To get married in NYC, you need a marriage license from the City Clerk’s Office, a 24-hour wait after it’s issued, and a ceremony performed by an authorized officiant with at least one adult witness present. The license costs $35, and if the City Clerk performs the ceremony you’ll pay another $25, so a full legal wedding can run as little as $60. New York has no residency requirement, so anyone who meets the state’s eligibility rules can marry here.
Who Can Legally Marry
Both people must be at least 18. New York prohibits marriage for anyone younger, with no parental consent or judicial workaround, and a clerk who knowingly issues a license to a minor commits a misdemeanor.1New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Law DOM 15-a
Both applicants must be legally single. Any prior marriage has to have ended in divorce, annulment, or the death of a former spouse, and every proceeding must be fully finalized before you apply.2NYC311. Marriage License A new marriage entered while either person is still legally married to someone else is void.
Certain family relationships are also barred. A marriage is automatically void between a parent and child or any ancestor-descendant pair, between siblings of whole or half blood, and between an uncle or aunt and a niece or nephew.3New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Law DOM 5
No blood test is required.
What to Bring to Your Appointment
Have everything ready before you start the application.
- Valid, unexpired photo ID for each person. Accepted forms include a driver’s license, passport, IDNYC card, U.S. military ID, permanent resident card, employment authorization card, and naturalization certificate.4The Office of the City Clerk – NYC Marriage Bureau. Proper Identification
- Proof of age. Your photo ID usually covers this, but the clerk may also accept a birth certificate, baptismal record, or immigration document.5New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Code 15 – Duty of Town and City Clerks
- Each person’s Social Security number.6The Office of the City Clerk – NYC Marriage Bureau. Marriage License
- Details of any prior marriage: the full name of each former spouse, the date and place of every divorce or annulment, and the date of a former spouse’s death if applicable. Bring the final divorce decree in case the clerk asks for it.2NYC311. Marriage License
- Each parent’s full name and country of birth.6The Office of the City Clerk – NYC Marriage Bureau. Marriage License
Applying for the License Through Project Cupid
Start online at nyc.gov/cupid. You complete the form, get a confirmation number, and schedule an appointment to finish the process.6The Office of the City Clerk – NYC Marriage Bureau. Marriage License Appointments are available in person at the City Clerk’s office or by video meeting; if you go virtual, you download the finished license from your Cupid account afterward.
Both people must appear together at the appointment. New York does not allow proxy marriages, and nobody else can stand in for either partner. During the appointment, the clerk verifies your documents and has both of you sign and swear to the information in the application.
The license fee is $35, payable by credit card or by money order made out to the City Clerk. It is non-refundable.7City Clerk of the City of New York. Fees – Section: Marriage Bureau
The 24-Hour Wait and the 60-Day Deadline
Once the clerk issues your license, you cannot hold the ceremony for at least 24 hours.8New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Code 13-B – Time Within Which Marriage May Be Solemnized If you need to marry sooner because of a medical emergency, military deployment, or another urgent reason, you can request a judicial waiver from the County Clerk in the borough that issued your license. The waiver is free, and you give it to your officiant so the ceremony can proceed immediately.2NYC311. Marriage License
The license expires 60 days after issuance.8New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Code 13-B – Time Within Which Marriage May Be Solemnized If your ceremony doesn’t happen inside that window, the license is dead. There is no extension. You would have to apply again and pay another $35.
Choosing Your Officiant
New York authorizes clergy and ministers of any religion, federal and state judges, the New York City Clerk and designated deputies, New York State legislators, and leaders of Ethical Culture societies to perform marriages.9New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Code 11 – By Whom a Marriage Must Be Solemnized There’s a New York City-specific requirement on top of that: anyone officiating in the city must first register their name and address with the City Clerk’s office, regardless of their authority elsewhere in the state.10New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Law 11-B – Registration of Persons Performing Marriage Ceremonies in the City of New York Confirm with your officiant that they’ve done this.
Having a Friend or Family Member Officiate
New York offers a one-day marriage officiant license for exactly this purpose. The person must be at least 18 and does not have to live in New York.11New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Code 11-D – One-Day Marriage Officiant License The license costs $25, payable by money order or by credit card (in person only).12The Office of the City Clerk – NYC Marriage Bureau. One-Day Marriage Officiant License
Timing matters here. Your friend can only apply for the one-day license after you already have your marriage license, and they must have the officiant license in hand before the ceremony. If someone performs the ceremony without receiving the license first, the City Clerk treats the marriage as invalid and will not release a marriage certificate.12The Office of the City Clerk – NYC Marriage Bureau. One-Day Marriage Officiant License Don’t leave this to the last day.
Letting the City Clerk Perform the Ceremony
If you don’t have your own officiant, the City Clerk’s office will perform the ceremony for $25.7City Clerk of the City of New York. Fees – Section: Marriage Bureau You can book it on the same visit as your license appointment (after the 24-hour wait) or on a separate day. Standard vows. A few minutes. Combined with the $35 license, this is the $60 route to a legal New York marriage.
The Ceremony
Every New York marriage ceremony must include at least one witness besides the officiant.13New York Public Law. New York Domestic Relations Law Section 12 – Marriage, How Solemnized The witness must be 18 or older and must bring valid ID.14The Office of the City Clerk – NYC Marriage Bureau. Marriage Ceremony If you don’t have anyone to bring, people at the Clerk’s office or even your photographer can sometimes step in, as long as they meet the age and ID requirements.
The couple, the officiant, and the witness all sign the license during the ceremony. That’s what turns the license from a permit into evidence that a legal marriage happened.
After the Ceremony
The officiant must return the signed license to the borough City Clerk’s office that issued it within five business days.2NYC311. Marriage License A one-day officiant also attaches their officiant license to the returned paperwork.12The Office of the City Clerk – NYC Marriage Bureau. One-Day Marriage Officiant License No marriage certificate can be issued until the clerk receives and processes the signed license, so if your officiant is slow, follow up.
You can then order certified copies of your marriage certificate. A domestic-use copy costs $15, with additional copies at $10 each. If you need a copy for use in another country, the extended certificate with a hand signature and raised seal costs $35 for the first copy and $30 for each additional one, and most Hague Apostille Convention countries will also require an apostille from the New York State Department of State.15The Office of the City Clerk – NYC Marriage Bureau. Marriage Records
Choosing a New Name on the License
The application has an optional section where either or both spouses can pick a new surname. You have four options:16The Office of the City Clerk – NYC Marriage Bureau. Name Change
- Either spouse’s current surname.
- A former surname of either spouse, such as a maiden name from a prior marriage.
- A combined surname merging all or part of each spouse’s pre-marriage name.
- A hyphenated surname joining both pre-marriage surnames with a hyphen or space.
You can also change your middle name to your current surname, a former surname, or your spouse’s surname. Get this right on the application. The City Clerk cannot amend the surname on a marriage record after it is created, so a mistake would mean remarrying to fix it.17The Office of the City Clerk – NYC Marriage Bureau. Amendments to Marriage Records
Choosing a name on the license doesn’t update anything else. File Form SS-5 with the Social Security Administration to get a new Social Security card, bringing your marriage certificate as proof. Your Social Security number stays the same, and the SSA notifies the IRS automatically. From there, update your driver’s license, passport, bank accounts, and employer records; most agencies want to see the updated Social Security card before they’ll make the change.