To get a marriage license in Texas, both applicants go together to any county clerk’s office in the state, show valid identification, complete a sworn application, and pay a fee that runs roughly $60 to $80 depending on the county. The license is issued the same day, cannot be used for 72 hours, and expires if you do not marry within 90 days. Texas marriage license requirements do not include a residency test, a blood test, or witnesses at the ceremony, so you can apply in whichever county is convenient.
Who Qualifies to Apply
Both applicants must be at least 18. Anyone younger cannot marry in Texas unless a court has formally removed their disabilities of minority for general purposes, which requires a petition and a judge’s approval; parental consent alone will not do it.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 2.003 – Application for License by Minor
If either person was married before, the divorce must have been final at least 31 days before the new marriage. The one exception is remarriage to the same former spouse, which carries no waiting period.2State of Texas. Texas Family Code 6.801 – Remarriage
Texas voids marriages between close blood or adoptive relatives: parents and children, siblings and half-siblings, and aunts or uncles with their nieces or nephews. First cousins are not on that prohibited list.3State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 6.201 – Consanguinity
Identification You Need to Bring
Each applicant needs one document proving identity and age. The most common accepted forms are:
- A driver’s license or state ID from Texas, another state, or a Canadian province. It can be expired, but not by more than two years.
- A current U.S. passport.
- A current foreign passport or consular document.
- An original or certified birth certificate from a vital statistics office.
- An unexpired military ID (active, reserve, or retired) with a photo.
- A Certificate of Naturalization, Permanent Resident Card, Employment Authorization Card, or similar federal immigration document with a photo.
The statute also allows less common forms of proof, including a pilot’s license, a handgun carry license, a motor vehicle title, and even a two-year-old insurance policy, so check the full list before assuming you cannot apply.4State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 2 – The Marriage Relationship – Section: 2.005
The application itself asks for full legal names, dates and places of birth down to city and county, information about any prior marriages and how they ended, and each applicant’s Social Security number if you have one. You do not need to bring the physical Social Security card.5State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 2 – The Marriage Relationship – Section: 2.004 Both applicants sign the application under oath at the clerk’s window. Providing false information on that form is a criminal offense under Texas Penal Code Section 37.10.6State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 37.10 – Tampering With Governmental Record
Where to Apply and What It Costs
Any Texas county clerk’s office can issue the license, regardless of where you live or where the ceremony will happen. Both applicants must appear together in person (with the limited absent-applicant exception below).
Fees are set at the county level. Dallas County and Travis County each charge $80, and Tarrant County charges $76, with most large counties falling in that $76 to $82 range. Cash, card, and money order acceptance vary by county, so confirm before you go.
The Twogether in Texas Discount
Couples who complete an approved premarital education course of at least eight hours can bring a certificate to the clerk and cut the license fee by roughly $60, dropping the cost into the $16 to $20 range at most counties.7State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 2 – The Marriage Relationship – Section: 2.013 The state’s Twogether in Texas program is the most common way to satisfy that requirement, though other approved courses qualify. The certificate has to reflect a course completed within one year before you apply, and presenting it also waives the 72-hour waiting period.8State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 2.204 – 72-Hour Waiting Period Exceptions
Military Fee Exemptions
Active-duty military members preparing to deploy to a hostile fire zone may qualify for a full fee waiver. Travis County, for example, waives the entire fee for those applicants. The exemption process varies by county, so ask the clerk directly.
The 72-Hour Wait and 90-Day Expiration
Once the clerk hands you the license, you cannot legally marry for 72 hours. After that, you have 90 days to hold the ceremony. If the license expires unused, you start over and pay again.9State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 2 – The Marriage Relationship – Section: 2.201
Four groups skip the 72-hour wait entirely:
- Active-duty members of the U.S. armed forces.
- Civilian employees and contractors of the Department of Defense.
- Applicants who completed an approved premarital course in the past year and present the certificate.
- Applicants who obtain a written waiver from a judge with family-law jurisdiction, a justice of the peace, or another authorized judicial officer for good cause.
The military and DOD exceptions are automatic; no judicial approval is required.8State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 2.204 – 72-Hour Waiting Period Exceptions
If One Applicant Cannot Appear
Texas allows one applicant to be absent from the clerk’s office. The absent person, who must be 18 or older, completes a sworn affidavit with the same personal information the application requires: full legal name, address, date and place of birth, citizenship, and Social Security number. That affidavit must be notarized. The other applicant, or any other adult acting on the absent person’s behalf, brings it to the clerk along with proof of the absent applicant’s identity.10State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 2.006 – Absent Applicant
People who are incarcerated, hospitalized, deployed, or living far from the county of filing use this process regularly. When both applicants need to be absent, the clerk can issue a license only if both are members of the armed forces stationed in another country in support of combat or another military operation, and each must submit a separate notarized affidavit through a separate person appearing in person.10State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 2.006 – Absent Applicant
The absent-applicant affidavit is only available for a formal marriage license. It cannot be used to file a declaration of informal marriage.
Who Can Legally Perform the Ceremony
Texas limits authorized officiants to two categories. The first is religious: licensed or ordained Christian ministers and priests, Jewish rabbis, and officers of any religious organization who are authorized by that organization to conduct marriage ceremonies.11State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 2 – The Marriage Relationship – Section: 2.202 The second is judicial: justices of the Texas Supreme Court, judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals, appellate justices, district and county judges, probate and juvenile court judges, justices of the peace, municipal judges, certain associate judges, and federal judges sitting in Texas. Retired judges qualify if they are vested in a state judicial retirement plan or served at least 12 years on the bench. A judicial officer convicted of a felony loses the authority to perform marriages unless that right has been specifically restored.
After the ceremony, the officiant must return the completed license to the county clerk for recording. If they fail to do so, the marriage is still valid, but the lack of a recorded document can create problems later when you need proof.
Informal Marriage as an Alternative
Texas is one of a small number of states that still recognizes informal, or common law, marriage. An informal marriage carries the same legal rights and obligations as a formal one, but it does not require a license or a ceremony. You can either file a signed declaration of informal marriage with a county clerk, or establish in a legal proceeding that both parties agreed to be married, lived together in Texas as a married couple, and held themselves out to others as married. Both parties must be at least 18, and neither can already be married to someone else.12State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 2 – The Marriage Relationship – Section: 2.401
If a couple separates and no legal proceeding is filed within two years, Texas law presumes no agreement to marry ever existed, which can make proving the marriage difficult after that window closes. For most couples wanting clean legal proof of their status, the formal license process is the more straightforward path.