To marry in Connecticut, both people must be at least 18, unmarried, and not closely related; you then apply in person for a $50 marriage license at the town clerk’s office where the ceremony will be held, hold the ceremony within 65 days before a judge, justice of the peace, or member of the clergy, and have the officiant file the completed license with the town’s registrar of vital records. Connecticut marriage laws also attach a durable set of legal consequences to that ceremony, covering property division, spousal support, federal tax filing, Social Security, and retirement accounts.
Who Can Legally Marry
Four eligibility rules decide whether a license can issue at all.
Both people must be 18 or older. Connecticut eliminated all exceptions for minors in 2023.
Neither person can already be married to someone else. Bigamy is a Class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.1Justia. Connecticut Code 53a-190 – Bigamy
Close relatives cannot marry. The prohibited list includes a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, sibling, aunt or uncle, niece or nephew, stepparent, and stepchild. A marriage between any of these relatives is automatically void.2Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-21 – Prohibited Marriages
Both people must have the mental capacity to understand what marriage means and to consent voluntarily. If either applicant is under the supervision of a conservator or guardian, written consent from that conservator or guardian is required before the clerk will issue a license.
Getting the Marriage License
Apply in person at the town clerk’s office (sometimes called the local vital records office) in the town where your ceremony will take place.3Connecticut Department of Public Health. License to Get Married Both applicants must appear, though not necessarily at the same time. Bring valid government-issued identification.
The application asks for each person’s full name, age, birthplace, residence, occupation, Social Security number, and current marital status (single, widowed, or divorced). You sign under oath.
The fee is $50: a $15 base fee plus a $35 statutory surcharge, and it is nonrefundable.4Justia. Connecticut Code 7-73 – Fees for Marriage Licenses Connecticut does not require a blood test or any medical exam.
Once issued, the license is valid for 65 days from the date of application.5Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-24 – Marriage License Requirements If the ceremony does not happen within that window, the license expires and you have to reapply and pay again. There is no waiting period, so you can marry the same day you pick up the license.
Who Can Perform the Ceremony
Connecticut recognizes marriages solemnized by three categories of officiant, and nobody else.6Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-22 – Persons Authorized to Solemnize Marriages
- Active and retired judges, including federal judges and judges from other states who are authorized to perform marriages in their own jurisdictions.
- Family support magistrates, family support referees, state referees, and Connecticut-appointed justices of the peace.
- Ordained or licensed clergy from Connecticut or any other state. Ceremonies performed according to the customs of any religious denomination, including those witnessed by a Baha’i Spiritual Assembly, are valid.
A marriage performed by anyone outside those categories is void. One further restriction: a public official who issues marriage licenses cannot officiate a marriage under a license their own office issued.6Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-22 – Persons Authorized to Solemnize Marriages
Filing After the Ceremony
The officiant notes the date, time, and place of the ceremony on the license and submits it to the registrar of vital records in the town where the marriage took place.3Connecticut Department of Public Health. License to Get Married Once recorded, the license becomes part of Connecticut’s official vital records and is referred to as the marriage certificate. Certified copies, which you may need for name changes, insurance enrollment, immigration paperwork, or other legal purposes, are available from the town clerk’s office where the marriage was filed.
Marriages From Other Places, and Common Law
Connecticut recognizes marriages performed in other states and countries so long as they were legal where they took place and do not violate Connecticut’s core eligibility rules. A valid out-of-state marriage carries the same legal weight here as one performed in Connecticut.
Same-sex couples have had full marriage rights since 2008, when the Connecticut Supreme Court held in Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health that restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples violated the state constitution’s equal protection guarantee.7Connecticut Judicial Branch. Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health Married couples receive identical rights and responsibilities regardless of gender.
Connecticut does not recognize common law marriage. Living together for years, sharing finances, and presenting yourselves as a married couple does not create a valid marriage under Connecticut law, as the Connecticut Supreme Court confirmed in Boland v. Catalano (1987).8Connecticut General Assembly. Office of Legislative Research Report 2025-R-0165 – Common-Law Marriage in Connecticut and Other States There is one narrow exception. If you established a valid common law marriage in a state that still recognizes them, Connecticut will honor that marriage when you move here, provided you can prove it met the other state’s requirements.9Connecticut General Assembly. Connecticut General Assembly OLR Report – Common-Law Marriage
What Marriage Legally Gives You
A valid marriage triggers rights and obligations that reach far beyond the ceremony.
