How to Fill Out and File Your Massachusetts Marriage License Application

To apply for a Massachusetts marriage license, both you and your future spouse must appear together at any city or town clerk’s office in the state and file a Notice of Intention of Marriage. A mandatory three-day waiting period follows, and once the clerk issues the license it is valid for 60 days. The process is governed by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 207.¹

Who Can Apply

Both applicants must be at least 18. Massachusetts does not allow minors to file a Notice of Intention of Marriage.¹ State law also prohibits marriages between close relatives, including parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, and siblings. These restrictions cover blood relatives and certain relationships created by marriage, such as stepparents and stepchildren.

If either person was previously married, that marriage must be legally ended before you file. The clerk will ask for the date your divorce was finalized or want to see your annulment papers.² If you were widowed, bring the date of your former spouse’s death.

There is no citizenship or residency requirement. Non-citizens, including those on visas, can file a Notice of Intention like anyone else. And you can file at any city or town clerk’s office in Massachusetts — it does not have to be where you live or where the ceremony will take place.³

What to Bring

Gather everything before your visit so you don’t make a second trip:

Valid photo ID for each person: driver’s license, state-issued ID, passport, or military ID.²
Social Security numbers for both applicants. If either person was never issued an SSN, you will note the reason on the form (for example, not residing in the United States).⁴
Both parents’ full names for each applicant, including surnames at birth. If a parent’s birth surname differs from the name you know them by, use the birth surname.⁴
Your date of birth and birthplace (city or town and state or country).
Proof that any prior marriage ended: divorce date or annulment papers.²
Payment for the filing fee. Most offices accept cash, money orders, or credit cards, but call ahead to confirm.³

Massachusetts does not require blood tests or medical screenings. A birth certificate or passport is not required by every clerk, but having one on hand helps if any question comes up about your identity or date of birth.

Double-check every field on the form before you sign. The names you enter become the legal record, so make sure yours appears exactly as you want it documented. Misspellings or inconsistencies can delay the license or create problems later when you order certified copies.

Filing in Person

Both applicants must appear in person. This is not optional: the clerk administers a legal oath that the information you provided is truthful, and both of you must be present for that step.³ Some offices, like Boston’s, require an appointment; smaller towns may take walk-ins. Check the clerk’s website or call first.

Filing fees are set by each municipality and vary. Lynnfield, for instance, charges $40.⁵ Confirm the exact amount and payment methods with the office you choose.

The Three-Day Waiting Period

State law requires three days between filing the notice and issuance of the license. Sundays and holidays count toward those three days.⁶ File on a Monday, and the earliest the clerk can hand you the license is Thursday.

If you need to marry sooner for an urgent reason such as military deployment or a medical emergency, you can petition for a Marriage Without Delay waiver. File the petition at a Probate and Family Court, District Court, or Boston Municipal Court in the county where you applied.⁷ A judge reviews the request. The court fee is $195.²

Picking Up the License and the 60-Day Window

Once the waiting period passes, at least one of you returns to the same clerk’s office to collect the signed certificate. That certificate is your marriage license. The clerk will not mail it; someone has to pick it up.

The license is valid for 60 days from the date you originally filed the notice — not from the date you pick it up.⁸ If the ceremony doesn’t happen inside that window, the license expires and you start over: new filing, new fee, new waiting period. Pick your filing date with the wedding date in mind. Leave enough room for the three-day wait, but not so much that you risk running past 60 days.

Making Sure Your Officiant Counts

Not everyone can perform your ceremony. Your officiant must fall into one of the categories Massachusetts law recognizes.⁹

In-state clergy: ordained ministers, rabbis, priests, imams, and other religious leaders who live in Massachusetts and are in good standing with their denomination. A clergy member who has never performed a marriage in the state needs to file paperwork with the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Public Records Division first.³
Justices of the peace, but only those who also hold a qualifying public position such as a city or town clerk, assistant clerk, court clerk, or registrar, or who have been specifically designated by the Governor.⁹
Out-of-state clergy or justices of the peace, who must file a non-resident petition and receive a certificate before officiating. Applications should go in no more than six weeks before the wedding, and the certificate must be filed with the issuing clerk within 10 days of the ceremony.³
A one-day designee. If you want a friend or family member to perform the ceremony, the Governor can grant a one-day designation under Chapter 207, Section 39. The designee applies online through the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s website anywhere from six months to one week before the wedding date. There is no residency requirement for the person receiving the designation.¹⁰

Confirm your officiant’s authorization well before the ceremony. If the person who performs the marriage is not legally authorized, the marriage itself could be challenged.

After the Ceremony

Your officiant signs the marriage certificate right after the ceremony and is responsible for returning it to the clerk who issued the license. State law requires the signed certificate to be returned by the tenth day of the month following the month of the marriage.¹¹ Marry on June 15, and the officiant must return it by July 10. Until that document is filed, your marriage is not part of the official record, so follow up with your officiant to make sure it happens.

Once the clerk receives the signed certificate, your marriage is recorded and you can request certified copies. Fees vary by municipality. In Boston, a copy is $12 in person or $14 by mail.² You can request copies from the clerk’s office in the city or town where the license was issued, or from the Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics. Order at least two or three; you will need them for name changes, insurance updates, and other paperwork.

1
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Code Chapter 207 – Marriage
2
City of Boston. How to Get Married in Boston
3
Mass.gov. Getting Married in Massachusetts: Before the Wedding
4
Town of Charlton. Massachusetts Marriage License Application
5
Lynnfield, MA. Marriage Licenses
6
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 207 Section 19 – Intention of Marriage; Situs; Time; Fees
7
Mass.gov. Instructions: Marriage Without Delay Court Form
8
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 207 Section 28 – Certificate of Intention of Marriage; Delivery; Time
9
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 207 Section 38 – Solemnization; By Whom
10
Mass.gov. One-Day Marriage Designation
11
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 207 Section 40