Kentucky Marriage Laws: License, Annulment & Penalties

To marry in Kentucky, both people must be at least 18, appear together at any county clerk’s office with a government-issued photo ID, pay the license fee (typically around $60), and hold the ceremony inside Kentucky within 30 days before an authorized officiant. Kentucky marriage laws impose no residency requirement and no waiting period, so a couple can apply for the license and marry the same day, in any county, regardless of where they live.

Who Can Marry in Kentucky

Kentucky sets 18 as the minimum age to marry without special approval. A 17-year-old may marry only after petitioning a district or family court judge, who holds an evidentiary hearing and weighs the minor’s maturity, financial independence, and whether the relationship shows any sign of coercion or abuse. No one under 17 can marry in Kentucky under any circumstances, and parental consent alone is never enough.¹

Several categories of marriage are void from the start under Kentucky law.²

Marriages between blood relatives closer than second cousins, including parents and children, siblings, grandparents and grandchildren, aunts and nephews, uncles and nieces, and first cousins. Half-blood counts the same as whole blood.³
Marriages where one party is still legally married to someone else. The prior marriage must be ended by divorce or death before a new license can issue.
Marriages performed without an authorized officiant, or involving a person adjudged mentally disabled.

KRS 402.020 still contains language barring marriage between members of the same sex, but that provision has been unenforceable since Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015. Same-sex couples can obtain a marriage license from any Kentucky county clerk without restriction.⁴

Kentucky does not recognize common-law marriage formed inside the state. Living together and holding yourselves out as married creates no marital status here, no matter how long it goes on, because Kentucky requires a marriage to be solemnized in the presence of an authorized officiant. A common-law marriage validly created in a state that does recognize them will, however, be honored in Kentucky.⁵

How to Get a Marriage License

Both applicants must appear together, in person, at a county clerk’s office. Any county works. Where you live, where you were born, and where you plan to hold the ceremony don’t restrict which clerk can issue the license.⁶

What to Bring

Each person needs a valid government-issued photo ID: a driver’s license, state ID card, or passport. Non-U.S. citizens should bring an original birth certificate along with a passport or other government-issued ID.⁷ Kentucky does not require blood tests, physical exams, or proof of residency.⁶

If you were married before, you generally don’t need to bring the divorce decree. Kentucky clerks typically only ask for ID.⁷ Bring the paperwork anyway if the earlier marriage was recent, because if the clerk’s system flags a prior marriage with no recorded dissolution, you’ll want the answer on hand.

Fee, Timing, and Where the Ceremony Can Happen

The license fee varies by county, but it’s usually around $60 and is non-refundable. The clerk issues the license on the spot. It’s good for 30 days, counting the day of purchase, and if it expires unused you’ll need to buy a new one.⁸

There is no mandatory waiting period between getting the license and holding the ceremony.⁹ The one firm geographic rule: the ceremony has to take place somewhere in Kentucky. A Kentucky license is not usable in another state, though you can get the license in one Kentucky county and marry in a different one.¹⁰

Who Can Perform the Ceremony

KRS 402.050 lists who can legally solemnize a marriage in Kentucky:

Ministers and priests of any denomination in regular communion with a religious society. They do not need to register with the state.
Active and retired justices and judges of the Court of Justice, county judges/executive, and justices of the peace or fiscal court commissioners authorized by the Governor or county judge/executive.
A religious society without an officiating minister may solemnize a marriage at its usual place of worship, by consent given in the presence of the congregation, if one party belongs to the society.

Notaries public are not authorized to perform marriages in Kentucky.¹¹

Online-ordained officiants sit in a gray area. The statute’s “regular communion with any religious society” language doesn’t address online ordination, and Kentucky courts have not issued a definitive ruling. Some county clerks accept these marriages without issue; others may push back. If your officiant was ordained online, call the issuing clerk’s office before the wedding and confirm they’ll record the license, and have a backup plan.¹¹

After the Ceremony

The officiant must sign the license and return it to the issuing county clerk’s office within one month. Returning the license is what puts your marriage on the public record.⁵ An officiant who fails to return it is guilty of a violation under state law.¹² If a few weeks pass and you haven’t received a certified copy of your marriage certificate, follow up with the officiant.

Changing Your Name

Marriage in Kentucky does not change your legal name automatically. If you want to take a spouse’s surname or use a hyphenated name, bring the certified marriage certificate the clerk mails you to your local Social Security office first.⁷ Once Social Security updates your record, you have 10 days to update your Kentucky driver’s license at a Driver Licensing Regional Office.¹³ From there, work through your bank accounts, employer, insurance, voter registration, and passport. Keeping your name is fine, but either way you still need to notify Social Security of the marriage.

When a Marriage Is Void or Can Be Annulled

Kentucky distinguishes between marriages that were void from the start and marriages a court can later declare invalid. A void marriage (a bigamous one, for example) is treated as though it never existed and generally needs no court order. A voidable marriage is legally valid until a court says otherwise.

Marriages are automatically void when they involve close relatives, bigamy, an underage party without required consent, a person adjudged mentally disabled, or the absence of an authorized officiant. A court can also void a marriage obtained through force or fraud, and if duress is involved and the petitioner was a minor at the time, a court can void it on that basis.¹⁴

Under KRS 403.120, a circuit court can declare a marriage invalid when one spouse lacked the physical capacity to consummate the marriage and the other did not know about the incapacity at the time of the ceremony, or when the marriage is otherwise prohibited under state law. Unlike a divorce, an annulment generally restores both parties to their pre-marriage legal status, though the court can still address property division and child custody where needed.¹⁵

Penalties for Breaking the Rules

Kentucky’s marriage penalties reach the couple, the officiant, and the clerk.¹²

Marrying a prohibited relative is a Class B misdemeanor for both parties. Continuing to live together after conviction bumps the charge up to a Class A misdemeanor.
Performing a marriage ceremony while pretending to have legal authority is a Class D felony.
An officiant who knowingly performs a prohibited marriage commits a Class A misdemeanor.
A clerk who knowingly issues a prohibited license commits a Class A misdemeanor and is removed from office.
Impersonating a parent or guardian to help someone obtain a license, or impersonating another person to marry them, is a Class D felony.

1
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes KRS 402.020 – Other Prohibited Marriages
2
Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 402.020 – Other Prohibited Marriages
3
Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 402.010 – Degree of Relationship That Will Bar Marriage
4
Congress.gov. H.R.8404 – Respect for Marriage Act
5
Office of the Attorney General. Kentucky Marriage Law – A Guide for County Clerks
6
Jefferson County Clerk. Marriage License Frequently Asked Questions
7
Franklin County Clerk. Marriage License
8
Christian County, Kentucky. Marriage Licenses
9
Scott County Clerk. Marriage License Overview
10
Robertson County Clerk. Marriage License Information
11
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes KRS 402.050 – Who May Solemnize Marriage – Persons Present
12
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes KRS 402.990 – Penalties
13
Kentucky Justice Online. Name Changes
14
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes KRS 402.030 – Courts May Declare Certain Marriages Void
15
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes KRS 403.120 – Marriage – Court May Declare Invalid