Property Division
Connecticut is an equitable distribution state. If the marriage ends, a court can assign any portion of either spouse’s property to the other. Equitable does not mean equal. Judges weigh the length of the marriage, each person’s age and health, earning capacity, income, liabilities, employability, and each spouse’s contribution to acquiring or preserving marital assets.10Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-81 – Assignment of Property and Transfer of Title Connecticut courts can reach both marital and premarital property in this analysis, giving judges broad discretion.
Alimony
Either spouse can be ordered to pay alimony when a marriage dissolves. Courts consider the length of the marriage, the reasons for its breakdown, each person’s income and earning potential, health, and overall financial needs.11Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-82 – Alimony If a court orders open-ended alimony that ends only on death or remarriage, it must explain its specific reasons for that timeline.
Federal Tax Filing
Married couples can file federal taxes jointly, which usually produces a lower tax bill. For 2026, the standard deduction for married couples filing jointly is $32,200, compared to $16,100 for single filers.12Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026 Filing status is set by whether you are married on the last day of the tax year.13Internal Revenue Service. Filing Status Married couples can also file separately, though that rarely produces a better result.
Social Security Spousal Benefits
A spouse who earned less over their lifetime, or did not work, can receive up to half of the higher-earning spouse’s primary insurance amount. The receiving spouse must be at least 62 or caring for a child under 16, and claiming before full retirement age reduces the benefit.14Social Security Administration. Benefits for Spouses
Prenuptial Agreements
Engaged couples can modify many of these default rules through a prenuptial agreement. Under the Connecticut Premarital Agreement Act, an agreement can cover property rights, spousal support, life insurance beneficiary designations, retirement plan interests, and other financial matters.15Connecticut General Assembly. Chapter 815e – Marriage It cannot negatively affect a child’s right to support.
The agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties. A court will refuse to enforce it if the challenging spouse can show any of the following:16Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-36g – Enforcement of Premarital Agreement
- The agreement was not signed voluntarily.
- The terms were unconscionable either when signed or when enforcement is sought.
- The other party failed to give a fair and reasonable picture of their property, income, and debts before signing.
- The challenging party was not given a reasonable chance to consult with their own attorney.
Ending a Marriage
Connecticut allows both no-fault and fault-based divorce, which the statutes call dissolution of marriage. Annulment is a separate remedy for marriages that were legally defective from the start.
No-Fault Divorce
The most common path is dissolution based on irretrievable breakdown. If both spouses agree the marriage is over, they can submit a written statement to that effect along with an agreement covering custody, support, and property.17Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-51 – Stipulation of Parties and Finding of Irretrievable Breakdown Couples can also qualify by living apart due to incompatibility for at least 18 continuous months with no reasonable prospect of reconciliation.18Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-40 – Grounds for Dissolution of Marriage
Fault-Based Grounds
Connecticut still recognizes several fault grounds: adultery, fraudulent contract, willful desertion for at least one year with total neglect of marital duties, absence of seven years with no word, habitual intemperance, intolerable cruelty, a life sentence or conviction of an infamous crime involving a violation of marital duty with a prison term exceeding one year, and confinement for mental illness totaling at least five years within the six years before the complaint is filed.18Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-40 – Grounds for Dissolution of Marriage Most Connecticut divorces proceed on no-fault grounds because proving fault adds time, cost, and conflict. The reason for the divorce can still factor into alimony and property decisions, so fault is occasionally worth pursuing.
Annulment
A divorce ends a valid marriage. An annulment declares that a valid marriage never existed. Bigamous marriages and marriages between close relatives are automatically void regardless of whether anyone goes to court.2Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-21 – Prohibited Marriages Other marriages are voidable, meaning they are treated as valid unless one spouse asks a court to undo them. Voidable grounds include fraud or misrepresentation about something essential to the marriage, consent obtained through force or duress, and lack of mental capacity at the time of the ceremony.19Connecticut General Assembly. Grounds for a Legal Annulment
Retirement Accounts and Alimony Taxes
Two federal rules catch divorcing couples off guard. If either spouse holds an employer-sponsored retirement plan such as a 401(k) or pension, dividing it requires a Qualified Domestic Relations Order. Without a valid QDRO, the plan administrator must pay benefits only to the plan participant, regardless of what the divorce decree says.20U.S. Department of Labor. Qualified Domestic Relations Orders Under ERISA – A Practical Guide to Dividing Retirement Benefits Skipping that step, or getting the paperwork wrong, can cost you your share of what is often the largest marital asset.
On taxes, alimony paid under any divorce or separation agreement executed after December 31, 2018, is neither deductible by the payer nor counted as income for the recipient.21Internal Revenue Service. Alimony and Separate Maintenance Agreements executed before 2019 still follow the old rule, where the payer deducted alimony and the recipient reported it as income, unless the agreement has been modified to adopt the new treatment.