Marriage License

If you desire to be married by a judge or court commissioner, please contact that person directly.    Any supreme court, circuit court, or municipal judge, or any court commissioner may perform civil wedding ceremonies in the state of Wisconsin.  Our office handles only the issuance of the marriage license.  We do not schedule the civil ceremony. 

You may choose any civil officaint from the following list if you wish to be married by a judge or court commissioner.

Civil Wedding Officiant List

Before applying for a marriage license, please make arrangements with a judge or court commissioner as to the date, time and place of the ceremony. After applying for the license, notify the judge or court commissioner that you have in fact applied and have the license. The couple is then responsible for bringing the license with them to the ceremony.  The name of the person performing the ceremony and the time and place of the wedding must be known before applying for the marriage license.

Wedding officiants (including officiants that are ordained online) do not need to register with this office in order to perform ceremonies here in Dane County. Please provide the couple with your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address, so that they can provide this information at the time of application.

More Information

Arrangement for the wedding must be set PRIOR to applying for a marriage license. (Legally a ceremony consists of five (5) people - the couple, the officiant and 2 witnesses). When you apply, you will need to provide the date and location of the ceremony (County and City/Town/Village the ceremony will take place) as well as the officiant's name, address, e-mail address, and phone number.

All marriage license applications hold a 3 day waiting period from the date of application.  Your license will be issued on the 4th calendar day from the date of application and is valid for 60 days.  You may apply for a waiver of the 3 day waiting period for an additional $25 fee.  The request/payment of the waiver grants the use of the license on the date of application.

Example:   Apply for your license on July 1, 2022.  Your license is then valid (issue date) on July 5, 2022.  Request and pay for the waiver of the 3 day waiting period and your license then becomes valid immediately on the date of application (July 1, 2022).

NOTE:   To avoid paying the waiver fee, schedule the appointment for your marriage license well in advance of your wedding date.  Keep in mind that our appointment calendar fills up rather quickly from the month of May through October.  Scheduling a minimum of 2-3 weeks in advance of the wedding date will help eliminate the need for a waiver.

Any and all applications made less than 4 days in advance of the ceremony will be charged the waiver fee, there are no exceptions.  Please plan and schedule your appointments accordingly.  

License fee is $120.  Credit or debit cards are accepted. Payment is due at the time of application and is non-refundable.

Each of the required documents will be uploaded into our scheduling program (pdf and jpeg files seem to work best).  Have the electronic documents available prior to going through the scheduling process.

EACH PERSON MUST PROVIDE:

1. Photo I.D. and Social Security number (we DO NOT need the Social Security Card). If the applicant does not have a Social Security number the space will be marked with “none”.

2. A document showing your current physical address.  For example: a driver’s license if it contains your current address, lease, utility bill or bank statement. You must also know whether you live in a city, village or township and the county where you reside.

3. A certified copy of your birth record issued by the state or county where you were born. Birth record must be legible, not tattered and torn. The hospital birth certificate is not acceptable. An electronic scan of the certified birth records is acceptable, photocopies of the birth record are NOT acceptable.

   **If, and only if, your birth records are unobtainable, you MAY substitute a passport, license or identification card that meets the REAL ID requirements, permanent resident card, or naturalization papers, but a birth certificate is always preferred when obtainable.**

   You must know how to correctly spell both of your parents' full names – including mother’s FULL maiden name.

4. If previously married, we must see proof of how the last marriage ended - a judgment of divorce (in WI the court document is called "Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, Judgment of Divorce"), a legal annulment or divorce/death certificate pertaining to the most recent marriage. A printout from CCAP is not acceptable. Divorced persons may not remarry until six months after the granting of the judgment of divorce regardless of which state the action took place.

5. The legal age for marriage in Wisconsin is 18. If an applicant is 16 or 17 years of age a consent form needs to be signed by both parents or guardians before the County Clerk.

6. If one or both of the applicants do not speak English, a third party needs to be present to interpret at the time of application. Couples cannot translate for each other.  We are able to provide appointments in Spanish.  You will see this as an option at the time of scheduling your appointment.