A notary public cannot marry someone in New Jersey. The state’s law lists exactly what a notary is allowed to do, and solemnizing a marriage is not on that list. If you were hoping to have a notary friend officiate your wedding, you’ll need to choose from a different group of authorized officiants, which includes judges, clergy, certain government officials, and certified civil celebrants.
Why a New Jersey Notary Can’t Perform Your Wedding
New Jersey’s administrative code defines a notary’s authority narrowly. The six permitted acts are taking an acknowledgment, administering an oath or affirmation, taking a verification on oath or affirmation, witnessing or attesting a signature, certifying or attesting a copy or deposition, and noting a protest of a negotiable instrument.1Cornell Law Institute. New Jersey Administrative Code 17:50-1.2 – Definitions That’s the whole scope. Officiating a marriage is nowhere in it.
The confusion usually comes from other states. Florida, South Carolina, Montana, and Nevada all let notaries perform marriages as part of their official duties. If you’ve been to a notary-officiated wedding on vacation or seen one on social media, it’s natural to assume the same works here. Each state writes its own rules on who may solemnize a marriage, and New Jersey has never put notaries on that list.
Who Can Legally Officiate a Marriage in New Jersey
New Jersey’s marriage statute authorizes a broad set of people to solemnize a wedding.2Justia Law. New Jersey Revised Statutes 37:1-13 – Authorization to Solemnize Marriages The categories are:
- Federal judges and magistrates, including judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, federal district court judges, and United States magistrates.
- State judges, including Superior Court judges, Tax Court judges, municipal court judges, and retired or resigned judges of the Superior Court or Tax Court who left in good standing.
- County surrogates and county clerks.
- Mayors, deputy mayors (when authorized by the mayor), township committee chairpersons, and village presidents.
- Every minister of every religion. Religious societies, institutions, and organizations may also join people in marriage according to their own rules and customs.
- Individuals certified by the New Jersey Secretary of State as civil celebrants to perform secular ceremonies.
In practice, that gives you three directions to go. Any ordained minister can handle a religious ceremony. A judge or county clerk gives you something that feels official and civic. And the civil celebrant option exists for couples who want a personalized ceremony without a religious framing or a courthouse setting.
Having a Friend or Family Member Officiate
If the appeal of a notary was really about having someone you know lead the ceremony, the certified civil celebrant route accomplishes the same thing legally. New Jersey added civil celebrants to the list of authorized officiants in 2014.
To become certified, a person must be at least 18 years old, have graduated from a secondary school, and complete a civil celebrant training course that meets the state’s requirements. The application and processing fee is $55.3New Jersey Department of State. Certified Civil Celebrants Once the Secretary of State issues the certification, that person has the same legal authority to solemnize a marriage as a judge or clergy member. A friend or relative willing to go through the training can legally officiate your wedding under New Jersey law.
The other common path, used widely in other states, is online ordination through a religious organization so that the officiant qualifies as a minister. The research supporting this article does not address whether New Jersey recognizes online ordinations, so verify directly with the local registrar before relying on that route.
What Happens If a Notary Performs the Ceremony Anyway
The legal risk here is real. New Jersey requires that a marriage be solemnized by an authorized person, and the state does not have a clear statutory safety net for marriages performed by someone the couple mistakenly believed was authorized.2Justia Law. New Jersey Revised Statutes 37:1-13 – Authorization to Solemnize Marriages
Some states have adopted a good-faith exception based on the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act, which protects couples who genuinely believed their officiant was qualified. New Jersey has not clearly adopted that provision. A wedding performed by a notary acting purely in their notarial capacity could leave you without a legally valid marriage. You would still have the ceremony and the photos, but potentially none of the legal protections that come with being married: spousal health insurance, tax benefits, inheritance rights, and medical decision-making authority among them.
One nuance worth naming: a notary who is also, separately, something on the authorized list (an ordained minister, a certified civil celebrant, a sitting mayor) can officiate. They do it in that other capacity, not as a notary. The notary commission adds nothing to the ceremony.
Verify Your Officiant Before the Ceremony
A few minutes of checking in advance beats discovering months later that your marriage was never valid. If your officiant is a civil celebrant, confirm the certification with the New Jersey Secretary of State’s office. If they’re clergy, confirm they are an ordained minister of a religion. If they’re a public official on the statutory list, confirm they currently hold the office that gives them authority (a mayor who has left office, for example, no longer qualifies in that capacity).
When you apply for your marriage license at the local registrar of vital statistics, the staff there can also be a useful sanity check. They see officiants from across the municipality and can tell you quickly whether the person you’ve chosen falls within one of the authorized categories. Ask the question before the wedding, not after.
The Other Requirements for a Valid New Jersey Marriage
Choosing the right officiant is one piece of a valid marriage. New Jersey also requires that both parties be at least 18 years old; the state does not issue marriage licenses to minors under any circumstances.4Justia Law. New Jersey Revised Statutes 37:1-6 – Prohibition of Issuance of Marriage, Civil Union License to Minor Neither party can already be married or in an existing civil union or domestic partnership. The state prohibits marriage between ancestors and descendants, siblings including half-siblings, an aunt or uncle and a niece or nephew, and similar close family relationships.5Justia Law. New Jersey Revised Statutes 37:1-1 – Marriages and Civil Unions Both parties must consent voluntarily, and you must obtain a marriage license before the ceremony.
New Jersey does not recognize proxy marriages. Both parties must be physically present at the ceremony. Common-law marriage cannot be formed in New Jersey, though the state honors a valid common-law marriage legally established in another state.
So the short version holds: in New Jersey, a notary public is not an authorized officiant, and the fix is picking someone the law actually recognizes. If you want someone familiar to lead the ceremony, send them to the civil celebrant program. If you want speed and simplicity, a county clerk, a judge, or any ordained minister will do.