Probably a stupid question, but help!

It just means you shouldn't get it more then 30 days before your wedding. You should still have time after the wedding to do all the fun name changing business and stuff. 30 days doesn't seem that long, here it's 3 months.

But, unless I'm mistaken, you need your marriage license to change your name, right? So if it expires, can I still use it after than 30 days?

It means that if you do not have a JOP or licensed officiant perform the marriage within thirty days of obtaining the marriage license, the license becomes void. If you go past the 30 day mark, you will have to apply for a new license. You don't have to change your name within 30 days though. You can do that at any time.

Wait until you are within 30 days of your wedding to get it. If you get it and you don't use it within 30 days you will have to reapply and pay for a new license. Once the license is valid and signed then you can use it to start the name change process, that does not need to be within 30 days, the license just needs to be validated itself within 30 days.

Okay, so as long as we get married within 30 days of obtaining the license, we are good to go? And I can change my name at any time?

Yes, you can't get the license BEFORE 30 days before your wedding day. They expire after that. Also, in most states, I believe you have to wait to change your name until AFTER the wedding date. Most offices/businesses need to see the signed, certified marriage certificate before they will change your name. Before your wedding, sign everything with your maiden name....make reservations under your maiden name, book trips, etc. Your documents won't match up otherwise. It's a time-consuming process, but the first thing I did was get a new SS card and ID. Then, change my name on my W2's, and insurance policies, bank account and credit card. (BTW, certified copies of the marriage certificate can usually just be ordered at your courthouse...our officiant sent us a couple that he included in his price). Just take it one step at a time. :-)

Yea that's right!

In Colorado (laws differ by state) you go in to apply for your license in person, they give you the license which is valid for 30 days. You then have 30 days from the application date to sign it and be married. Then you have 60 days from the marriage signature to submit it to the Clerk and Recorders Office and have it approved. Then you are issued a marriage certificate and it's that certificate that you need to change your name.

Don't feel stupid, it took me a long time to figure that all out and I could still be missing something

Yes, the 30 days till the marriage/signing of the liscence, etc, then you have more time afterwards for it to be filed and for you to change your name (although as stated, the time afterwards can also vary by state, so you might want to look in to that as well)

Thanks everyone for your help! I'm still not exactly sure what we need to do after the wedding date, and I'm starting to feel overwhelmed with how time consuming it is to change your name!

I think you're mixing up the marriage license with the marriage certificate. The license gives you permission to marry. The certificate is what proves you are married. Like Crystal said, the certificate is the document you will use to change your name. And you can do that anytime after the certificate is issued, as far as I know. Which, of course, happens after the wedding.

And this is not a stupid question. I was really confused at first too b/c I kept thinking the marriage license was everything. But the license is really just an application. The certificate is what you'll get in the end. If that makes sense.

Every county is different but here's what we did - we got the license 2 days before the wedding and gave it to the officiant at the rehearsal. He signed it after the wedding and sent it to the county. The county then had 30 days to issue a marriage certificate. And it's on me to call and request copies of the marriage certificate.

HTH.

The license is issued, but not valid until signed and filed with the recorder of deeds for your City. Your officiant will sign the license. Ours is filing with the City and sending us the certified copy. The certified copy is what you need to change names etc. This should NOT be done until after you travel for your HM (if you're going right away) as all documents for travel, ie passport, license, tickets, reservations need to match your name attached to your SSN. It will also take a week or so in most cases for the certificate of marriage to be certified by the City in which you live so its best to start this process after you're married and back from HM.

I plan on doing it as a gradual process since my maiden name is on a ton of stuff professionally so I'm going to work through it slowly and efficiently.

Just one piece at a time...It seems daunting if you're looking at the whole thing as one big task. It's really just little things, and it's a LOT easier than I expected. Got my SS card and ID done in one day! Within a couple of hours. Waiting is what takes the longest. It's not even a lot of paperwork, and everyone is really nice, congratulating you and giving you smiles because you're an 'easy' customer, not someone trying to change your whole identity. It's a lot of simple little tasks. Don't stress!

Our officiant files the license with the state for us after the ceremony. We don't have to worry about doing that part.

In our home state, you simply take your marriage certificate (ours will be mailed to us after it is filed with the state of HI) to the SS office to get SS card with married name, then take the new SS card to DMV to change DL. Then of course notify all financial institutions to see what exactly they will require to name change the accounts with them. It really is not that difficult in Missouri, I don't know about any other state though.

Lol exactly what Kris said.. the license just allows you to get married (you have 30 days to perform the ceremony, sign the license and send it back to the jurisdiction) and afterward you get your marriage certificate which shouldn't have an expiration date (except for until death of course) and that's what you use to change your name.. you'll likely get two different certificates, one official one from your officiant and one pretty one for decoration.

We applied for our license back in December and we had 3 months to get married.. if you go past that expiration date, you'd have to re-apply for the license and you'd have another waiting period (typically 3 days) and then another 30 days to get married.. so you should apply for your license no more than 30 days prior to your wedding date, although I would probably get it even closer to the wedding date so you have extra time to get it returned to the jurisdiction.

In Fla., the license to marry is valid for 60 days from date of issue. Form actually has 3 dates on it: issue date; effective date (same as issue date if B&G are non-residents, 3 days later for Fla. residents); and expiration date.

So, you get the license inside the 60 day window. After the wedding, it has to be returned to the issuing courthouse within 10 days.

It just means once the 30 days is up you cant get married. and have to apply for a new one...after your married the License never expires and you have to request a certified copy to change your name on your SS and DL

In NJ, you apply, three days later you get your license back to use. You bring it to the wedding. Your officiant signs it with the witnesses, sends it back to the town and then you get your notarized copy, which you use to change your name, ss status, etc.

In NJ, you apply, three days later you get your license back to use. You bring it to the wedding. Your officiant signs it with the witnesses, sends it back to the town and then you get your notarized copy, which you use to change your name, ss status, etc.