Getting married in a state you don't live in- On marriage licences!

The license is only valid for the state the ceremony takes place in. If you live in California and marry in Oregon, you have to get a license in Oregon or it won't be legal.

I live in NY, but are getting married in NJ. Our vendor actually mentioned that we need our license in Jersey. He said he could help answer any questions along the way, maybe your venue can help you as well? (Our ceremony & reception are At the venue)

I live in MA. If you’re getting married here, you’re required to get the license in MA. There’s also a 3 day wait between applying and picking it up, and I’m not sure if there’s any way to waive that.

You get the license for the state (actually County specific) that you are getting married in. Contact the local department where you're getting married and they'll advise you, every county is different.

View Quoted Comment Agree. Best wishes!

You need a license where you’re actually getting married. I live in NV and got married in CA so we had to go to CA to get a license.

You get it in whatever state you're getting married in.

We live in Michigan and got married in NC; had to apply for NC marriage license online.

You must obtain the license on the state where you are marrying. Depending on the state,, it may be county specific. In my residential state, the license here is valid anywhere in the state and one can obtain it from any county. Other states are different though.

We live in Maryland, but got married in Pennsylvania. We had to get our license in Pennsylvania since that's where we got married. You will have to get your marriage license in Minnesota since that's where the wedding is taking place. I know some counties even require that you get the license in the county you are getting married. Pennsylvania didn't have that requirement, but your best option is to call where you are getting married and confirm that you will need to do to get your license.

Your venue should be able to help, but yes you have to apply for your license where your wedding takes place.


When we got married in Florida, we enlisted the help of a service that helped us file by mail. I know destination weddings are more common in FL than MA, but maybe there’s a similar service in MA?

I live in Ohio and we just got our license. I believe the answer is something you have to look at on a state by state basis. I would recommend googling the state and searching for better info. In Ohio, everything regarding marriage licenses is determined by the County, not the State government. I'm getting married on the other side of the state, but I had to apply for my license in the county where I live.