How to Become a Licensed Wedding Officiant in Ohio

To become a licensed wedding officiant in Ohio, you need to be ordained by a religious organization and then obtain a minister license from the Ohio Secretary of State. Ordination alone does not give you legal authority to perform a marriage in Ohio. The state license costs $10, can be applied for online, and must be in hand before you officiate. Skipping the state licensing step is a criminal offense that carries a $500 fine and up to six months in jail.¹

Ohio law reserves the authority to solemnize marriages to a specific list of people: ordained or licensed ministers holding a Secretary of State license, county and municipal and probate judges, mayors, the governor or a former governor, the superintendent of Ohio Deaf and Blind Education Services, and religious societies acting under their own rules.² If you’re not already one of the government officials on that list, the minister route is your path.

Step 1: Get Ordained

You qualify for an Ohio minister license by being ordained or licensed by a religious society or congregation. The organization has to give you an official credential, typically a certificate or letter on its letterhead, confirming that you are a regularly ordained or licensed minister.³

Online ordinations count. Many Ohio officiants get ordained through organizations like the Universal Life Church or American Marriage Ministries, and the Secretary of State does not distinguish between online and in-person ordinations when processing applications. The statute simply requires credentials from “any religious society or congregation.” What matters is the paperwork: the certificate or letter has to be official and on the organization’s letterhead. A document marked “unofficial” will be rejected.³

Step 2: Apply for the Ohio Minister License

Ohio law requires a separate minister license issued by the Secretary of State before you can legally perform any wedding in the state.⁴ This is the step people miss. Being ordained and being licensed in Ohio are not the same thing.

The application itself is short:

Submit the application through the Secretary of State’s Records Portal, or mail in a paper Application for Minister License.
Upload or attach a copy of your ordination certificate or letter. It has to be on the religious organization’s letterhead and state that you are a regularly ordained or licensed minister.
Pay the $10 filing fee.

Once approved, your license authorizes you to perform marriages anywhere in Ohio and stays valid as long as you continue as a regular minister in your religious society or congregation. If your name changes, you have to file a new application and pay the $10 fee again.³

Keep a copy of your license accessible whenever you officiate. You have to produce it for inspection if either party to the marriage or any probate judge asks to see it.⁴

If You Were Ordained in Another State

An out-of-state ordination doesn’t let you officiate in Ohio on its own. You still need an Ohio Secretary of State minister license. You qualify if you either hold a license to perform marriages in another state, or you have equivalent work experience or certification as a minister in a state that doesn’t issue such licenses.⁴ The application process, documentation, and $10 fee are the same.³

Check the Couple’s Marriage License Before You Officiate

Before the ceremony, confirm that the couple has a valid marriage license from an Ohio probate court. An Ohio marriage license expires 60 days after it is issued.⁵ Performing a ceremony on an expired or nonexistent license means the marriage cannot be legally recorded, and that lands squarely on you as the officiant listed on the paperwork.

File the Signed Certificate Within 30 Days

After the ceremony, you and the couple sign the marriage certificate. You then have 30 days to deliver the signed certificate to the probate judge in the county that issued the marriage license.⁶

Miss the deadline and two things happen. The marriage may not be officially recorded, which creates problems for the couple with insurance, taxes, and name changes. And you as the officiant can be fined up to $50.¹

Penalty for Officiating Without a License

Ohio treats unauthorized solemnization as a criminal offense. Anyone who performs a marriage ceremony without legal authority faces a $500 fine and up to six months in jail.¹ The state draws a hard line between ordination and state licensing, so make sure the Secretary of State has issued your license before you agree to a date.

Taxes on Officiant Fees

Any payment you receive for performing a wedding is taxable income. Fees, honoraria, and cash gifts from the couple all count. For ministers who are employees of a church but receive marriage fees directly from the couple, the IRS classifies those fees as self-employment income regardless of the minister’s employment status elsewhere.⁷

If you officiate as an independent contractor, which covers most people who get ordained specifically to perform weddings, report the income on Schedule C and pay self-employment tax on the net profit using Schedule SE. Self-employment tax covers the Social Security and Medicare contributions an employer would otherwise withhold. Even a single wedding a year is reportable.⁷

1
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3101.99 – Penalties
2
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3101.08 – Who May Solemnize Marriages
3
Ohio Secretary of State. Minister License
4
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3101.10 – License to Solemnize Marriages
5
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3101.07 – Expiration Date of License
6
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3101.13 – Certificate of Marriage to Be Transmitted
7
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 417, Earnings for Clergy