After the wedding

Getting a copy of your Vermont marriage certificate

A Vermont marriage certificate records the completed marriage: it is different from the license obtained beforehand. The officiant completes and returns it to the issuing clerk within ten days. Arrange a certified copy with that clerk when buying the license, or use the clerk’s or Department of Health’s later copy process.

Certified and noncertified copies serve different requests

The Department of Health lists certified copies at $10 and a $2 additional processing charge online; noncertified copies are free. Confirm which form the receiving agency accepts.

At the clerk, an $80 license plus one $10 certified copy totals $90. The copy can be sent after the marriage is recorded, rather than treated as proof before the ceremony.

The February 2026 FAQ describes requesting additional clerk copies two weeks or more after the ceremony and state copies six weeks or more afterward. Those are request routes, not guaranteed delivery times. The state’s vital-record page distinguishes record years and application methods; follow its current instructions for the particular record.

References

A marriage license and a marriage certificate are not the same document, and the confusion costs people real time. The license is what you apply for before the wedding. The certificate is the record of the marriage having happened, completed by your officiant and returned to the town clerk afterward. It is the certificate, not the license, that you request a copy of for a name change, a passport or an insurance form.

The Vermont Department of Health states plainly that the fastest and cheapest way to get one is directly from the town or city clerk where it is on file. If you order from the state, a certified copy on security paper with a raised seal costs $10 (plus a $2 processing fee if you order online). A noncertified copy, on plain watermarked paper, is free and fine for most non-official uses.

Confirm which kind the requester needs before you pay for the certified one. Order two copies.

Licence, certificate: two different documents

The license is the permission slip, issued before the ceremony and void after sixty days. The certificate is the record that the marriage happened, completed by your officiant and returned to the town clerk afterward: that return step is, per who can officiate , the most commonly forgotten part of the whole process.

Once it is on file, the certificate is the document a name-change form, a passport application or an insurance company wants, not the license.

In the state's own words: Certified copies are printed on State engraved security paper with raised seal, costing $10 per certificate (plus a $2 processing fee if ordered online).

If you are in Vermont, the fastest and cheapest way to get a copy of a vital record is to order it directly from your Town or City Clerk.

Ask which kind before you pay for the certified one

A noncertified copy is free and is accepted for plenty of everyday purposes. A certified copy costs money and takes the security paper and raised seal that some institutions specifically require: a bank changing a name on an account, for instance, may accept either, while a passport application will commonly specify certified. The cheap mistake is ordering certified by default; the expensive one is ordering noncertified and being turned away.

Ask the institution which it needs, in writing, before you order either.

This is not legal advice

The page is a summary of the state's own published guidance, linked below so you can read it yourself. Your town clerk's office can commonly answer a specific question faster than the state office can.

Who needs the certificate after the wedding?

Whoever is processing a name change, a passport application or a similar official request. Ask that institution which kind, certified or noncertified, it requires.

Who is responsible for filing it in the first place?

Your officiant, who must return the completed certificate to the town clerk within ten days of the ceremony. See who can officiate.

Can we order online?

Yes, by credit card, with a $2 processing fee added to the certified-copy price.

Can we order by mail?

Yes, following the instructions on the Department of Health's own application form.

Does this cost apply to the marriage license too?

No, that is a separate fee: see the marriage license page.

Is this marriage-certificate guidance legal advice?

No. It summarizes and links the state's own published guidance so you can confirm it with the Department of Health or your town clerk.

Wedding insurance: Wedding and event liability insurance in Vermont: which venues here require it outright, why cancellation and liability cover different risks, and what to confirm with an insurer.

Alcohol rules: How alcohol works at Vermont weddings: the caterer route, the permit, the four-day limit and the distinction between an on-premises license and a catered-event permit.

Season: The seasonal windows Vermont wedding venues state in writing (tent, barn and year-round rooms), checked against the particular event space.

More in Planning a Vermont wedding: Vermont marriage licence, Vermont wedding guest list and venue capacity, matched, Getting married in Vermont from out of state.