License to Get Married
If you are planning to marry in Connecticut, you must obtain a marriage license from the vital records office of the town where the marriage will take place.
What Are the Eligibility Requirements for Marriage?
Any two persons may marry in Connecticut so long as both parties to the marriage meet Connecticut’s eligibility requirements
A person is eligible to marry if such person is:
- Not a party to another marriage, or a legal relationship that provides substantially the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as a marriage, or one of the following exceptions are met:
- the person is joined in a civil union and such person marries their civil union partner; or
- the person is joined in another type of legal relationship that is substantially similar to a marriage, and such person marries the partner of such other relationship.
- At least 18 years old.
- Not under the supervision or control of a conservator, or the following exception is met:
- the person is under the supervision or control of a conservator and such person has received written consent to marry from their conservator.
- Not prohibited from marrying pursuant to section C.G.S. § 46b-21. C.G.S. § 46-21 prohibits persons from marrying their parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, sibling, parent’s sibling, sibling’s child, stepparent or stepchild.
What Do I Need to Do to Get a Marriage License?
To apply for a marriage license, you and your spouse-to-be must appear in person at the local vital records office of the town where your marriage will occur. The marriage license is issued to ensure that you and your spouse-to-be are eligible to be married.
You will need to complete the marriage license application, provide identification and make a sworn statement that the information that you provide is true. You no longer need to have a blood test to obtain a marriage license in Connecticut.
Following the ceremony, the marriage officiator will submit the license to the registrar of vital records of the town where the marriage took place. The license will be filed in the official marriage records of Connecticut. Once registered, the marriage license becomes a vital record and is referred to as a marriage certificate.
Who is Eligible to Perform Marriages in Connecticut?
- Judges and retired judges, including federal judges and judges of other states;
- Family support magistrates, family support referees, state referees and justices of the peace who are appointed in Connecticut; and
- Ordained or licensed members of the clergy, belonging to this state or any other state, including persons who have been ordained through online ministries and who are given the authority to officiate marriages through such ministries.
Marriage and Civil Union Certificates
Getting Married?
If you are planning to marry in Connecticut, you must obtain a marriage license from the vital records office of the town where the marriage will take place. There is a $50.00 fee for each marriage license. Payment must be submitted to the town at the time the marriage license is issued (see License to Get Married).
Already Married?
Once you are married, the marriage license is filed at the vital records office of the town where the marriage occurred. After the document is filed, it is referred to as a marriage certificate.
To obtain a certified copy of a marriage certificate, you must submit your request to the vital records office of the town where the marriage occurred, or the town(s) where the parties to the marriage resided at the time of the marriage, or the State Vital Records Office.
Who Can Request A Certified Copy Of A Marriage Certificate?
A certified copy of a marriage certificate may be purchased for a fee by anyone who is at least 18 years old. All information on the marriage certificate is available to the requester, except the social security numbers of the spouses. Copies of marriage certificates that include the spouse’s social security numbers will only be issued to the parties to the marriage. If you are requesting a copy of the marriage certificate with the social security numbers on the certificate, you will need to provide proof of identity that you are one of the parties named on the marriage certificate.
Checklist for Obtaining a Certified Copy of a Marriage Certificate
☐ Complete the application
☐ Order your vital records online (additional fees may apply) through VitalChek, or
☐ Complete the State application and mail your order in to the State Vital Records office, or
☐ Complete the Town application and mail your order in to the town of occurrence
☐ Include the applicable fee
What Are the Current Laws Related to Civil Unions?
Connecticut’s civil union laws were enacted on October 1, 2005, allowing same sex couples to enter into a legal union which provided the same benefits, protections and responsibilities under state law as those granted by marriage. Following the legalization of same sex marriage in Connecticut, the civil union laws were repealed on October 1, 2010. As of that date, couples can no longer enter into civil unions in Connecticut and all existing civil unions have converted to marriage, unless proceedings for dissolution, annulment or legal separation had been initiated prior to October 1, 2010.
Individuals who request a copy of a civil union certificate for a ceremony performed between October 1, 2005 and September 30, 2010, will receive a certified copy that contains the following conversion statement:
“The persons named on this certificate entered into a civil union on the date recorded. In accordance with C.G.S. §46B-38rr, all civil unions converted to marriages on October 1, 2010, except those that were dissolved, or had dissolution, annulment or legal separation proceedings pending on October 1, 2010.”
In the alternative, the parties to the civil union can request that the civil union certificate be converted to a marriage certificate.
How Do I Convert a Civil Union Certificate to a Marriage Certificate?
Only the parties to the civil union may request that the civil union certificate be converted to a marriage certificate. The civil union must have been in effect on October 1, 2010. A civil union that was dissolved or in the process of dissolution on October 1, 2010, does not convert to marriage.
In order to convert the civil union certificate to a marriage certificate, at least one of the parties to the civil union must affirm that the civil union was not dissolved, nor pending dissolution, on October 1, 2010. Complete the Conversion Request Form and submit it to the vital records office of the town where the civil union took place.
For information on divorces, click here.
For information on obtaining a no record of marriage certificate, click here.
For information on how to request an amendment to the sex designator on a marriage certificate, click here.
Source: CT DEPT OF HEALTH License to Get Married
