Marriage license timing: waiting periods and expiration in 14 states

Fourteen states

Checked in October 2026 on the official pages listed below. Several of these are county pages, because some state sites could not be opened. Rules and exceptions change, so check again before you apply.

The two ways it goes wrong

• Too early: the license expires before the ceremony. Thirty days in Hawaii and 35 in Colorado are shorter than they sound.
• Too late: the waiting period has not passed on your wedding day.

A timing that works in all fourteen

Getting the license about three weeks before the wedding clears every waiting period above and stays inside every validity window, including the short ones. In states where the license lasts 60 days or more, a month before works too.

Two details change the plan. In Washington the statute counts the three days from the application while King County counts them from the day the license is issued, so ask your county auditor. And several states tie the license to a place: Illinois to the issuing county, New Jersey and Georgia to the ceremony location when neither of you lives in the state.

Eloping or marrying away from home

• Nevada, Hawaii, Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina and California have no waiting period, which is why a short trip works there.
• Hawaii has no residency or citizenship requirement, but you both pick up the license in person before the ceremony.
• A license only works in the state that issued it. A Nevada license used elsewhere does not make a legal marriage.

Questions for your county clerk

• Do we both need to come in person, and do we need an appointment?
• Which ID and documents do we bring?
• What is the fee, and how can we pay?
• When does the waiting period start, and when does the license expire?
• Is the license valid in the whole state or only in this county?
• Who may officiate, and do we need witnesses?
• Who returns the signed license, and how do we order certified copies?