Applying for and Obtaining a Legal Michigan Marriage License

Right at the start, a word of caution – regulations change. So, it is always advisable for anyone applying for a marriage license to verify the address, fees and working hours from the Michigan Marriage License Department at the issuing county circuit courthouse or Register of Deeds office.

In order to legally marry, you will need a Michigan marriage license from the clerk of the county where either of you live, or in case both of you are non-residents, you must get it from where your marriage will take place. You must give this license to the officiating person before the ceremony. You will typically need to apply well ahead of the ceremony, but do not do this too early. A Michigan license expires in 33 days.

Information Needed to Obtain a Marriage License

Identity requirements may vary from county to county, and you will have to provide certain documents depending on your county and its needs. Usually they will require a picture identity like a valid driver's license, plus a photocopy of both sides of the other applicant’s driver's license; certified copies of both birth certificates with full names, dates, addresses and birth place; the name of the bride after the marriage and the Social Security numbers.

When you apply for your marriage license, you will need to provide not only these proofs of identity and age, but also any information about previous marriages. Not to provide such information would constitute a serious evasion under the law, with grave consequences.

Requirements of a Marriage License Application

Both applicants do not need to be present when applying, but the required information of both needs to be completed. The applicant who shows up with the application will need to have a witness when signing the document, so should plan on bringing the maid of honor or best man along. There is a waiting period for 3 days that is normally stipulated, but a clerk of the county is allowed to waive it for any sufficient or good cause that you can show.

Blood tests are not needed in Michigan. Applicants who are 18 years or older do not need parental consent, but those who are 16 must have the written consent of parent/s or a legal guardian. Those under 15 need to have both parental as well as permission from the probate court (but parents will then lose any right of control after the marriage).

Michigan does not recognize marriages of common law except for those that have already been conducted in states where they are legally recognized.

Marriage license fees are $20 if you are a resident and $30 if you are not. The state keeps $15 for marriage counseling purposes. However, Wayne County can charge more than this. Mayors within their areas of jurisdiction and the clerks at Wayne County are authorized specifically to collect the fee (that has been set by their county or city commissioners) to solemnize the marriages. Probate courts in Michigan can waive this license fee if there is some economic hardship.

After Receiving the Michigan Marriage License

The marriage license is not concerned with any further part of the marriage itself. Your having received your marriage license in the mail does not mean that you are already officially married. The marriage license only provides initial sanction to a variety of authorities to conduct the ceremony or the process of registration. Judicial officials who have such sanction are district, federal, municipal and probate judges, and magistrates from the district court, in their jurisdictional areas.

Ministers ordained as pastors by their church or other religious functionaries are authorized to preach the gospel and conduct marriages by the rules of their denomination. Ministers who are non-residents of Michigan are also permitted to conduct the marriage proceedings anywhere in Michigan, if they are authorized to do the same under the laws of their own states of normal residence.

As for the ceremony itself, there is no prescribed oath or form of solemnization in force. The two parties are required to announce that they accept each other as wife and husband, and there needs to be a minimum of 2 witnesses in addition to the person officiating.

Following the ceremony, the license must be filled out completely, and this becomes the marriage certificate. Once the marriage ceremony is over, the one who is solemnizing the wedding needs to fill out (legibly printed or typed) the place and time of marriage and the residences and names of those who were witnesses, then this needs to be signed.

What Happens After the Marriage Ceremony?

Ministers are required to fill in all details of the marriage certificate. Once done, one copy of this needs to be provided to the married couple. Another copy of the certificate need to be filed within 10 days after the marriage with the county clerk that issued the license.

The clerk’s office keeps a record of information in the registration book, and this is then mailed to the register of the state. The one officiating the marriage ceremony needs to maintain a copy of the record in a book kept expressly for this purpose.