marriage licenses
Legal union documents
Marriage licenses are official documents authorizing a couple to marry.
Most jurisdictions require couples to obtain one before the wedding ceremony, making the license a legal prerequisite rather than proof of marriage itself.
After the ceremony, the officiant signs it and returns it for recording, at which point it becomes a marriage certificate.
They applied for their marriage license at the county clerk's office.
- birth certificatesDocuments proving nativity
- courthouseLegal proceedings venue
- waiting periodRequired delay before proceeding
- legal requirementsWhat the law compels
- civil unionLegal spousal alternative
application form · waiting room · notary public · witness signatures · registrar's office · officiant · annulment · blood test · city hall · solemnization · prenuptial agreement · name change · notarization · parish registers · marital vows · spousal rights · wedding customs · vital records
- family recordsbirth certificates, birth certificate, family trees, death certificate, birth records
- genealogy recordsbirth certificates, death certificates, birth records, vital records, census record
- historical recordsdiary, census record, annual reviews, letter, government records
- county governmentcounty clerk, county commissioner, county council, county executive, county board
- government officesDMV, bureau, agency, post office, administrative office
- official recordsbirth certificate, government documents, birth certificates, death certificate, death certificates
marriage licensesdivorce decrees
Court documents ending marriages
divorce papers · annulment papers · separation agreements · legal separations · death certificates
marriage licensescohabitation
Dwelling together unmarried
domestic partnerships · living in sin · handfasting · civil unions