How to Get Married in Virginia: License, Officiant, and Ceremony

To get married in Virginia, you and your partner apply together in person for a marriage license at any circuit court clerk’s office, hold a ceremony within 60 days with an officiant the state authorizes, and let that officiant return the signed license to the clerk within five days. There is no residency requirement, no waiting period, and no blood test. If you plan ahead, the license and the ceremony can happen on the same day.

Who Can Legally Marry

Both people must be at least 18. Virginia set this as a hard floor with no exceptions, and a 2024 amendment removed the older carve-out that had allowed emancipated minors to marry.¹

Certain relatives cannot marry each other: ancestors and descendants, siblings (including half-siblings and adoptive siblings), and uncles, aunts, nieces, and nephews.² Both people must have the mental capacity to consent, and neither can already be married to someone else.

Virginia does not create common-law marriages. Living together, no matter how long, does not make you legally married in the Commonwealth. Every Virginia marriage runs through a license and a ceremony. Virginia will recognize a common-law marriage that was validly formed in a state that allows one.

Getting the Marriage License

Both applicants have to appear together, in person, at any circuit court clerk’s office in Virginia. The county or city does not have to match where you live or where the wedding will happen.³

Bring the following:

A valid photo ID such as a driver’s license, passport, or military ID
Your Social Security number (the card itself is not required)
Each applicant’s parents’ full legal names as they appear on your birth certificates, middle names included
If either of you was married before, details about the end of that marriage, such as the date and place of the divorce or the former spouse’s death

Some clerks let you fill out a pre-application online and arrive with a confirmation, which shortens the counter visit.

Fee, Payment, and How Long the License Lasts

The license costs $30 at most offices, with a few charging up to $33.⁴ Part of that is a $20 state tax.⁵ Payment methods vary. Some clerks take only cash and checks; others accept cards, sometimes with a surcharge. Call ahead if that matters to you.

The license is good for 60 days from the day it is issued, and the ceremony must take place in Virginia during that window.³ Miss the 60 days and you pay for a new license. There is no waiting period after issuance, so a same-day ceremony is possible.

If One of You Is Not a U.S. Citizen

A non-citizen can apply using a valid passport as photo ID; the license process itself does not change. Adjusting your spouse’s immigration status afterward is a separate federal matter handled through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, typically starting with Form I-485 or, if your fiancé is still abroad, a K-1 fiancé visa petition on Form I-129F that requires the wedding to happen within 90 days of arrival.⁶ Most couples in this situation work with an immigration attorney.

Who Can Perform the Ceremony

Virginia is specific about officiants. The two main routes are religious officiants and civil celebrants, and each gets to the altar differently.

Ministers and Other Religious Officiants

An ordained minister of any denomination can officiate, but only after a Virginia circuit court authorizes them. The minister brings proof of ordination and proof of active standing in their religious community to a circuit court judge or clerk, who issues an authorization order.⁷ This applies to out-of-state clergy too, so confirm your officiant has that Virginia order in hand before the date.

Judges, Officials, and Civil Celebrants

A range of officials can marry you anywhere in the Commonwealth without any extra step: current or retired state judges, active or retired federal judges who live in Virginia, current or former members of the General Assembly, the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Virginia’s members of Congress, and circuit court clerks.⁸

A private person who wants to officiate as a civil celebrant petitions a circuit court in the circuit where they live. If the court approves, it issues an authorization order, and the celebrant must post a $500 bond before performing any ceremony. The court can waive the bond for financial hardship.⁸

What an Officiant Can Charge

Civil celebrants and the officials listed above are capped by statute at $75 per ceremony, plus travel at the state mileage reimbursement rate for private vehicles or actual cost for public transportation. The officiant must give you the total at least three days before the ceremony.⁹ Ministers authorized under the separate statute above are not bound by that cap and can charge whatever they and the couple agree on.

The Ceremony

Virginia does not require witnesses. You can hold a full wedding or you can meet the officiant alone. The legal requirements are simple: an authorized officiant, a valid license, a ceremony in Virginia, all within the 60-day window.

If a paperwork glitch turns up later, or the officiant’s authorization proves defective, the marriage still stands as long as the couple believed in good faith that everything was lawful. The Virginia code protects licensed marriages against exactly this kind of defect.¹⁰ Even so, checking your officiant’s authorization ahead of time avoids trouble.

Filing the License and Getting Certified Copies

After the ceremony, the officiant completes the license and returns both copies to the clerk’s office that issued it within five days.¹¹ That is the officiant’s job, not yours. Some clerks will not accept the license from anyone else. Confirm with your officiant before the wedding that they understand the deadline.

Once the clerk records the marriage, you can order certified copies of the marriage certificate. You will need these for name changes, insurance, and other administrative work. Two places issue them:

The circuit court clerk’s office that issued your license, in person or by mail, typically at $2.50 per copy.¹²
The Virginia Department of Health, Office of Vital Records, online, by mail, or walk-in at Richmond, at $12 per copy with about a two-week standard turnaround.¹³

Order several copies at once from the clerk. Multiple agencies will want an original, and $2.50 apiece up front is cheaper than repeat trips later.

Changing Your Name After the Wedding

If either of you is taking a new last name, the marriage certificate is the key document. Update Social Security first, then your Virginia driver’s license, then your passport. Other agencies verify against Social Security, so the order matters.

Social Security Card

Virginia is one of 21 states where you can request a replacement Social Security card online through a my Social Security account, with no office visit. You will need a valid Virginia driver’s license or state ID and your marriage certificate. Wait at least 30 days after the wedding so the state has time to update its records.¹⁴[/mfm][/mfn] The replacement card is free.

Virginia Driver’s License

Bring your original marriage certificate and your current license to any DMV customer service center. You can start the application online first. The DMV issues a replacement license in your new name.¹⁵ Use your full legal name exactly as it appears on the marriage certificate, without abbreviations or nicknames.

U.S. Passport

If you file within one year of both your passport’s issuance date and your legal name change, you can mail Form DS-5504 with no fee. If more than a year has passed since either event, you renew by mail using Form DS-82 for $130, or apply in person on Form DS-11.¹⁶ Expedited mail processing adds $60 to either.¹⁷

1
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 20 Chapter 3 Section 20-48 – Minimum Age of Marriage
2
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 20-38.1 – Certain Marriages Prohibited
3
Fairfax County. Marriage License Information
4
Henrico County, Virginia. Marriage Licenses
5
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 20 Chapter 2 – Section 20-15 Tax on License
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card for Fiancé(e) of U.S. Citizen
7
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 20 Chapter 2 Section 20-23 – Order Authorizing Ministers to Perform Ceremony
8
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 20-25 – Persons Other Than Ministers Who May Perform Rites
9
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 20 Chapter 2 Section 20-27 – Fee for Celebrating Marriage
10
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 20 Chapter 2 Section 20-31 – Belief of Parties in Lawful Marriage Validates Certain Defects
11
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 32.1 Chapter 7 Section 32.1-267 – Records of Marriages
12
City of Virginia Beach. Circuit Court Clerk’s Office Marriage
13
Virginia Department of Health. Office of Vital Records – Vital Records
14
Social Security Matters. Newlyweds: There May Be a Faster Way To Get a Social Security Card That Shows Your New Name
15
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Change Address, Name or Sex Designation
16
Travel.State.Gov. Change or Correct a Passport
17
Travel.State.Gov. Renew Your Passport by Mail