Apply For A Marriage License


How to Apply

You and the person you would like to marry, need to come into our office together to fill out Marriage Intention paperwork 

You will need to come into the office at least 3 days before your intended marriage date, but not more than 60 days before

Court waivers to the three-day waiting period may be obtained at the Woburn District Court or the Probate Court in Cambridge. Couples must first complete their Intention of Marriage paperwork then obtain a letter from the Town Clerk to bring to the Court.

Information and Items you will need to apply for a Marriage License:

  • Valid Government Issued Identification (Driver’s License or Passport)
  • If you have a social security number, you will need to know the number, but do not need the card
  • The fee to apply for a Marriage License is $35, payable by Cash, Check or Card.  If you pay by card, you will be assessed an additional $2.95 service fee.  This fee also includes one certified copy of your marriage certificate, once you have been legally married.
  • If either of you have been married before, you will need to know the month and year that your last marriage legally ended.  You will also need to know how many times, if any, you have been married before, including any over-seas marriages.
  • You will need to know your parent’s First, Middle and Last Names along with their maiden names.

Prior to getting married and picking up your marriage license, we will need to know:

  1. What date you are getting married
  2. What Massachusetts Town/City you will be married in (Licenses are only good for Ceremonies conducted in Massachusetts)
  3. The name of the person who will perform your marriage (Priest, Justice of the Peace or other person recognized by the State to perform marriages).  If you are utilizing a One Day Solemnizer to perform your ceremony, then we will need the ORIGINAL One Day Solemnizer Certificate that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has issued.


After Filing your Marriage Intention Paperwork

  • You will receive an email from our office with a typed document containing the information you provided for your marriage license.  The information will be on a blank sheet of paper.  You will need to verify that all the information is correct.   If any changes need to be made, please respond to the email with any corrections.  This is the one time you can make corrections to the license, without any additional fees.  If everything is correct, please just respond to the email indicating is it correct.
  • We will tell you once your license will be available for pickup from our office
  • Once the Marriage License has been picked up from our office, you will take it to the officiant (Priest, Justice of the Peace, etc.) who will perform your ceremony.  After your ceremony, the officiant will complete the Marriage License (instructions are provided with the license.
  • The completed Marriage License needs to be returned to the Town Clerk’s Office for processing.  The License can be mailed back to our office or it can physically be dropped off in person.
  • Once we receive the completed Marriage License, we will process the License and provide you with one Marriage Certificate.  We will mail this certificate to you.  If you need additional copies, they are available for $15 each and can be purchased online via our Town Website or in person from the Clerk’s Office.
  • Please note your Marriage Certificates will always be available in Burlington, MA and will not follow you to another Town/City or State if you move.

Copies

Certified copies of Marriage Certificate must be obtained from the city/town where the intentions were filed or from the State Registry of Vital Statistics.  The fee for a certified Marriage Certificate in Burlington in $15.

All Massachusetts vital records may also be obtained at the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics (617) 740-2600.