I’d like to make this funny and interesting. . . but instead, I’m going for straightforward and informative! In Texas, if you want to get legally married, you have to have a marriage license. A marriage license is issued by a county clerk and is good for 89 days. Any ordained officiant can sign it & return it to the county clerk (generally by mail) to indicate that you did indeed get married in the prescribed time.
County Clerk
Here’s the Travis County Marriage License Information Page
You should always visit the webpage of the county clerk where you plan to get your license to make sure that everything I say below still applies! I say this because one thing we learned in the Pandemic of 2020, anything can change! If you aren’t from Travis County, just google the county you are in & marriage license and it will come up!
Waiting Period
You have to wait 72 hours AFTER you receive the license before you can married (with a few exceptions). Long story short, you can’t get a license on Friday and get married on Saturday. You have to wait 3 days.
Marriage License Expiration
On the other hand, a marriage license is only good for 89 from the date it is issued. (Yeah, 89 days—kind of random!) But basically, you have 3 months to use the license once you get it. If it expires before you get married, you have to get a new one.
Signing & Returning
Fun but totally optional here in Texas!
The only person who has to sign the license is your officiant (hopefully me!); in Texas, witnesses are optional and some licenses don’t even have a witness spot. The couple signs the application for the license not the license itself, which has their names printed on it. Your officiant will typically mail the license in for you—so make sure you keep the envelop the county gives you and pass it along to the officiant! Once the county clerk receives it, it is filed & then the original is returned to the couple. This can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks.
What to do if you forget the license!
Scenario 1: You got the license but forgot to bring it to the ceremony.
Breathe—this happens from time to time. It’s usually not a problem —just overnight it to your officiant, she can sign it and mail it.
Scenario 2: You totally forgot you needed a license.
This has only happened to me once. I checked in with the groom before the ceremony & he informed me that they had never gone to get the license! Breathe—this is slightly more complicated but not a disaster. We went forward with the ceremony as planned. After all, everyone was there and this public commitment is the important part! That Monday, the couple went and got a license and on Thursday, we met and I married them in small, short private ceremony and signed the license. Their ceremony date & legal date will be different—but in the end, they are married! I told them they get to celebrate a whole week for their anniversaries!
OK! You did it! You are legally married! What next? Should you keep your name? Should both of you choose a new name? What are you options? Read more here!
