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The three most common wasted trips on the day you apply for a marriage license
This step itself isn't hard: the two of you go to the county clerk office, fill out the form, pay, and get your license. The hard part is that many people don't get it done on their first try, and end up making a second trip for the exact same thing.
Three common reasons for a wasted trip
1. Going without an appointment
Many counties nowdo not accept walk-ins, meaning it is not "a long wait" but rather "they will not process it." With an appointment, you will be done in 30 to 60 minutes; without one, if you are lucky you wait for over two hours, and if you are unlucky you get sent home.
Appointments are usually made on the county clerk's official website, and for some popular counties, you have to grab a spot a week or two in advance. That is why item 1 on the checklist asked you to check county rules first; you should take a good look right then at whether an appointment is needed and how to book it.
2. Bringing photocopies instead of originals
Identification documents must beOriginal government issued photo ID: Passports, driver's licenses, or state IDs. Photocopies, photos on your phone, and expired IDs don't count.
Two other documents people often forget:
- If you have been divorced: A divorce decree (final judgment). Not a settlement agreement, but the court's final ruling.
- If you are widowed: Your former spouse's death certificate.
Here is another one that is easy to miss:Some counties require an SSNWhat they need here is the number, not the physical card itself. If the foreign spouse doesn't have an SSN, remember to ask your county in advance how they handle this.
3. Bringing only a credit card
Fees typically range between $35 and $120, varying county by county. But what really trips people up isn't the amount, it'sthat many counties only accept cash or checks. Government payment systems are slow to update, and this is still very much the norm today. Check what your county accepts before heading out, and grab a little cash while you're at it.
Both of you must be present
There is no option for one person to go handle it alone. A marriage license is a joint application document, so both of you must be there in person and both must sign. Some counties allow you to pre-fill the form online, but both of you still need to go pick it up together in person.
The most expensive mistake when filling out forms
The spelling of your name must match your ID exactly.Every letter's spelling, whether you have a middle name, and the exact placement of hyphens all need to match perfectly.
Because this license will later become your marriage certificate, and you will be taking that certificate to SSA, DMV, passport offices, banks, and immigration. If even a single letter does not match, those agencies will reject it.
Even worse, fixing a misspelling later means paying fees to reprocess it. If you have already finished registration, you might need to go through an Amendment process, or in some cases even get a court order. So after filling it out, check each other's sections again, especially romanized names (that is where people converting Chinese names to romanization get tripped up the most).
On that same form, there is also a field asking what name you will use after marriage. That is the most valuable 10 minutes in the whole process, see item 5 on the list.
Final check before heading out
- Appointment confirmation letter
- IDs for both of you Originals
- Divorce decree / death certificate (if applicable)
- Cash or check
- Already decided how to fill in your married name
In short
The success of this trip isn't decided inside the office, but by whether you got those five things ready before walking out your door.