In addition to ongoing delays at the DC Marriage Bureau, their office will be closed if the federal government shuts down. Please click here to read our DC Marriage Bureau Operations Update for up-to-date information regarding the current status of services at the DC Superior Court and our recommendations for obtaining marriage licenses or certified copies.
Home / Washington DC Marriage License Requirements
The Superior Court of the District of Columbia Marriage Bureau offers several options for applying for a marriage license, so it’s very important to understand the Washington DC marriage license requirements.
If you live in the greater DC area and have the time to apply for a marriage license yourself, you can do so by visiting the DC Marriage Bureau to apply in person. Please note that there are varying wait times to get into the courthouse, and at the Marriage Bureau itself – we recommend allowing at least 4 hours to ensure you are able to obtain a marriage license.
If you live outside the greater DC area, or don’t have the time, desire, or ability to apply in person, the DC Marriage Bureau now accepts marriage license applications online. It may take up to 8 weeks to receive your marriage license via email – if you want to get married in the next 3 months then we strongly recommend using our Legal Online Marriage Package instead of trying to get a DC marriage license.
How Can We Help You?
If you choose to obtain your DC marriage license yourselves, we have provided information and tips below to make that process easier.
Depending on how busy the court is on a given day, it can take upwards of an hour just to get through the security line to enter the courthouse, and several more hours at the DC Marriage Bureau to apply and pay for a marriage license. Since the court is only open on weekdays, it can be very difficult for couples to carve out the amount of time needed to apply in person, even if they live in the DC area. If you’re interested in using our services to get married more quickly, or to learn more about the other services we offer, please visit our DC Elopement Packages page.
Due to delayed service at the DC Marriage Bureau, in-office staff reductions, and restrictions at the courthouse due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently recommending that all couples who need to get married within the next 3 months book our Legal Online Marriage Package rather than attempting to get married using a DC marriage license. Service delays of up to 8 weeks are affecting delivery of DC marriage licenses and certified copies, even if they are ordered online. Until delays of online orders at the DC Marriage Bureau are no longer an issue, it is easier and faster to get legally married and obtain a certified copy of your marriage license by using our Legal Online Marriage Package.
For couples who are not using our Legal Online Marriage Package, applications for marriage licenses in DC may be submitted by one or both parties to the marriage, either online using the DC Marriage License Application or in-person at the DC Superior Court. The DC Marriage Bureau is open from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM weekdays and is located on the 4th floor of the Moultrie Courthouse:
DC Marriage Bureau – Moultrie Courthouse
500 Indiana Avenue, N.W.
Room 4485
Washington, D.C. 20001
(202) 879-4840
Applying in person can take several hours, so plan accordingly. Keep in mind that the Moultrie Courthouse is a multi-use facility, handling everything from traffic violations and landlord/tenant disputes to domestic violence and murder trials. There is typically a long line to get through security to enter the courthouse, especially in the morning. It can take up to an hour or more to get through the security line depending on how many cases are being heard at the court that day.
Everyone entering the DC Superior Court is subject to search by the US Marshals Service and/or Court Security. You will be required to empty your pockets, pass through a metal detector, and have your bags, coats, and other items scanned in an x-ray machine. Do not bring weapons of any kind to the court, even small pocket knives on a keychain. Cameras and recording devices are also prohibited (because of court cases) so it’s best to only bring a phone with a camera so you don’t get your camera confiscated.
Once you make it through security, head to the 4th floor and look for signs for the Marriage Bureau – it’s tucked back in the northeast corner of the building. The person applying for the license (the applicant) must sign in at the desk and wait for their name to be called. There is often a long wait time in the office due to the high volume of licenses being processed, so bring a book with you.
If you have booked a DC Elopement Package or DC Legal Marriage Package with us but are applying for your own marriage license, we strongly recommend arriving at the courthouse at least 4 hours before your scheduled service time. This will ensure that you have enough time to get through security and obtain your license before your appointment. For instance, if you are planning to arrive at the court when it opens at 8:30am, we do not recommend scheduling your service prior to 1pm the same day.
If either party to the marriage is not present when submitting the application, the applicant must have a photocopy of that person’s government-issued photo ID. Neither party needs to be a DC resident in order to get married in DC. If one party is not a U.S. citizen, the office will accept a valid passport. Passports can be used for identification purposes in person, or a copy of a passport can also be used, provided that the copy is in color and has been notarized with a raised seal.
Unlike many other jurisdictions, Washington, DC only allows marriages to be performed by an officiant authorized by the court – you can not have someone perform your ceremony who isn’t authorized by the DC Court Marriage Bureau office. You will need to give the full name of the authorized officiant who will be performing your ceremony on the application itself when you apply, so it is critical that you hire an officiant before applying for your license.
The Marriage Bureau staff will look up the officiant in their database to ensure that they are authorized before they will put their name on your marriage license. If the officiant’s name isn’t in the database, they will not print your marriage license and you’ll have to leave and come back another time when you have the name of an authorized officiant. Once you have the marriage license in hand, only that specific officiant named on your license may perform your marriage – licenses are not transferable.
It is possible to get married at the courthouse for free, but you must apply for an appointment for a Civil Wedding Ceremony – currently, the DC Marriage Bureau asks that this be at least 10 days after the license is issued. Depending on the time of year, the wait for a courthouse wedding can be rather lengthy. According to the Marriage Bureau website, the waitlist averages 2-3 weeks.
For couples who don’t want to wait for an appointment for a courthouse wedding, DC Elopements offers multiple services for wedding ceremonies, but we do not perform ceremonies in the courthouse itself.
The fee to apply for a marriage license in DC is $45.00 total ($35.00 for the Marriage Application Fee plus $10.00 for printing the “Certificate of Marriage”). There is an additional fee for payment processing, but that fee varies depending on the payment type. Fees must be paid by credit card, money order, or cash. The court does not accept personal checks.
Once the license has been issued, you can take as long as you would like to actually get married – there is no expiration date on wedding licenses in DC. All that is required to finalize the marriage is a signature by the authorized officiant named on the license.
There are multiple copies of the marriage license document. The copy you are given by the officiant is not an official certified copy – in order to obtain a certified copy for legal purposes you must wait until 10 days after the Marriage Bureau office has received the “return” copy from the officiant and then request one, or use our Certified Copy Courier Service to have us obtain it for you more quickly. The Marriage Bureau will not send you a certified copy of your marriage license unless you specifically request one.
For couples who don’t have the time or desire to spend up to 8 weeks trying to obtain a DC marriage license using their online application, our Legal Online Marriage Package is a great fit. Through our package, we can get you legally married online faster, easier, and more securely than using a DC marriage license.
In addition to offering the online marriage service on its own, it is also included in a number of our DC Elopement Packages. For a full schedule of packages and services, click the button below.
