Minnesota Marriage Laws: License, Age, and Restrictions

To marry in Minnesota, both parties must be at least 18, apply for a marriage license at a county registrar’s office for a $125 fee, and have the ceremony performed by an authorized officiant in front of two witnesses. There is no waiting period, and the license stays valid for six months once issued. Minnesota’s marriage laws set out who can marry, who can perform the ceremony, and which marriages the state refuses to recognize at all.

Getting the License

You apply at a local registrar’s office in any Minnesota county. The standard fee is $125. Both parties bring proof of age, usually a driver’s license, state ID, or passport. If one party cannot appear in person, the other can complete the application on their behalf, but the absent party has to sign a notarized statement verifying the information and submit a copy of their proof of age before the registrar will release the license.¹

The five-day waiting period was eliminated in 2016, so the license is available as soon as the registrar approves the application. It is good for six months. If illness or another serious circumstance keeps you from using it in that window, you can return it to the registrar for cancellation and get a replacement at no additional charge.¹

A registrar who knowingly issues a license improperly can be held personally liable to the affected parties for up to $1,000.¹

Cutting the Fee With Premarital Education

Couples who complete at least 12 hours of premarital education pay $50 for the license instead of $125. The course must include a premarital inventory and cover communication and conflict management skills. It has to be provided by a licensed or ordained minister (or their designee), someone else authorized to perform marriages under Minnesota law, or a licensed marriage and family therapist, and the provider must be at least 21.¹

To claim the discount, you submit a signed and notarized educator’s statement when you apply. The statement must include specific language confirming that both parties completed the required hours and content. The $75 savings often exceeds the cost of the course itself, so it is worth planning ahead.

Who Can Perform the Ceremony

For a marriage to be legally valid in Minnesota, it has to be solemnized by an authorized person in the presence of two witnesses. Any marriage performed after April 26, 1941, that skipped those requirements is void.² There is one safety valve: if one or both parties genuinely believed the officiant was authorized, the marriage still stands even if the officiant technically was not.

Licensed and ordained ministers of any denomination are recognized as authorized officiants. The statute also includes specific provisions for several religious traditions. Members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) may solemnize marriages in the form customary to their meetings, with the meeting clerk filing the certificate with the local registrar within one month. Baha’i marriages may be solemnized by the chair of an incorporated local Spiritual Assembly. Hindu and Muslim marriages may be performed by a person chosen by a local Hindu or Muslim association according to their respective traditions. American Indian marriages may be solemnized by a Mide’ or holy person chosen by the couple.³

After the ceremony, the officiant signs and files the marriage certificate with the local registrar. An officiant who neglects the filing forfeits up to $100, and the same penalty applies to a registrar who fails to record the certificate.⁴ Delayed filing can hold up certified copies, which you will need for anything requiring proof of the marriage.

The Age Rule

You must be at least 18 to marry in Minnesota. There are no exceptions for parental consent, judicial approval, or any other circumstance.⁵ Minnesota used to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to marry with parental or court approval, but the legislature ended that on August 1, 2020.⁶

The ban extends past the state line. A Minnesota resident who is under 18 cannot avoid the rule by traveling elsewhere to marry: Minnesota will not recognize the marriage. The only exception is when neither party was a Minnesota resident at the time of the wedding.⁷

Marriages Minnesota Will Not Allow

Some marriages are void from the start in Minnesota, regardless of whether a ceremony took place:

Bigamous marriages. You cannot marry while an earlier marriage is still legally in effect. The prior marriage must be ended by final divorce decree or annulment first.
Marriages between close relatives. This covers ancestor and descendant, siblings including half-siblings, uncle or aunt with niece or nephew, and first cousins. The bar applies whether the relationship is by blood or adoption.
Marriages where both parties are under 18.

One narrow exception exists: marriages between first cousins are permitted when allowed by the established customs of aboriginal cultures.⁷

Minnesota also has a specific rule for adults with developmental disabilities who are under the guardianship or certain conservatorships of the Commissioner of Human Services. They may marry with the commissioner’s written consent, which the commissioner must grant unless an investigation shows the marriage is not in the person’s best interest.⁷

No License, No Marriage

A marriage performed without a license in Minnesota is null and void. The statute is blunt: any marriage after April 26, 1941, that was not contracted with a license, two witnesses, and an authorized officiant has no legal effect.² That means no spousal inheritance rights, no authority to make medical decisions for each other, no access to employer-sponsored spousal benefits. If you held a ceremony but skipped the license, the state treats it as though the marriage never happened.

Minnesota also does not recognize common law marriage formed within the state. Common law marriage was abolished in 1941, and the statute explicitly requires a license, two witnesses, and an authorized officiant.² Living together and holding yourselves out as married, no matter how long, does not create a legal marriage here.

Marriages From Other States and Countries

Minnesota generally recognizes marriages that were valid under the law of the state or country where they took place. If you married legally somewhere else and then moved to Minnesota, your marriage carries over.⁸

There are hard limits. Minnesota will not recognize:

Polygamous marriages. Even where polygamy was legal, only the first marriage is recognized in the United States.
Marriages involving a Minnesota-resident minor. If a Minnesota resident under 18 traveled out of state to marry, the marriage is void here.
Marriages that would be prohibited under Section 517.03. Bigamous and incestuous marriages remain invalid regardless of where the ceremony took place.

The federal Respect for Marriage Act, passed in 2022, prohibits states from refusing to recognize an out-of-state marriage based on the race, sex, ethnicity, or national origin of the parties.⁷

1
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Section 517.08 – Application for License
2
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 517 – Marriage
3
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Section 517.18 – Civil Marriage Solemnization
4
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Section 517.13 – Penalty for Failure to File Certificate
5
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Section 517.02 – Persons Capable of Contracting
6
Minnesota House of Representatives. Marriage by Minors Prohibited
7
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Section 517.03 – Prohibited Civil Marriages
8
LawHelpMN. Immigrants, Marriage and Divorce in Minnesota