Bexar County Marriage License: Requirements, Fees, and Waiting Period

To get a Bexar County marriage license, both applicants go together to the County Clerk’s office, show photo ID, pay $80, and sign the application under oath. Texas then imposes a 72-hour waiting period before the ceremony can take place, and the license stays valid for 90 days. Most couples finish the counter visit in one trip if they bring the right documents.

Who Can Apply

Both applicants must be at least 18. The only path for someone younger is a separate court order removing the legal disabilities of being a minor, which has to be granted before the Clerk will issue a license.¹

Both people must be currently unmarried. Any prior formal or informal (common-law) marriage has to be legally dissolved first. Texas also bars marriage between close relatives by blood or adoption, including aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, first cousins, and current or former stepparents or stepchildren.² If either of you was divorced in Texas within the last 30 days, the Clerk cannot issue a license unless you are remarrying each other.³

What to Bring

Each applicant needs a valid government-issued photo ID. A Texas driver’s license, U.S. passport, or military ID all work. Non-U.S. citizens can use a passport or a foreign government ID, as long as the name on the ID matches the name on the application exactly. The application also asks for each person’s Social Security number, date of birth, and place of birth including city, county, and state.²

If either of you was previously divorced, bring documentation that the divorce is final. If you completed a Twogether in Texas premarital course, bring the physical certificate; it unlocks both a fee discount and a waiver of the 72-hour wait.

Where to Apply

The Bexar County Clerk operates two permanent offices and a mobile unit:⁴

Paul Elizondo Tower, 101 W. Nueva, Suite 120, San Antonio, TX 78205
Southside Annex, 3505 Pleasanton Rd., San Antonio, TX 78221
Records on the Run, a mobile unit that travels the county on a schedule posted on the Bexar County website

All locations are open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with extended hours on Wednesdays until 5:45 p.m. County holidays are excluded. The downtown office is the busiest, so checking availability before you drive in can save a long wait. You can start the application online through the Bexar County Clerk’s website, but it still has to be finalized in person, with both applicants present to sign and swear to the information.²

Cost

A standard license costs $80, payable by cash or card. Apple Pay and tap-to-pay are not accepted.⁵ Couples who present a Twogether in Texas certificate get a $60 discount, bringing the price down to $20.⁶ The certificate is valid for one year from the completion date.

After the wedding you’ll likely need certified copies of your marriage record for name changes and other paperwork. Bexar County charges $8 per certified copy.⁴ Ordering a couple at the time of application saves a return trip later.

The 72-Hour Waiting Period and How to Skip It

Once the Clerk issues the license, Texas law requires a 72-hour wait before the ceremony can take place.⁷ Four groups are exempt:

Active-duty members of the U.S. armed forces
Civilian Department of Defense personnel and defense contractors
Applicants who obtain a written waiver from an authorized judge
Couples who completed a Twogether in Texas course within the past year and bring the certificate

For the judicial waiver, the Clerk’s office provides a 72-Hour Waiver form when the license is issued, and you take it to an authorized judge who must find good cause to sign.⁸ Authorized officials include any family court judge, county judge, justice of the peace, appeals court judge, or associate judge.⁷ Present the signed waiver along with the license to whoever performs the ceremony.

The Twogether in Texas course itself runs at least eight hours and covers communication, conflict resolution, and other relationship skills.⁹ For a quick timeline, the combined $60 savings plus skipping the wait makes it worth looking into.

How Long the License Lasts

A Bexar County marriage license is valid for 90 days from the date it is issued. If the ceremony doesn’t happen in that window, the license expires and you start over with a new application and fee.³ The license is good anywhere in Texas, so a license issued in San Antonio works for a ceremony in Austin, the Hill Country, or any other county.

Who Can Perform the Ceremony

Texas authorizes the following officiants:

A licensed or ordained Christian minister or priest
A Jewish rabbi
An officer of a religious organization authorized by that organization to conduct marriages
A current, former, or retired federal or state judge

Texas does not require officiants to register with the state or county in advance.¹⁰ Confirm your officiant qualifies before the wedding, since a ceremony performed by someone who doesn’t meet the statute can leave the marriage open to legal challenge. After the ceremony, the officiant returns the signed license to the Bexar County Clerk for recording. That filing is what puts the marriage in the public record.

If One Applicant Cannot Appear

If one of you can’t make it to the Clerk’s office, the other applicant or any other adult can apply on their behalf. The absent applicant signs a notarized affidavit providing the same personal information required at the counter, along with proof of identity and age.¹¹ The present applicant brings the affidavit and ID documents in.

Missing the application appointment is not the same as missing the wedding. A proxy can stand in at the ceremony itself only if the absent person is a member of the U.S. armed forces stationed in another country in support of combat or another military operation.¹¹ Civilian applicants must be physically present for the wedding.

Common-Law Marriage Is a Different Filing

If you’re not getting a license at all and instead want to register an existing informal (common-law) marriage, that’s a separate filing. Both parties appear in person, show ID, and sign a Declaration of Informal Marriage under oath. The fee is $45.⁴ To qualify, both parties must have agreed to be married, lived together in Texas as spouses, and held themselves out to others as married; there is no minimum time period for cohabitation.¹² Filing isn’t required to make the marriage valid, but it creates an official record that avoids having to prove the marriage in court later.

Fixing Errors on the Record

Corrections to a filed marriage record, like a misspelled name or wrong birth date, go through the Texas Department of State Health Services, not the County Clerk. You complete an amendment form with no cross-outs or correction tape, have it notarized, and mail it to DSHS Vital Statistics with a copy of your ID and the required fee by check or money order.¹³ An incomplete packet gets rejected and the clock restarts, so it’s far easier to catch mistakes while the officiant still has the license and before it goes back to the Clerk.

1
State of Texas. Texas Family Code 2.003 – Application for License by Minor
2
State of Texas. Texas Family Code 2.004 – Application Form
3
State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 2
4
Bexar County, TX – Official Website. Marriage Licenses
5
Bexar County, Texas. Frequently Asked Questions – County Clerk: Marriage License
6
Bexar County, Texas. Frequently Asked Questions
7
State of Texas. Texas Family Code 2.204 – 72-Hour Waiting Period
8
Bexar County. Seventy-Two Hour Waiver Information
9
Texas State Law Library. Premarital Education
10
Texas State Law Library. Who Can Perform a Marriage Ceremony in Texas
11
State of Texas. Texas Family Code 2.006 – Absent Applicant
12
State of Texas. Texas Family Code 2.402 – Declaration and Registration of Informal Marriage
13
Texas Department of State Health Services. Requirements for Changing Vital Records