How does one get a license to marry in the U.S?

Apparently, I'm horribly confused and have no clue what I'm talking about. I ask that someone clarify.

In order to be able to marry a couple, what are the requirements?

Do you mean a license to be the one to actually marry others? Or what it takes to actually get married yourself?

To marry someone you can just go to a courthouse and fill out the paperwork, all you need is proper documents proving your identities.

I'm pretty sure you can't marry others in the eyes of the law, but to conduct, say, a religious ceremony, you don't need any sort of license.

To be able to marry other people, and have it legally recognized.

edited 19th Jun '11 5:29:11 PM by Diamonnes

Start here. It breaks it down by state, since none of them are the same.

Also, it's important to note that "minister" is legalese for "religious leader", and doesn't specify "christian minister".

In some states, it's as simple as going down to the county courthouse and applying for a license, and anyone can do it. Some states make you produce a letter of good faith from your congregation/mother/close friends/random stranger, or papers that recognize you as a religious leader (eg; a certificate of ordination). All judges have the ability to perform marriage ceremonies.

edited 19th Jun '11 5:31:21 PM by DrunkGirlfriend

DG: That says literally nothing about the topic.

Text:

Any ordained minister who has received authorization to perform marriages in the state of West Virgina. The court in each city and county has appointed persons who are eligible to perform civil weddings.

That's the question. How do you become an appointed person who is eligible to perform civil weddings?

Off-topic, it is a testament to the stupidity of this state that we can't even spell our own name half the time. -Face Palm-

edited 19th Jun '11 5:45:52 PM by Diamonnes

You fill out a form.

Yes, it does. If you follow the links to each state, it lists who may legally perform a marriage. That's the best you're going to find, because it varies from state to state. There is no set standard for the whole US.

For instance, under Alabama it says this:

"Officiants: Any licensed minister of the gospel in regular communion with the Christian church or society of which he is a member may perform marriages. Also, marriages may be performed by the pastor of any religious society according to the rules of the religious society. Ministers must provide a certificate of the marriage to the judge of probate within one month after the marriage."

Nevada, however, says this:

"Any ordained or licensed clergymen who have obtained a certificate of permissions to perform marriages and justices of the peace can perform weddings in Nevada. "

And For Vermont, it's this:

"Marriage Ceremony: Your marriage can be performed by: A judge, supreme court justice, assistant judge, justice of the peace, or an ordained or licensed minister, rabbi or priest residing in Vermont or authorized by their denomination. If the officiant does not reside in Vermont, or is not recognized by the State of Vermont, they must file for a permit from a Probate Court in the county where the marriage will take place."

and

"Officiants: Ordained ministers residing in this state may perform marriages. Non-resident ordained ministers may perform marriages with the permission of the probate court of the district within which the marriage is to take place."

If you know which state you're particularly interested in, look it up on the state .gov website.

edited 19th Jun '11 5:48:39 PM by Madrugada

Maddie: I copy/pasted the line from my state.

Thing is, it doesn't say anything about how to achieve said prerequisites.

Once again, you fill out a form.

Is there anywhere I can view a copy of the form?

Probably, you can most likely call your local government and they could direct you on where to apply.

What the previous post said. Where I live (Prince William County, VA) they have a list of celebrants for civil marriages; apparently the magistrate isn't allowed to conduct them anymore. I don't remember if their website said anything about how to become a celebrant, though.

Mmkay, so:

Any ordained minister who has received authorization to perform marriages

So the two things I need to find out are

• What constitutes an "ordained minister"
• How you get authorization to perform marriages.

Apparently you get a form for the second one.

So, what constitutes an ordained minister?

NOTE: Must be performed without being a member of a commonplace religion. for the sake of coherency, assume the person in question is a Wiccan.

NOTE 2: No lying about anything can be involved.

edited 19th Jun '11 6:16:57 PM by Diamonnes

I always thought you had to get the right card from Community Chest...

Call your local courthouse and ask. That's the only decent answer anyone here can give you, because it varies so widely from place to place.

Normally an ordained minister involves filling out a test and mailing some money to government thing X. It might actually be cheaper to get a friend ordained and pay for their training then paying a minister. Authorization is normally a form to be filled out and then the actual marriage contract.

Ordained Minister = Rabbi = High Priest/ess = Imam= etc.

You should be able to get a piece of paper from your religious order when you reach that rank, which certifies you as a bonifide leader of that religion. You go down to the courthouse, show them the paper, fill out some paperwork, sign some stuff, pay them some money, and they give you a certificate-thingy that says you're legally allowed to officiate at marriages in that state.

There might be more steps involved, depending on the state, but that's the gist of it.

Edit: Also note, that if you're the leader of a small practicing group/church/mosque/whatever and you don't have a certificate of ordination, you can usually get someone in your congregation/coven/whatever to write you up a statement of good faith that states you're a religious leader, get it notarized, and that counts the same as a certificate of ordination.

edited 19th Jun '11 7:02:02 PM by DrunkGirlfriend

@Dia: For a marriage to be legally binding, there's paperwork that you have to get from the local courthouse; what exactly you have to do varies from state to state but once you jump through those loopholes its pretty easy. This is the responsibility of the couple getting married, not the person performing the marriage.

I got married in front of a court commissioner; I had to make an appointment, etc. but it was not that challenging.

Also, simplest way to get a piece of paper stating you're a minister...look up the Universal Life Church. They'll "ordain" you via the internet. Take that down to the local courthouse and see how far you can get. I don't know your state's laws on the matter but it works in Washington. No joke; a friend of mine went through these hoops and performed a marriage ceremony in the smoking section of iHOP. And it was legally binding. *

What you have to do varies heavily depending on what state you live in.

What can a Justice of the Peace do besides witness a wedding?

Depends on the jurisdiction. They could levy traffic and other civil fines, they could handle small claims court affairs, be a notary, set bail, or whatever the local area allows.

edited 19th Jun '11 10:49:13 PM by blueharp

In the US, a legal marriage has two components: licensure and solemnization. Licensure means that they have obtained a certificate from the state, signed before witnesses, showing that they are legally able to be married. Solemnization is the actual ceremony. The ceremony may be performed by a judge or by a minister of a church. In the case of a minister, he or she must show a certificate from the church that proves the person was authorized by the church to perform marriages. The minister signs the marriage license showing that he or she performed the ceremony.

If you are not a judge, then you must obtain a certificate from a church showing that you have been recognized by that church and authorized to perform marriages. As far as I know, the Universal Life Church is the only entity that will ordain anybody online and thereby allow you to perform marriages in certain states.