all the requirements so that the license is not denied. These documents are applied for in the counties at the office of the auditor.

The couple should share the responsibility of getting the license because you will not be allowed to marry if you do not have one. The bride and groom usually sign it once the wedding ceremony has taken place. The Officiant also signs the license and depending on the state you live in, you may be required to have a witness during this process. The officiant applies for a copy of the license that is certified. You can also get a marriage certificate but this is not a requirement. It usually takes one month for the marriage certificate to be ready.

Application for the marriage license can be done online to make it easy for you but some states might require you to sign them in person. There are some requirements that you need to fulfill before you can get your marriage license. These include:

Age
There is a legal age for marriage, which in most case will require you to have attained the age of eighteen.

Health checkup
Make sure that you and your spouse go to the doctor to have yourselves examined for any sexually transmitted diseases and measles. Some states do not make this a must but you can do it for your own good. The results of the blood work should be printed out and carried to the marriage license office when you are applying for one.

Application is done in person
You and your spouse should go with together to the county clerk's office to make the application since nobody can do it on your behalf. The county you apply your license in should be where you intend to get married but this varies according to the state.

Marriage intentions
When applying for the marriage license, you should clearly tell the official the reasons why you are getting married. This is an important step to avoid those fake marriages.

Fees charged
You will be expected to pay some amount of money for the certificate but this will depend on which state you are getting the license from as they vary from one state to the other. The charge is usually paid in cash and you might be offered a discount if you take part in counseling before you get married.

Previous marriages
The law states that those who have been married before should give the reasons why the marriage ended and documentation is important. This can be either through divorce or death.

Same sex marriages
If you are a same sex couple, make sure that the law in the state that you are applying your license from allows marriages between people of the same sex.