Getting our Marriage License

I know we are still a few months away from the wedding, but I decided I should get a head start on looking into marriage licenses. I wasn't sure if I needed to get the license here in Louisiana and take it with me to Michigan, or if I had to get it in Michigan, even though we don't reside there.

I started my search on the St. Tammany Parish Clerk of Court website. (Random side note: In Louisiana we have Parishes, not Counties.)

screen shot from the Clerk of Court website

It's pretty small, but there on the left, the 16th option down (or second from the bottom) says "Marriage Licenses."  When you click there it brings up all of the information you would need to get married in St. Tammany Parish.

That first paragraph under "Requirements for Obtaining a Marriage License" was all I needed to see. It says:

"A marriage license may be issued in any parish in Louisiana, regardless of where the marriage is to be performed, or where the parties reside. Marriage ceremonies must take place in Louisiana. Marriages are recorded in the parish where the license was issued."

Looks like we will need to get a marriage license in Michigan.  Over to their County Clerk website:

Screen shot from the Saginaw County Clerk website

Down at the bottom right hand side:

Once there you see this:

I clicked on Death & Marriage before reading the whole list.  It wasn't the right place. So I clicked on just Marriage License, and this came up:

This shows the requirements for getting a license in Michigan. The parts that apply to me are:  "Non residents must be married in the count where they make application" and "The fee is $30 for out-of-state residents".

I'm kind of paranoid, so I called to confirm all of this with a lady in the clerks office. She confirmed and told me that I could apply for our license ONLINE!  Really?  Sweet! That makes things SO much easier!

I went back to the main clerks page and sure enough down on the bottom left I saw this:

After clicking there you come to this page:

Basically it givesyou a list of what you need for getting a marriage license in Michigan. I need both our social security numbers (check! both are memorized!), and a drivers license or certified birth certificate for both of us.  (check and check!)  We are both over 18, so no parental consent needed, and seeing how my divorce was a few years ago, we don't need any support documentation. Although, I do have it if they should require it later on.   Looks like we are good to go!

You need to fill out this form with all of your information, then click submit!  I am not sure what happens after that because the license is only good for 30 days.  That is, of course, after a 3 day wait.

It seems very easy, and very convienent! Just one less thing I need to worry about how I will get it done being so far away! I probably wont apply until the first week of September, and then we can just pick it up once we are in Michigan.

Was getting your marriage license easy?  Does your county/parish have an option to apply online?