Proof of Identity
• Each person getting married must show acceptable identification.
• When one person does not have acceptable identification, that person may provide his/her birth certificate or immigration document and the other person must have the acceptable identification.
Marital Status
• To obtain a marriage license, a couple cannot already be married to each other or someone else.
• A person’s legal marital status must be: never been married, divorced or widowed.
• Divorced
• When a person’s marital status is divorced, proof of divorce is needed.
• The divorce document provided must be the final document (e.g., Certificate of Divorce, Decree Absolute, etc.).
• A divorce document that says a marriage is dissolved in X amount of time is not acceptable as there is no way to know if the final documents were filed or the divorce was contested during that time.
• Divorce documents that are not in English must have a notarized translation. Check with a registry agent for translation requirements.
• Annulled
• When a person’s marriage was annulled, a copy of the court ordered annulment must be provided.
• When an annulment has been granted, the person’s marital status reverts back to what it was before the annulled marriage took place. The previous marital status may have to be proven; e.g.,
– when the marital status before the annulment was divorced, the divorced marital status must be proven in addition to providing a copy of the court ordered annulment.
– when the previous marital status is never being married, only the court ordered annulment is needed.
• Annulment documents that are not in English must have a notarized translation. Check with a registry agent for translation requirements.
• Widowed
• When a person is widowed, a death certificate of the deceased spouse is not needed.
• Never Been Married
• When a person has never been legally married, no further documents are needed.
Interpreter
• Both persons getting married must be fluent in English; otherwise an interpreter is needed.
• When the registry agent employee issuing the marriage, license is fluent in the other language, then that registry agent employee may be the interpreter and issue the marriage license.
• When an interpreter is needed, it is the couple’s responsibility to provide one.
• An interpreter must be 18 years of age or older.
• The interpreter must be fluent in both English and the language requiring translation.
• The couple applying for a marriage license cannot interpret/translate for each other.
