How to Become an Ordained Minister in Minnesota

To become an ordained minister in Minnesota, you apply through a religious organization — a denomination with formal training, or an online ministry such as the Universal Life Church or American Marriage Ministries that issues credentials within days. But if your reason for getting ordained is to officiate a wedding, know that Minnesota changed the rules in 2025. Ordination is no longer legally required to marry a couple in this state. Anyone at least 21 years old can now register as a civil marriage officiant with a county registrar and perform weddings statewide.¹ Ordination is still worth pursuing for religious, pastoral, or personal reasons, but it operates on a separate track from the legal authority to solemnize marriages.

What the 2025 Change Means for You

Before 2025, Minnesota required wedding officiants to be judges, court administrators, or licensed and ordained ministers who had filed their credentials with a county registrar. That credential-filing rule lived in § 517.05, which was repealed in 2025.² The current § 517.04 replaces the old categories with one broader standard: anyone 21 or older who registers with a county registrar can solemnize marriages anywhere in Minnesota, and the state’s guidance confirms you generally do not need to submit proof of ordination to register.³

So the practical question splits in two. If you want the title, the credential, and a spiritual role, pursue ordination. If you want to legally perform a wedding, register as a civil marriage officiant. Many people do both.

Getting Ordained

Choosing an Organization

Ordaining bodies span a wide range. Established denominations may require seminary study, mentorship periods, statements of faith, or formal examinations before ordination. Online ministries like the Universal Life Church and American Marriage Ministries process applications in minutes and impose no educational requirement. The right choice depends on your goals. Someone entering full-time ministry usually seeks ordination through a denomination aligned with their faith. Someone who wants the title to officiate a friend’s ceremony often uses an online ministry.

Whichever route you take, pick an organization that provides official documentation — a certificate, or a letter of good standing. Even though Minnesota no longer collects those credentials, couples, venues, and your own records may still call for them.

Checking That an Organization Is Legitimate

If legitimacy matters to you, the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool shows whether an organization holds recognized tax-exempt status, along with its filings and determination letters.⁴ Section 501(c)(3) recognition suggests the IRS treats the organization as a legitimate religious or charitable entity. Not every genuine religious group appears in the database, and IRS recognition is not a prerequisite for your ordination to be personally or spiritually valid.

What Applying Looks Like

Most organizations ask for an application with your personal information and, sometimes, a statement of faith or intent. Denominational tracks may add coursework, mentorship, or examinations. Online ministries typically issue a certificate or credential shortly after you apply.

Registering to Perform Weddings in Minnesota

If your goal includes officiating a Minnesota wedding, this is the step that actually gives you legal authority:

You must be at least 21 years old.¹
Register at the local registrar’s office in any Minnesota county. Registration in one county authorizes you to officiate anywhere in the state.
The filing fee is typically around $40 and varies by county.³
The county where you registered must be recorded on every marriage certificate you complete.¹

You do not need to re-register when a wedding takes you into a different county.

What You Must Do at the Wedding

Before the ceremony, confirm the couple has a valid Minnesota marriage license. Minnesota no longer imposes a waiting period, so a license can be issued and used the same day, and it stays valid for six months anywhere in the state.⁵

Minnesota law does not dictate the words or rituals of the ceremony. You can design it religiously, secularly, or any combination the couple wants. What the law does require is structural: at least two witnesses aged 16 or older must be present and must sign the marriage certificate along with you.⁶

After the ceremony, complete the marriage certificate with the couple’s names before and after marriage, their birth dates, their counties and states of residence, and the date and place of the ceremony. Then file it with the local registrar of the county that issued the license within five days.⁶ Five days is a short window, especially after a weekend ceremony. Put the deadline on your calendar before the wedding.

Penalties for Doing It Wrong

Minnesota attaches specific consequences to the mistakes officiants actually make:

Solemnizing a marriage without lawful authority, knowingly, is a misdemeanor.
A registered officiant who knowingly performs a marriage that violates Chapter 517, or who knows of a legal impediment and proceeds anyway, is guilty of a misdemeanor. Willfully filing a false certificate carries the same penalty.
Failing to file the marriage certificate within the required five days carries a fine of up to $100.

These provisions appear in §§ 517.13 through 517.15.⁷ A Minnesota misdemeanor can carry up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

If You Actually Serve as a Minister

Two areas of law reach beyond weddings if your ordination leads to an active pastoral role.

Mandatory Reporting

Minnesota designates clergy as mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse or neglect. Under § 260E.06, a member of the clergy who receives information about child maltreatment while engaged in ministerial duties must immediately report to the local welfare agency, police, county sheriff, or tribal social services agency.⁸ A narrow exception applies to information covered by the clergy-penitent privilege in § 595.02. If you serve in any pastoral capacity, understand this obligation before you begin.

Taxes on Ministerial Income

The IRS treats income from ministerial services as self-employment income for Social Security and Medicare purposes, even when a church pays you a salary. Ordained, commissioned, or licensed ministers with a religious objection to accepting public insurance benefits can apply for an exemption from self-employment tax on Form 4361; once granted, it is irrevocable.⁹ If you’re only officiating occasional weddings, the exemption is unlikely to fit your situation, but self-employment tax treatment of any fees you receive still might.

1
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 517.04 – Persons Authorized to Perform Civil Marriages
2
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 517.05 – Credentials of Minister
3
mn.gov. Marriage Officiant
4
Internal Revenue Service. Tax Exempt Organization Search
5
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 517.08 – Marriage License
6
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 517.10 – Certificate; Witnesses
7
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 517 – Civil Marriage
8
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 260E.06 – Mandatory Reporters
9
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 4361, Application for Exemption From Self-Employment Tax