When do you get a marriage license

We live in Nebraska but our wedding is in FL. We fly down this Thursday and our first stop is to get the marriage license. In FL, there is a 3 day waiting period for residents, but the waiting period is waived if you're from out of state.

For your honeymoon, just don't change anything and book everything in your maiden name or FH's name.

Yes, lots of people don't ever change their name so it is fine. Just don't change anything until after your honeymoon. You don't need the added stress of making sure everything matches.

Your name doesn't change until you go to the government offices and change it (SS, then driver's license). Make honeymoon arrangements in your maiden name because you won't have time to change it (assuming you're going right away).

You have to get the marriage license in the state that you're getting married in, and sometimes in the same county. At least one of you will have to go in person, we both had to go. There's a fee that varies depending on location from around $20-$100+. You have to fill out paperwork, pay the fee and bring it to your wedding so the officiant can sign and submit it to make you actually married. There may be a waiting period of a few days from when you apply for the license to when you can get married.

What!! I didn't know it had to be in the state you get married in!! I'm glad I asked!

Do you do anything with it after the wedding?

You need to get the license where you're getting married; in NJ, if you're out of state, it needs to be in the EXACT town where you're getting married. Every state is different so your best bet is to look up your marriage state, find the government office of that state and contact them. You may have a waiting period, you may need to bring a witness too.

I'd look into this now.

Check online and with your venue. Every state is different. We are getting married in FL and were able to obtain our license in advance by mail so we do not have to spend time at the court house. We just had to do it within 60 days of the ceremony.

Okay thanks guys!!!

Yes google the info on the state you are getting married in. We live in PA but getting married in NY and have to have 24 hrs in btwn getting it and our ceremony. Also we can get it as early as 60 days before. I believe each state has differing rules so look into your states for sure. It should all be on like a govt office website

Its in Texas and it says you have to get it 72 hours before the wedding. I still need to figure out if we need to get it in the exact county that the wedding is in. The venue is about 20 minutes away and a different town than where my fiance is from..

C&S, check with the issuing office (in Florida, it would be a county courthouse). In Florida, you can get the license at any county courthouse and use it anywhere in the state.

Look up the county clerk's website for the county in which you are getting married. Different states have different regulations. A handful of states still require blood tests, I believe. Most of the time both you and the groom must be present to get the license. Definitely don't wait on this!

C&S is you have 8 hours of premarital counseling covering certain topics (2) the fee is waived FYI

Generally, the officiant should file the license.

You need to check with the state/county you're getting married in. Each state/county is different. marriage licenses are only good for so long and most have a waiting period after you get them. Here in the Texas county we got ours in, it's good for 90 days from when you apply for it and there's a 72 hour waiting period. So that means, you have to get it at least 72 hours before your wedding date and get married and file it within 90 days. Everywhere is different tho.

And yeah. Just because you file, doesn't mean your name is changed. You still have to then take your marriage certificate to the social security office and get a new SSN card, and then change your DL. I would recommend doing all this after your honeymoon, especially if going out of the country. Unless you have enough time to get it done before your honeymoon. Like, if yall are planning a belated honeymoon.

We got married 3/7 but we are going on our honeymoon out of the country on 4/18. I don't have enough time to get a new passport so I have to wait until we get back to officially change my name.

@C&S: You can get your texas marriage license in any county. We got ours in Harris county and we were not married in Harris County. Each county has different lengths the license is good for tho, so make sure you find that out. Some Texas county marriage licenses are only good for 30 days. Harris county's are good for 90 days. Just remember to get that information.

Also, your officiant usually deals with filing, but our officiant was my out of state uncle who has never performed a marriage ceremony before so we are taking care of the filing. You can either mail your completed marriage license back to the courthouse and we were told we would get our marriage certificate in about 30 days. Or you can hand deliver it and get a certified copy of your marriage certificate same day if you need it sooner than 30 days. I'm nervous about mailing and I want it done so I plan on hand delivering next week.

@faran: $60 of the few is waived. Depending on the county, that's not the whole fee. Harris County charges $72. We did a qualifying workshop that got us the $60 off, so we only had to pay $12.

We're wedding date twins!

The marriage license is what your officiant signs during the ceremony, so after the ceremony you send your signed license to the county clerk and they will mail your marriage certificate. Some officiants will handle that for you. I would ask your officiant if that is a service they provide.

Okay thanks guys!! We are taking an engagement class here where we live through our church. I'll see if they know anything about the fee being waived, but it may not work since its in a different state probably