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Marriage License
Marriage
License Information for the State of Michigan
By Megan Mercer
Last Update: March 03, 2004
In most circumstances
you may apply for a marriage license at any Michigan
county clerks office where you plan to be married.
These offices
are usually located in the county probate court or
circuit court.
Cost of License
The marriage license fee
is about $20.00 for in-state residents and $30.00
for out-of-state residents.
Residency Requirements
You do not have to be a
previous or current resident of Michigan to obtain
a marriage license that is valid statewide.
ID Requirements
Identification requirements
vary in each county. A valid driver's license or certified
copy of birth certificate may be requested.
Application Requirements
Applicants intending to marry
must obtain a marriage license from the county clerk
in
the county
in which
one of the parties lives (or, if both parties are non-residents,
in the county where the marriage is to be performed),
and deliver it to the person who is to solemnize the
marriage, before the marriage can be performed.
Both
applicants are not required to appear in person at
the time of applying. However,
he or she will be required to complete all information
about both applicants:
Waiting Period
There is a mandatory 3
day waiting period from the application date
to the date the license is issued.
There is no waiting period from the date the license is issued to the date
you are allowed to marry, i.e. you can marry immediately after receiving your
license.
Age Requirement
You must be 18 years old
or older to marry without parental consent. A birth
certificate may be necessary to show proof of age.
If either partner is under 18,
parental consent forms must be signed. You will need
a certified copy of your birth certificate. If you
are under 16 you can not marry without a court order.
Blood Tests and Physical
Exams
No blood test or physical exam is required.
License Expiration
Your license will expire
33 days from the date it is issued.
Divorced and Widowed
Applicants
If previously married,
the date of divorce or date of spouse's death must
be provided.
Who can legally perform the ceremony?
Solemnization Authority
Marriages
may be solemnized by any of the following:
-
Federal,
probate, district, and municipal judges,
and district court magistrates, in their court area
- Mayors, in their city
- Ministers of the gospel, anywhere in the state, "if
the minister is ordained or authorized to solemnize
marriages according to the usages of the denomination,
and is a pastor of a church in this state, or continues
to preach the gospel in this state."
- Non-resident ministers of the gospel, anywhere in
the state, if the minister is authorized to solemnize
marriages by his or her state's laws.
Solemnization Form
No
particular form or oath is required. The parties
merely solemnly declare that
they take each other as husband and wife before
at least two witnesses and the person officiating.
A
special law allows "the people called Friends
or Quakers" and "people of any other particular
denomination, having, as such, any peculiar mode
of solemnizing marriages" to solemnize their
marriages in their own manner.
Certificate of Marriage
After the ceremony is performed,
signed and dated by the officiant and the witnesses,
the original must be mailed to the county clerk that
issued it within 10 days. The clerk records the information
in a registration book, and mails it on to the state
registrar. The person who performs the marriage must
also keep a record "in a book used expressly for
that purpose." The duplicate license, when fully
filled out and given to the couple, thus serves a "double
purpose" and becomes the certificate.
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