To get a marriage license applicants must be at least 18 years old. Inorder to receive a license at 16 or 17 years old parental consent is required. Under 16 applicants must have parent's consent/consent of a judge, and proven pregnancy may apply, depending on the age & situation. Both applicants must appear in person at the time of application.
IDENTIFICATION: Applicants must provide a picture-type I.D., with date of birth shown. (Driver's license, passport, student I.D. card).
PRIOR MARRIAGES: If either party was married before, and the marriages ended in divorce, the applicant is required to provide the date, state & county where the divorce took place. A copy of the final judgment of divorce will suffice also.
TIME LIMIT: The license must be used within sixty (60), days from the "effective date".
Effective date criteria:
If both parties are Florida residents they must both attend a premarital class and present certification of that attendance to the marriage clerk at the time of application. There is no waiting period. If no class is attended, there is a three (3) day waiting period (from the date of issue), before the marriage ceremony may take place.
If only one of the couple is a Florida resident and the Florida resident takes the course, there is no waiting period.
If both parties are out of state residents, there is no waiting period.
COST: A marriage license costs $93.50. The exception is if both parties are Florida residents, have both provided proof of a premarital class the cost is then $61.00.
RECORDING OF LICENSE: After the marriage, the person who performed the ceremony must return the license, within 10 days, to the marriage license section, where it will then be recorded in the Official Records. Until that license is received, there is no record of the marriage. After recordation, a certified copy will be returned to the newlyweds, by mail. The original license is sent to the OFFICE OF VITAL STATISTICS in Jacksonville.
The "Family Law Handbook" is required reading as per Florida Statute 741. Both parties must read the booklet and sign an "Affidavit of Compliance", stating that they have done so. If you read the handbook, and complete the affidavit (except for the signature), and bring it with you to when you apply for your license, it will speed up the process. The "Bride and Groom Information Sheet" also should be completed and brought with you. Only the "name and address" information is used to prepare the license. The additional information is collected by the Florida Vital Statistics office for statistical purposes only. For more information contact the County Clerk's Office.
Laws are subject to change so please check with the County Clerk to make sure that everything is done properly.
This is the address for the Collier County Clerk's Office:
The Clerk of the Circuit Court Office
3301 Tamiami Trail East
PO Box 413044
Naples, FL 34101-3044
Ph: 239-732-2646
