getting a marriage license in Worcester?

This site may be helpful, but still call and confirm everything with the Clark's office.

http://www.usmarriagelaws.com/search/united_states/massachusetts/marriage_license/worcester_ma.shtml

I am a Justice of the Peace in Massachusetts. I am happy to explain how this works. I realize that you are pretty much on top of how this works, but hopefully I can make it clearer for you.

*There is a 3 day waiting period from the day that you apply to the day that you pick up your license. For an example, if you apply on a Monday, you cannot pick up your license until Thursday.

*You can apply in any town hall or city hall in the State of Massachuetts. The only difference is, is that the State allows all town halls and city halls to charge whatever they wish. It is not the same fee across the board. It is all based on how much a town or city needs in their budget in any given year.

*You both must go in person. It cannot be done online. However, when you go to pick it up, it only has to be one of you, or a member of your family.

*All that is needed is your driver's license.

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*I cannot stress this enough! Write as clearly as possible on your application! City clerks and town clerks tend to make mistakes all of the time on marriage licenses!

*Whoever picks it up, MUST look it over carefully before waking out the door! If you find a mistake, have them fix it immediately. If you walk out the door and go back to fix it later, they will charge you again. They will say that you should have caught the mistake when you picked it up. This is Taxachusetts after all!

*You are correct about getting your license in 1 day vs. the 3 day waiting period, however it is much more expensive! You need to get to the town hall or city hall first thing in the a.m., apply, and then go before a judge at a family court. If you are not there a.m., it could be a very long day, and you will need to sit in the courtroom listening to some pretty depressing family cases.

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*Now, keep in mind, starting in June, many town halls and city halls have summer hours. In my town of Malden, MA, they close at noontime on Fridays. Each one has a different day off, or close for one day.

*Do not make it too close to your wedding date. The license is good for 60 days. I tell my clients in MA to apply 3-4 weeks before their wedding. Out-of-state couples need to time it on how long they can stay in MA to apply.

*You need to call the town or city halls before hand, and ask questions. Do not forget to get the names of the people that you spoke with! This way, when you get to MA to apply, if something goes wrong, you can tell them who gave you the information.

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*Lastly, and most importantly, if you are taking your future hubby's name, even though you will be legally married on your wedding date once your officiant pronounces you as married, do not put your new last name on any legal documents until you've received your final marriage license back! Once you have that, the next step for you is to go to a Social Security office to inform them that you are changing your last name. You must present your final marriage license to them. They will give you a new card, with the same social security number, but with your new last name. They will also change their records. Once this is done, now you can change your credit cards, checking accounts, or any thing else that you need to change, but do not do this until you've gone to Social Security.

I hope that this helps! Good luck!