Chart: State Marriage License and Blood Test Requirements

If you want to get married in the vast majority of U.S. states, you'll need to get a marriage license and have a wedding ceremony. Each state has its own requirements for getting a license, including where and how to apply for the license, whether there's a waiting period before you may get married, and how long the license is good for (whether it will expire if you don't get married within a certain period of time). We've outlined these key requirements in the chart below for all 50 U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia. (Learn more about marriage requirements, licenses, and ceremonies.)

Do You Need Blood Tests to Get Married?

Almost all states in the U.S. have dropped any blood-test requirements before getting married. The only (partial) exception is New York, which requires that Black and Latino applicants for marriage licenses take a blood test for sickle cell anemia. The law allows religious exemptions, and the results of the test won't affect anyone's ability to get married. (N.Y. Dom. Rel. Law § 13-aa (2022).)

In place of mandatory blood tests, some states require that applicants for marriage licenses read a brochure or pamphlet that includes information about inherited and sexually transmitted diseases (such as AIDS), as well as how to get tests for those diseases.

Fees for Marriage Licenses

The fees for marriage licenses vary widely across the country. Usually those fees fall somewhere in the range of $35 to $75, but they can be as low as $20 or as high as $120.

We haven't included license fees in the chart below, because they're often different from county to county within a state—and they can change at any time. Also, some states will give a discount on the fee for couples who complete a premarital education course, while a few states charge more for out-of-state residents (think destination weddings).

Check with the court clerk's office or other government office that will issue your license (as spelled out in the chart below) to find out the current license fee, as well as the methods of payment they'll accept. You can find contact information by searching online for the appropriate county and the name of the court or office.

Waiting Periods for Marriage Licenses and Weddings

The waiting periods shown in the chart below may affect when you receive the marriage license after applying for it or the effective date on the license—when you're allowed to use it. Regardless of the specifics, a waiting period means that you probably won't be able to get married right after you apply for a license, unless you qualify for any waiver allowed in your state.

In some states, the waiting period is actually the minimum amount of time between applying for a license and either receiving or using it to get married. Regardless of any legal waiting period in your state, processing times for marriage license applications can vary. Don't expect that you'll always receive your license on the same day you submit your application.

It's a good idea to plan ahead and give yourself enough time to get the license before your long-planned ceremony. That's because it's usually illegal to get married or perform a wedding ceremony without a valid marriage license. But it's probably not a good idea to apply for your marriage license too far ahead of time, because the license may not be good for very long in the state where you're planning to get married. Check the chart for details.

Many states (or counties) allow you to apply for a marriage license online or by mail. But you'll generally have to show up in person to receive the license, and many states require both partners to appear.

State-by-State Marriage License Requirements

As with all laws, states may change their requirements for marriage licenses at any time. You can check the current statutes by searching on the Library of Congress's Guide to Law Online, follow the links below to state court websites with current information about marriage licenses, or check with the local authority that issues licenses.