Friday, May 20, 2011

Getting a Marriage License in Arizona

Awhile back this little notice came up on my Knot wedding checklist....


Time to research how to go about obtaining our license to wed. 
Since we are getting married in Arizona, our local requirements are those of the state of Arizona obviously, so these guidelines won't pertain to you unless you are also getting married in Arizona... 
But depending on where you are getting married they might be similar.
And it's good information to be thinking about regardless... 

***
Thanks to the Graham County website, I learned a few important facts about an Arizona marriage license:
  • You do not have to obtain your license in the county where you are getting married! In Arizona you can get the license in any county and it's good anywhere throughout the entire state!
    Good to know because the county seat of the place where we are getting married... It's um... about 2 hours away from the wedding location... And a good four or so hours from where we live. So a quick trip to the courthouse would have been a weekend trip if that had been the case! 
  • Both parties need to be there, in person, to apply for and receive a marriage license. This seemed obvious to me and it might to you to. But when I told Mr. M we could get our license here in town, he was all, "OK, just go get it sometime then..." Um... No. You gotta come too silly. :)
  • No need for a blood test or a waiting period.
    Phew!!! Blood is never a good sign for a wedding... haha. 
  • The application fee is $72 in AZ.
    BUT... An interesting fact I just learned thanks to the Arizona Wedding Blog... That $72 ONLY gets you the license. To obtain a certified copy of the license (paperwork you have to have in order to legally change your name) you've got to pay $98.50! Glad I read that before heading to the local courthouse... It would have been embarrassing to have to leave license-less because we didn't bring enough mullah! 
  • After you're married, your officiant needs to sign and return it to your county clerk's office to be recorded. Apparently, they provide you with a pre-addressed envelope for that purpose.
So there you have it... How to go about obtaining an Arizona marriage license!
Now to figure out a day when both Mr. M and I can go get one. 

Did you encounter any problems getting your marriage license? 
Are your local requirements similar or completely different from AZ's?
I'd love to hear from you!!

P.S. On a different note...

HAPPY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION DAY 
to my SISTER, KAYLI!!!
Who is also my MAID OF HONOR!!! 
WHOOT WHOOT!!!

5 comments:

Karen said...

Kassi- Thanks for stopping by my blog:) You must be getting VERY excited for your wedding day!! Congrats!!

Shay said...

You have such an adorable blog!

My hubby and I got our license almost 4 years ago in AZ and I don't remember any of this- HA! I had a mini panic attack that we didn't do it right...congrats on your upcoming marriage!

Nicole-Lynn said...

Sounds easy enough! I actually think it's TOO easy here in Florida. I think they should make it harder to get married (I know that's kinda weird to say), but it's just so easy for people to get married.. it's a strange thing. And that divorce should be a lot harder to file for! :)

We were able to get our license at a great deal, $30 something since we took our pre marital course.

p.s. don't forget to take a pic of you two there holding up the license! :)

Jessa said...

That's a pretty expensive marriage license! We determined which state we got married in by the marriage license requirements. IL licenses were cheaper and available for use the next day for say $30 and only required valid photo ID. WI licenses were over $50, not available for use for 7 days (unless you wanted to pay another $50ish) and I think we needed a birth certificate as well as photo ID. It's so crazy how different each state is. In Montana you don't even have to be in the state to get married; we almost did that because he was in Korea.

A. Lawson said...

the copies they gave me here in kansas were UGLY. you picture yourself getting a pretty piece of paper like a certificate or something...but not in kansas. it looks just like the application we filled out but with the answers typed in. best of luck to you!!!!

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