Did you know if you want to be legally married you must first apply for and obtain a marriage license from your local county clerk's office? I know! So many couples don't even realize that step one of getting married is apply for your marriage license. Let's dive into how to apply for a marriage license in the state of Michigan. 

First you will want to apply at the county clerk's office of the county you reside in. If you live in two different counties than you choose which county office to apply at, it does not matter. 

• If you live out of state and are getting married in Michigan you will utilize the county clerk's office for the county you are holding your wedding in. 

Each county clerk office has different application processes for marriage license, but most of them go something like this...

• Complete the marriage application online 
• Make an appointment to go into the clerk's office to pick up your marriage license

Items you may need to bring with you to get that marriage license: The following is required of both parties:

•  Valid driver's license or state ID showing current address.
•  Birth certificate or valid passport.  If passport is used instead of birth certificate, full names of both parents and the state or country where they were born must be provided at time of application. - some counties require the birth certificate. 
•  Social Security numbers of both parties pursuant to MCL 551.102.

Remember your marriage license is only valid for 30 days as of the date of issuance, yes, it does expire! 

Also, now that you have that marriage license in hand you'll need an Officiant to sign the marriage license as well as two witnesses over 18 years old. 

That's right, your wedding Officiant is legally responsible to return your marriage license back to the county clerks office for you. During Covid your wedding officiant can only return them by mail and it's taking awhile, so patience is needed. Once the clerk receives and files the marriage license then you can request your certified copy of your marriage license. You will need the certified, legal copy to change your name or for any other legal purposes. 

You've gotten married and now you need to get the legal copy of your marriage license, seems easy enough, but with today's mail delays it's causing a bit of a headache. 

I've heard from the local county clerk's office that they used to receive marriage license's back in about 2 weeks but now it can be double - 4 weeks! 

What's to do? wait it out, sadly there is not much we can do with Covid, we are only allowed to mail things in, some counties are setting in person appointments, however it is my legal responsibility to return your marriage license and the county clerk's office asks that I simply mail them in. 

So, I will be advising couples going forward to wait at least 3 weeks maybe 4 before they can bet their legal copy of the marriage license. 

I will also be offering to send your license back priority mail so you can have a tracking number. The addition fee is $10 to do this. 

Rest assured, you are married and it's just taking a bit longer to get that legal copy of your marriage license.