HELP!! Marriage license confusion!!!

This will vary state by state. At this point though you should be able to get your certificate.

Go to the town hall you got the license from....your officiant should have returned it there...then ask for a copy. the price will vary city to city.

You could also have it mailed but that tends to take longer.

Heather's right.. Once you were married, your officiant and 2 witnesses should have signed the cert and mailed it back to the town hall of where the ceremony was performed- then in about 10 days you could request your official license.- by mail or in person for a fee. I live in nj and mine costs $ 10 for the first copy 5$ for any additional copies. Hope that helps!

When we picked up or linsense the clerk told us the officiate would turn it in and they would mail us the certificate. That is in Lake Tahoe, NV

We got ours in the mail - about a week after the wedding, but we are in Iowa.

We got married in PA. When we got our marriage license, it had three parts. One the priest signed and returned, one he kept for his records, and one we took home that day. It's just a keepsake, and not a legal document. I received the marriage certificate / official license in the mail about 2.5 weeks after the wedding. Given that you haven't gotten anything yet, I think you need to return to where you got the license originally for an official copy.

@Allyson, I also got married in PA but have not received the official license. Did you have to go back to the court house and to ask for the official copy, or was it automatically sent to you?

I would be careful with this...I know in NC you have 60 days to change your name at the SS office

Yea here in California they aren't as nice to just mail it to you! I've tried online and u am beyond confused couldn't even figure out to call!. But I like the town hall idea. As far as I know there is no time limit for name change in California otherwise I would be screwed! Gonna try my best and figure it out!

We had one that the officiant mailed, one we kept as a keepsake (not legal) and my officiant got me the forms needed to mail away for our official certificate. I mailed it with a check and it was like $5.50 per copy. Then I had to mail that certificate with another form to SS office, MVA, insurance Co. and one for the bank and one for my employer.... I think I got like 5 copies total.

The licence is what tells your officiant it's okay to marry you. The certificate says your officiant actually married you.

For name change, you need to get the certificate from the county you were married in (where your officiant sent it to after the wedding). Contact you officiant and he/she will give you the info on where to get your certificate from.

@Felicia I live in California too.....so after the license was signed after the wedding, you or the officiant have to mail it in. After about 2 weeks it becomes available and you can request an official copy from your local county clerk office. (Example: Orange County has 3 offices to choose from). You go in, pay $15 and they print you a copy! Bring at least 2 forms of ID - i can't remember if it's one or two that you need.

Then head to the Social Security office to request your new Social Sec. Card...THEN go to the DMV.

And I would HIGHLY reccommend scheduling an appointment for both Social Security office and DMV. I was in and out in about 20 minutes for both places because I made appointments.

message me if you need more details or help - i feel like a pro after just finishing my name change process haha

I plan on taking a day off from work to hot the SS Office and DMV (also in CA but married in NV).

@Mrs. Russell, did you just drop your maiden and add your husband's last name? I would love to keep my maiden name as a middle name (I don't have a middle name) but apparently that is not allowed in CA! I would have to pay and get a court order for that

As everyone says it all depends on the state you live in, when I inquired about the process in NY we were told that we apply for the license and once you're married the officiant sends it back to your municipality and they register it and mail the certificate to you in about 10 days. The first original copy is free and then there's a $10 charge for any additional copies. Also I have to tell them on the license whether I will be changing my last name or not at the time of the request.

@THEMrsRussel thank you thank you thank you! Not only did you answer my questions but you gave me a step by step instructions to get this process going! I tried asking the person who married us and she didn't help at all. So I'm thankful for people out there like you!