How to Get a Marriage License in Lake County, IL

To get a Lake County, IL marriage license, both applicants must appear together in person at the Lake County Clerk’s Office in Waukegan with valid photo ID and pay a $35 fee. The license takes effect one day after it’s issued and is good for 60 days.¹

What to Bring

Each applicant needs a valid, government-issued photo ID showing the name that will appear on the license. A driver’s license, state ID card, passport, or military ID all work.¹

The application asks for each person’s Social Security number, occupation, date and place of birth, and the names and addresses of both sets of parents. If either of you was previously married, you’ll also be asked for the date, place, and court where that marriage ended.²

If a prior marriage or civil union ended within the last six months, bring the certified dissolution record with the issuing agency’s embossed seal. Foreign certificates need a certified, notarized English translation.¹

The Clerk’s website has an online pre-application portal. Filling it out ahead of time cuts down on paperwork at the office, but you still have to appear in person to finalize the license.

Fee and Payment

The license costs $35. The Clerk’s Office accepts cash, checks, money orders, and credit or debit cards. Card payments carry an extra service fee.¹

In-Person Appearance

Both applicants have to be there together at the Clerk’s main office in Waukegan. No proxies, no representatives. Check the Clerk’s website or call ahead for current hours, especially around holidays.¹

Who Can Apply

Anyone 18 or older can apply on their own. Applicants who are 16 or 17 need consent from both parents or a legal guardian. If one parent can’t be located after a genuine search, the other parent can sign consent along with a sworn affidavit describing the effort to find the absent parent. A court can also authorize a 16- or 17-year-old’s marriage when no parent is capable of consenting, but only after finding the minor can handle the responsibilities of marriage and that the marriage serves their best interest.³

Prohibited Marriages

Illinois prohibits marriages between ancestors and descendants; between siblings, whether full-blood, half-blood, or by adoption; and between an aunt or uncle and a niece or nephew. First cousins can marry only if both are 50 or older, or if one provides a physician’s certificate stating they are permanently and irreversibly sterile. Neither applicant may still be legally married to someone else.³

When the License Is Valid

The license takes effect one day after it’s issued, so you can’t pick it up and hold the ceremony the same day.³ A court can waive the one-day wait if your timing is tight; ask the Clerk’s Office how to request a judicial waiver.

Once effective, the license is valid for 60 days.¹ If the 60 days lapse before the ceremony, the license expires and you have to apply and pay again. Plan your Clerk visit within about two months of the wedding.

Where the License Can Be Used

A Lake County license is meant for ceremonies performed in Lake County. Illinois law does say a marriage is not invalidated if it was “inadvertently solemnized” in a different Illinois county.³ That’s a narrow rescue for a venue that turns out to be across a county line, not a workaround. If your ceremony is in another county, get the license from that county’s clerk.

Who Can Perform the Ceremony

Illinois recognizes several categories of officiant:

Any judge of a court of record, including retired judges (unless removed by the Judicial Inquiry Board) and judges of the Court of Claims.
An officiant in good standing with a recognized religious denomination, Indian Nation or Tribe, or Native Group.
The current mayor or president of an Illinois city, village, or incorporated town.
County clerks in counties with 2,000,000 or more inhabitants, which covers Cook County but not Lake County.⁴

Verify your officiant’s credentials before the ceremony.

Marriage by a Judge

If you want a judge to perform the ceremony, the 19th Judicial Circuit Court in Waukegan handles this. After you have your license from the Clerk, go to the Lake County Circuit Court Clerk’s office at 18 North County Street in Waukegan and pay a separate $10 ceremony fee in cash.⁵

Weekday ceremonies run Monday through Friday. Arrive at the courthouse entrance at 2:00 p.m. and report to first-floor Court Administration for a courtroom assignment. Weekend ceremonies take place Saturday and Sunday mornings in the first-appearance courtroom at 301 Washington Street in Waukegan; arrive between 8:45 and 9:00 a.m. The judge leaves once the scheduled marriages are done, so don’t be late. Around holidays, call 847-377-3600 during business hours to confirm the schedule. If either person has trouble understanding English, a third-party interpreter must be present.⁵

After the Ceremony

The officiant, or both spouses if there was no single officiant, must complete the marriage certificate form and return it to the Lake County Clerk within 10 days of the wedding.⁴ Until the form is filed, the marriage doesn’t appear in county records, which can hold up name changes, insurance updates, and anything else that depends on proof of marriage. The form can be mailed or dropped off in person. Check back after a couple of weeks to confirm the Clerk received and processed it.

Certified Copies of the Marriage Certificate

Once your marriage is recorded, you can order certified copies from the Clerk. The first copy costs $10 and each additional copy is $4.⁶ Order several at once. Certified copies carry the county’s embossed seal, which is what agencies and financial institutions require for name changes on your Social Security card, driver’s license, passport, bank accounts, and insurance. A photocopy won’t be accepted.

1
Lake County, IL. Marriage Licenses
2
Justia. Illinois Code 750 ILCS 5 Part II – Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act
3
Justia. Illinois Code 750 ILCS 5 Part II – Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act
4
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 750 ILCS 5/209 – Solemnization and Registration
5
19th Judicial Circuit Court, IL. Marriages by a Judge
6
Lake County, IL. Marriage Records