Marriage License Requirements

REMarriageQUIREMENTS: (MARRIAGE LICENSES ARE ISSUED FROM 8:00 AM UNTIL 3:30 PM MONDAY-FRIDAY)


Applicants must present the following:

1. Licenses are issued 8:00-3:30, Monday – Friday. 

2. Both parties to the marriage must appear in person. 

3. Must Present: 

a. Government issued picture identification cards (i.e., driver’s license, passport, military ID, etc.). 

b. Social Security Card-if you do not have your card, you may present a W2 Form or a Tax Return Document which contains the social security number and the name of the applicant. If you are not eligible for a social security card there is a form, you can obtain from this office.

c. A birth certificate is no longer required but is helpful if you have one to present.

4. If either of the parties were married before, applicants must be able to tell how the marriage ended (death, divorce, or annulment) and the month and year the marriage ended. If the marriage ended by divorce and the divorce was granted less than 30 days prior to the application to marry, a copy of the signed divorce papers must be presented. 

5. Licenses issued in Beaufort County can be used anywhere in the State of NC but must be returned to Beaufort County. 

6. Cost of the license is $60.00 (NOTE: Effective September 1, 2009). Thirty dollars ($30.00) of the cost of the license is forwarded to the State of North Carolina and is credited to the Domestic Violence Fund. Five dollars of the cost is forwarded to the NC Children’s Trust Fund. Any errors on the certificate must be identified by the parties at the time the license is issued or there will be a $10.00 fee to make the correction after the license is used. Effective 7.1.17 there will be a $5.00 fee for correcting and reprinting an unused license. 

7. Certified copies of the marriage license are not automatically mailed to you. You must request a certified copy. The cost is $10.00. This is often needed by the Social Security Administration and NCDMV to process name changes after you have been married.

8. There is no waiting period-the license may be used as soon as it is issued, however it is only good for 60 days from the date of issue (remember some months have 31 days-make sure you count all the days in the month not just 60 days from the date you obtain the license). If it expires before being used, it must be returned to the Register of Deeds unused. 

$60.00 cash, check or debit/credit card ONLY.

Note: An additional service fee of $1.80 will be charged if debit/credit card is used. This fee is charged by a third-party vendor and is not retained by Beaufort County.