Can You Get Married the Same Day? Courthouse Waiting Periods, State by State

People search for "same day marriage" for a simple reason: they want to walk into a courthouse, get a license, and get married before they leave. Whether that is possible depends on two separate things that get mixed up constantly. First, your state's marriage license waiting period, which is set by state law. Second, whether the court or clerk in your county actually performs ceremonies, and whether they take walk-ins or require an appointment. You need both to line up for a true same-day wedding.

The two-step problem

Getting legally married is two transactions. The license is the paperwork, issued by a county clerk or recorder, and this is where waiting periods live. The ceremony is the solemnization, performed by a judge, a clerk, or any officiant your state recognizes. Some clerk offices do both across the counter. Others issue licenses but stopped performing ceremonies entirely, so you walk out licensed but unmarried until you find an officiant.

Two examples from our own listings: Milwaukee County has suspended courthouse ceremonies until further notice, and the county clerks around Nashville no longer perform ceremonies at all. In both places you can still get a license quickly. You just cannot get married at the counter.

Waiting periods in the states we cover

These are the license waiting periods for the states behind our 40 metros. A waiting period means the license is not valid until that much time has passed after issuance. Several of our metros cross state lines, and the rule that binds you is the one in the state whose clerk issues the license, not the one you live in. Laws change and some counties add their own procedures, so treat this as orientation and confirm with the clerk you plan to use.

• No waiting period: Indiana, Missouri, Colorado, Arizona, Georgia, Tennessee, Nevada, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, California, Utah, and the District of Columbia. License in hand, you can marry the same day. Colorado goes further than any other state: couples can solemnize their own marriage with no officiant at all. The District repealed its waiting period outright in 2014, and a DC license never expires. A California license is good for 90 days, a Utah license for 32.
• New York: 24 hours, counted from the exact time on the license rather than from the calendar day. A judge or justice of the state Supreme Court, or the county judge where either of you lives, can waive it by order. The license is valid for 60 calendar days beginning the day after it is issued.
• Louisiana: 24 hours between the time the license is issued and the ceremony. Judges of the First or Second City Courts can waive it for Louisiana residents, but only during their Monday to Friday hours. If you both live outside Louisiana and marry in Orleans Parish with an officiant registered there, that officiant can waive it instead. The license works in any parish and expires at midnight 30 days after it is issued.
• Illinois: the license takes effect the day after it is issued, unless a court orders it effective immediately. Get the license Thursday, marry Friday. It expires 60 days after it takes effect.
• Maryland: the license is not effective until 6 a.m. on the second calendar day after it is issued, so plan on a 48-hour gap. A circuit court judge in the county where you applied can shorten that for good cause, but only if one of you meets the residency or military conditions in the statute. The license is good for six months.
• Texas: 72 hours after issuance, waived for active-duty military and waivable by a judge.
• Wisconsin: 3 days between application and issuance, waivable for a fee at the clerk's discretion.
• Kansas: 3 days. The Missouri side of the Kansas City metro has none, which is why Kansas City couples in a hurry cross State Line Road.
• Pennsylvania: 3 days, waivable by a court order.
• Washington: 3 days, counted from the date of application rather than issuance, and no standard waiver. The license goes void if you do not marry within 60 days of issuance.
• Massachusetts: 3 days between filing your notice of intention and the license becoming usable. A court can waive it with a Marriage Without Delay order, which runs $195 in filing fees. The license expires 60 days after the date you applied.
• Oregon: the license takes effect 3 days after you sign the application. The county clerk can waive that without a judge, and the fee is small: Multnomah County, which covers Portland, charges $5 on top of its $60 license. The license is good for 60 days after it takes effect.
• Michigan: 3 days counting the day you apply. Any county clerk can hand you the license immediately for good cause, and each county board sets its own waiver fee. The Detroit-area clerks in our listings all publish $10. The license goes void if you do not marry within 33 days of applying.
• Florida: 3 days for Florida residents unless they complete a premarital course. Non-residents have no wait, which makes Tampa, Orlando and Miami same-day metros for out-of-state couples.

Two $25 ceremonies worth knowing about

New York City is the surprise. The Office of the City Clerk charges $25 for a ceremony at any of its five borough marriage bureaus, on top of a $35 license, so the entire legal transaction costs $60 in the most expensive city in the country. Appointments are booked online through Project Cupid and there are no walk-ins, so the booking queue, not the 24-hour wait, is usually what sets your date.

Baltimore is the other one. All six circuit courts in our Baltimore metro charge exactly $25 for the ceremony: Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Anne Arundel, Howard, Harford and Carroll. The license is where they diverge, from $35 in Carroll and Baltimore County up to $85 in Baltimore City. Maryland has you get the license from the clerk in the county where you plan to marry, so the courthouse you pick sets the total.

Las Vegas is same-day by design

Nevada has no waiting period, the Clark County Marriage License Bureau is open every day of the year into the evening, and the chapels lining the Strip exist to perform ceremonies on demand. This is the one metro where the entire market is built around walking in and getting married within the hour, and it is why 17 of our Las Vegas listings are chapels with published rate cards.

What a same-day courthouse wedding costs

Budget three numbers: the marriage license (roughly $20 to $120 depending on the county), the ceremony fee if the court performs one, and a waiver fee if you are buying your way out of a waiting period. The ceremony fee is the one that moves. Several probate courts around Atlanta and the St. Louis city court perform ceremonies for free, most clerk offices in our listings sit between $10 and $75, and Texas justices of the peace and a handful of big-city courts run into the low hundreds. The courthouse listings in the table below link to each court's own fee page, so check the specific court rather than budgeting off a range.

How to actually pull it off

• Call the clerk first and ask two questions. Do you perform ceremonies, and do I need an appointment? Do not assume walk-ins are taken even where ceremonies are offered. Some courts do ceremonies two mornings a week, or require booking days out.
• Bring what the license requires. Both partners in person with government photo ID is nearly universal. Some counties want certified copies of divorce decrees if either of you was married before. Check payment types: some counters are still cash or money order only.
• Check witness rules. Some states require one or two witnesses, and not every court supplies them. Bringing a friend solves it everywhere.
• If your state has a wait, use it as a two-trip plan. License on Monday, ceremony Thursday or Friday is still one of the cheapest, lowest-stress weddings available, and you can spend the gap booking a park pavilion for the party.