Pennsylvania Marriage License Guide

The license is the one piece of paperwork that makes a wedding legal, and Pennsylvania keeps it refreshingly simple. Here is how to get one if you are marrying in Montgomery County, where the estate sits, including the rules that catch couples off guard.

Where to apply

In Pennsylvania, marriage licenses are issued by the Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court in any county courthouse. You can apply in any Pennsylvania county and use the license anywhere in the state, so you are not tied to the county where you are marrying. For a wedding at the estate, the local office is the Montgomery County Register of Wills in Norristown.

One thing to keep in mind: a Pennsylvania license only works for a wedding held in Pennsylvania.

How to apply in Montgomery County

Montgomery County lets you complete the whole application online and then finish it over a short WebEx video call. The two of you can even join that call from different locations. Walk-in applications at the Norristown office are welcome too. You receive the license by email at the end of the video conference, and appointments are generally not required for a standard application.

What it costs

The Montgomery County license fee is $85, and that includes one certified copy of your marriage record for your files. Check the county's current payment instructions when you apply so you have the right method ready.

The three-day wait

Pennsylvania has a mandatory three-day waiting period. Your license is not valid until three days after it is issued, so do not apply the week of the wedding. Once issued, the license stays valid for 60 days, which is the window you have to hold the ceremony. The sweet spot is applying somewhere between two and six weeks out. There is an emergency waiver of the three-day wait, but it requires documentation and a judge, so plan not to need it.

What to bring

• Both of you, in person or on the video call
• One government-issued photo ID each (driver's license, passport, or similar)
• If either of you was married before, the divorce decree or death certificate from the most recent marriage

Pennsylvania does not require a blood test or a physical exam, and a standard license application does not need witnesses.

The self-uniting option

Pennsylvania offers a self-uniting license, rooted in Quaker tradition, that lets a couple marry without any officiant at all. Instead of an officiant's signature, you and two witnesses sign the license. It is popular with couples who want a friend to lead the ceremony without ordination, or who simply want to marry each other in their own words. Montgomery County issues these. Confirm the current fee and any added requirements with the office when you apply.

Who can marry you

Pennsylvania lets judges, magisterial district judges, mayors, and the ministers, priests, and rabbis of an established congregation solemnize a marriage. Religious societies can also marry members under their own rules, which is the basis for the self-uniting license. Whoever officiates, the one hard rule is that you must have your license in hand before the ceremony.

After the wedding

Your officiant signs the completed license and returns it to the issuing office, generally within ten days of the ceremony. That return is what puts the marriage on the public record. Your first certified copy is included in the fee, and you can request additional copies later from the Register of Wills.

The short version

Apply two to six weeks out, bring photo ID and any prior-marriage paperwork, budget $85, and remember the three-day wait. Rules do change, so confirm the current details on the Montgomery County Register of Wills page before you go. Once the license is handled, the only thing left is the part you will actually remember.