Don't Forget to Read The Marriage License Laws

Marriage license laws are in place for several reasons. Originally, marriage licenses were utilized to be certain that no one entered into marriage in the absence of meeting all legal requirements.

In fact, marriage license laws originally prohibited marriage for any individual that was not white. Later, marriage license laws forbid states from granting licenses to interracial marriages. However, couples of every race can now be found legally applying for a marriage license.

Originally, marriage license laws were prohibitive to any non white couples found to be applying for a marriage license. However, the Federal government later enacted laws that simply made marriage licenses a requirement for couples that wished to be legally married.

In fact, current marriage license laws are not as prohibitive as they were in the past. Currently, there are few requirements for couples applying for a marriage license.


In most states, couples applying for a marriage license, must be over the age of eighteen and must be an opposite sex couple. However, some states do allow same sex couples to legally wed, but that marriage is not likely to be recognized by other states, unless they have similar marriage laws.

In addition, same sex couples receive no federal rights as a result of their relationship due to the enactment of the Defense of marriage Act on a federal level. Some states have failed to enact DOMA and currently allow same sex marriages.

In addition, many states have laws that prohibit the granting of marriage licenses for couples that are closely related by blood and in some cases, couples cannot be related at all. Marriage license laws usually also require that each intended spouse be at least eighteen years of age.

Applying for a marriage license is possible if intended spouse are under that age, if individuals are granted parental approval. In addition, intended spouse will likely need to demonstrate that they are mentally capable of understanding and accepting the marriage contract. If any of these factors are in doubt, the courthouse may ask for addition proof.


Applying for a marriage license requires couples to provide necessary documentation as prescribed by their state's marriage license laws. In general, couples can obtain the required documentation rather easily.

However, couples should be sure to pay attention to their state's specific requirements as each state has varied requirements and fees. Those requirements include differing waiting periods and expiration times for marriage licenses. In general, couples will have all necessary documentation readily available.