How to Apply For a New Jersey Marriage License  

Congratulations! So you are ready to say, “I do!” Whether you will be having a small, intimate backyard wedding, a Jersey shore beach wedding, or a grand affair, you will need to apply for your New Jersey marriage license right after you select your New Jersey wedding officant.

Things You will Need to apply for a New Jersey marriage license:

1. Photo identification for both you and your fiance.
2. Original birth certificates for you and your fiance.
3. A witness who is over 18 years of age.
4. Application fee of $28.00, cash, check or money order. 
5. If either of the applicants is divorced, the divorce documents for the applicant in question must be brought in at the time of application.
6. Social Security cards.
7. Name and address of your New Jersey wedding officiant.

When you should apply for a New Jersey marriage license:

A local Registrar will not issue a New Jersey marriage license sooner than 72 hours after the application for a New Jersey marriage license has been made, unless ordered to do so via appropriate court order.

Be sure to contact the Registrar well in advance of the wedding to find out on what days and during what hours the Registrar will be in the office. If the marriage is scheduled for a Saturday of Sunday, the application should be made no later than the preceding Tuesday. If the application is made on a Wednesday or Thursday, the 72 hours will end on Saturday or Sunday, however the registrar will probably not be available on those days of any public holiday.

If both the bride and groom are unavailable to complete the New Jersey marriage license application at the same time, either applicant may complete his/her part of the New Jersey marriage license application and start the waiting period. The other applicant must return with the same witness (who must be at least 18 years old) to complete his/her part of the New Jersey marriage license application. The New Jersey marriage license application must be completed by both parties before the New Jersey marriage license will be issued. Once the NJ marriage license is issued, it is good for 30 days from the date of issuance. If for any reason you cannot use the marriage license within the 30-day period, you will have to reapply.

A couple wishing to have both religious and civil ceremonies may be issued a marriage license for both ceremonies on the basis of a single application. However, a couple wishing to have two religious ceremonies, and wanting to have a public record of each, may not have two marriage licenses issued at the same time. They must apply for and use the first license. They must return to the Registrar with the signed original certificate of the marriage and a witness to apply for a remarriage license.  Where you should apply for a New Jersey marriage license:

If the bride is a resident of New Jersey, the New Jersey marriage license must be obtained from the Registrar of Vital Statistics in the municipality where the bride resides. Call the registrar in your county and find out the cost of the New Jersey marriage license in the county office you will be applying. If the bride does not live in New Jersey, choose the office of the where the ceremony will take place.
If the bride is a non-resident of New Jersey and the groom is a resident of New Jersey, the New Jersey marriage license must be obtained from the Registrar in the municipality in which the groom resides. (For marriage license purposes, soldiers are residents of the posts at which they are stationed.) A NJ marriage license issued under either of the preceding circumstances is good for use anywhere in New Jersey.

If both bride and groom are non-residents of New Jersey, the New Jersey marriage license must be obtained from the Registrar of the municipality where the marriage is to be performed and is only good for use in that municipality.

A New Jersey marriage license may never be used outside of New Jersey and a marriage license issued in another state may never be used in New Jersey.
Click on the following New Jersey marriage license link to find all the information you will need to obtain a New Jersey marriage license, including all the New Jersey marriage license issuing offices.

May you begin a lifetime of love and happiness!

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