To get legally married under Alabama marriage laws, two people complete the state’s marriage certificate form, sign it in front of a notary public, and file the notarized form with any county probate court. The marriage becomes legal the moment the probate court records it. No ceremony, officiant, or judge is involved.
Alabama switched to this certificate system in 2019 under Act 2019-340, replacing the older marriage license process.
Filling Out the Marriage Certificate
The Alabama Department of Public Health publishes the official form on its vital records page.1Alabama Department of Public Health. Getting Married in Alabama? Changes You Need to Know Both parties enter their full legal names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and mailing addresses. Each person also signs a notarized affidavit declaring they meet the legal requirements for marriage: age, no current spouse, and no prohibited family relationship.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 30-1-9.1 – Requirements for Marriage; Validity
Both signatures have to be notarized. That means signing in front of a licensed Alabama notary who verifies your identity through personal knowledge or a government-issued photo ID like a driver’s license or passport.3Montgomery County Probate Court. Notary Information Alabama caps notary fees at $10 per act, so both signatures should cost no more than $20 total.4Alabama Secretary of State. Act 2023-548 – Alabama Notary Public Law Notaries work at banks, law offices, shipping stores, and many probate court offices.
No clergy member, officiant, or judge has to sign anything. The only signatures required are the two spouses’ and the notary’s. A wedding ceremony is optional and does not affect whether the marriage is legally valid.1Alabama Department of Public Health. Getting Married in Alabama? Changes You Need to Know
Filing With the Probate Court
Once the form is complete and notarized, deliver it to any county probate court for recording. The marriage is not legally recognized until the court records the certificate. You don’t have to file in the county where you live, and you don’t have to file where any ceremony took place.1Alabama Department of Public Health. Getting Married in Alabama? Changes You Need to Know
Filing fees vary by county, generally $80 to $90. Some courts accept walk-ins; others require mail or certified mail. Call the specific probate court before you go to confirm the accepted filing method and any extra documentation.
Don’t sit on a completed form. Until it’s recorded, you are not legally married, which matters the first time you need to prove marital status for health insurance enrollment, spousal benefits, an inheritance claim, or a name change. Check the form carefully before you file, because a certificate with missing information or a defective notary block will be rejected.
Who Can Marry in Alabama
Sixteen is the absolute minimum age. No one under 16 can legally marry under any circumstances.5Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 30-1-4 – Minimum Age for Contracting Marriage
At 18 or older, you can complete the certificate on your own. At 16 or 17, you need a notarized affidavit of consent from a parent or legal guardian, filed with the probate court along with the marriage certificate.6Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 30-1-5 – Consent of Parents Required for Marriage of Minors The certificate affidavit itself asks each party to declare whether they are 18 or older, or 16 or 17 with parental consent.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 30-1-9.1 – Requirements for Marriage; Validity
Alabama does not require blood tests, medical exams, or any health screening.
Some marriages are off-limits. Marrying a close family member is a crime under the state’s incest statute: no ancestor, descendant, sibling (including half-siblings), aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew, whether the relationship is by blood or by adoption.7Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-13-3 – Incest
You also cannot marry while still legally married to someone else. Bigamy is a Class C felony in Alabama, carrying a prison sentence of one year and one day to ten years. Narrow defenses apply if you reasonably believed a prior marriage had ended, or if you and a prior spouse had lived apart for five consecutive years with no knowledge the prior spouse was still living.8Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-13-1 – Bigamy
The 60-Day Wait After a Divorce
This one trips people up. If you were divorced in Alabama, you cannot remarry anyone other than your former spouse until 60 days after the divorce judgment is entered. If either party appeals within that window, neither person can remarry for the full length of the appeal.9Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 30-2-10 – Sixty-Day Restriction on Remarriage of Parties After Grant of Divorce or Pending Appeal of Divorce
The restriction is written into the divorce judgment itself. File a marriage certificate too early and the new marriage can be challenged as invalid. Remarrying the same person you just divorced is the only exception, and it has no waiting period.
Common-Law Marriage Is No Longer an Option
Alabama stopped recognizing new common-law marriages on January 1, 2017. Living together after that date does not make you married, no matter how long you cohabit or whether you share a last name.10Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 30-1-20 – Common-Law Marriage Abolished
Common-law marriages validly formed before January 1, 2017 are still recognized. Those generally required an agreement to be married, living together, and holding yourselves out publicly as spouses. Courts weigh evidence like joint bank accounts, shared property titles, and consistent use of the same surname. If you think you have a pre-2017 common-law marriage that was never formally established, talking to a family law attorney is worth the time, because proving it can matter for inheritance, benefits, or divorce.
Fixing Errors and Changing Your Name
Errors on a recorded certificate, like a misspelled name or wrong date of birth, are corrected through the probate court where the certificate was recorded. The court issues a Decree of Correction, which is then incorporated into the original certificate on file with the Center for Health Statistics.11Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code Rule 420-7-1-.19 – Amendment or Correction of Marriage Certificates You will usually need supporting documentation, like a birth certificate showing the correct spelling. Fix errors quickly, because bad information on a marriage certificate causes problems with passports, Social Security, and estate paperwork later.
Changing your surname after marriage starts with the Social Security Administration. Submit Form SSA-5 with original or agency-certified documents proving identity, U.S. citizenship or immigration status, and the legal name change. Your recorded marriage certificate is the proof of the name change.12Social Security Administration. U.S. Citizen – Adult Name Change on Social Security Card Once your Social Security record reflects the new name, use the updated card to change your driver’s license, bank accounts, and employer records.