How much does a courthouse wedding cost?

Add up what a courthouse wedding actually costs from your county's own fee schedule: the marriage license, the ceremony slot if the court performs one, and the certified copies you will need afterwards to change a name or a passport. This page is unusual for this site, because every figure in it is knowable exactly, in advance, from a page your county already publishes.

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Change anything. The answer updates as you type.

Marriage license fee (dollars)

Your county clerk publishes this on a fee schedule; search for your county's name and 'marriage license fee'. It is set by statute or by the county, so it is the same figure whether you follow it with a courthouse ceremony or a barn and 200 guests. The default here is ours and editable.

Courthouse ceremony fee (dollars)

Separate from the license, and this is the part that surprises people. The license is permission to marry; the ceremony is a judge, clerk or magistrate actually performing it, and it is usually billed as its own line. Some courts perform ceremonies for free, some charge, and some leave it to you to bring an officiant. Put in what your county's page says, or zero if it does not apply to you.

Certified copies needed

The forgotten line. A certified copy is what proves the marriage to somebody who is not the court, and each one is priced separately.

You will be asked for one by the Social Security Administration if either of you changes a name, by the passport agency, by the DMV, and often by an employer's benefits desk and an insurer. Some accept a copy and return it; some keep it. Ordering a couple at the counter on the day costs less effort than ordering them one at a time by post afterwards, which is the case for the default of 2 being where it is. It is still ours, and it is a starting point rather than a rule.

Cost per certified copy (dollars)

Also on the county fee schedule, usually just under the license fee on the same page. Some counties charge less for additional copies ordered in the same visit than for the first, which is worth a glance before you decide how many to take.

Rings, attire, flowers, photos (dollars)

Everything that is not a county fee. Zero is a perfectly real answer here and a lot of people mean it: the whole point of a courthouse wedding, for many couples, is that this line stays empty. Put in a figure only if you are actually planning to spend one.

Estimated cost

$140

Marriage license$60
Courthouse ceremony$50
Certified copies (number × price each)$30
Rings, attire, flowers, photos$0
Total$140

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What this assumes, and where it could be wrong

Every one of these is a place the number could be off. They are here because you should be able to check our working, not because we are hedging.

EVERY FIGURE HERE IS YOUR COUNTY'S, AND IT IS PUBLISHED.

This page does not estimate the license fee, because it does not have to. Your county clerk prints it on a fee schedule and will tell you the figure over the phone. That makes a courthouse wedding one of the few things this site covers where you can know the bill exactly before you spend anything. The defaults in the form are ours, they exist so the page has something to draw, and they are placeholders for a lookup rather than findings.

The license and the ceremony are two different fees, charged by two different processes.

The license is permission to marry and it is issued by the clerk. The ceremony is somebody solemnising it, and whether the court does that, charges for it, or leaves it to you varies by county. Budgeting for the license and assuming the ceremony is included in it is the ordinary mistake, and it is the reason they are separate lines above.

The certified copies are the line that lands after the wedding, and they are priced each. Social Security for a name change, the passport agency, the DMV, an employer's benefits desk, an insurer: several of them want a certified copy, and some keep the one you send. Ordering a couple at the counter on the day is a small line on the bill; ordering them one at a time afterwards is the same money and considerably more of your time.

A waiting period is a cost even when it carries no fee. Several states require a gap between issuing the license and using it, and several set an expiry after which an unused license lapses and is paid for again. Neither shows up in this total, and both can decide which day you get married on. Your county's page states the ones that apply to you.

Some states reduce the license fee for couples who complete a premarital education course. Whether it exists where you are, what qualifies, and how much it takes off are all decided by your state rather than by any national rule, so this page does not model it. If your county's fee schedule mentions one, it is worth the phone call before you pay full price.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a courthouse wedding cost?

Add three county fees: the marriage license, the ceremony if the court performs and bills one, and the certified copies you will need afterwards. Unlike almost everything else with a wedding attached to it, all three are published in advance on your county clerk's fee schedule, so this is a lookup rather than an estimate. Search your county's name and 'marriage license fee', put the real figures in the form above, and the total is exact. Anything beyond that (rings, attire, a photographer) is a choice rather than a fee.

Is the ceremony included in the marriage license fee?

Usually not, and this is the assumption that costs people money. The license is permission to marry, issued by the clerk. The ceremony is a judge, magistrate or clerk actually performing it, and it tends to be a separate line on the same fee schedule. Practice varies: some courts solemnise for free, some charge, and some do not offer it at all and expect you to bring your own officiant. It is one question at the counter and the answer changes your total.

How many certified copies of a marriage certificate do I need?

It depends on how many institutions are going to ask, and it is more than couples expect. If either of you is changing a name, Social Security wants proof, and then the passport agency, the DMV, the bank, the employer's benefits desk and the insurer may each want their own. Some return the copy; some keep it. Two is a sensible starting point and the reason the form defaults there. Taking a spare at the counter on the day is cheaper in effort than ordering one by post in six months, which is when you will discover you need it.

What makes a courthouse wedding cheaper than a regular wedding?

The fees are not what a wedding costs, and a courthouse wedding is mostly fees. The license costs the same either way: the county charges it whether you follow it with a ceremony for two or a reception for two hundred. What a courthouse wedding removes is the venue, the catering, the flowers, the photography and the guest list, which is where a wedding budget actually goes. That is why the last input above defaults to zero. For many couples the zero is the entire point, and it is a real answer rather than a placeholder.

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