Getting a Vermont marriage license

A Vermont marriage license costs $80 and is obtained from any town or city clerk in the state. That last point matters more than couples expect: the clerk you apply to does not have to be in the town where you are marrying, and neither of you has to live in Vermont, which is what makes the state straightforward for a destination wedding.

Both of you must sign the application, and at least one of you must sign in front of the clerk. There is no waiting period and no blood test, so the license can be obtained close to the date.

The requirement that catches people is at the other end: the license is valid for sixty days from issue, and an authorized person must perform the ceremony within that window or it becomes void. Count from the day it is issued.

The requirements, exactly as Vermont states them

In the state's own words

You may obtain a license from any Vermont town/city clerk.

The license is valid for 60 days from the date it is issued. During that time an authorized person must perform your wedding ceremony. Otherwise, the license is void.

You will need a license, but you do not need blood tests, and there is no waiting period.

A recorded conflict on the fee

A third-party republication of the codified statute carries $60 as the fee. We publish $80 , from the Department of Health's own February 2026 FAQ, since that is the operative published figure from the agency that administers it. Both are recorded on the source register instead of one being quietly dropped. Confirm the current fee with the clerk when you apply.

The sixty-day clock is the only hard deadline

Because there is no waiting period, the risk in Vermont runs entirely the other way from most states: the mistake is collecting the license too early, not too late. A license issued more than sixty days before the ceremony is void by the time you need it, and there is no grace. The deadline calculator counts the sixty days exactly, in either direction.

What you need to bring

The Department of Health states that beyond names, towns of residence, and places and dates of birth, you must also give your parents' names including your mother's maiden name, and their places of birth, which is the part that catches people out, since it needs asking in advance. Certified copies of your own birth certificates supply most of it.

Both of you must sign the application, and at least one of you must sign the license in front of the clerk.

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. The town clerk who issues your license is the authority, and requirements and fees change.

Which town clerk do we apply to?

Any Vermont town or city clerk. It does not have to be the town where you are marrying.

Do we need to live in Vermont?

No. The state's guidance places no residency condition on obtaining a license, which is what makes Vermont straightforward for a destination wedding.

What is the minimum age to marry?

Eighteen. The Department of Health states that two people who are each at least eighteen years old can obtain a civil marriage in Vermont.

Do we need witnesses?

No. The Department of Health states plainly that Vermont law does not require witnesses, though if you are planning a religious ceremony, check whether that religion's own tenets require them.

What happens after the ceremony?

The officiant is responsible for returning the completed certificate to the town clerk, within ten days of the wedding. It is the most commonly forgotten step in the process.

Is this marriage-license guidance legal advice?

No. It summarizes the state's own published guidance and links it, so you can confirm it with the clerk who will issue your license.

Vermont wedding paperwork: license, officiant and certificate

In Vermont the license you collect becomes the certificate you keep, and the officiant is the person who turns one into the other. Both of you sign the license and hand it to the officiant before the ceremony. After the ceremony the officiant fills in the date, the place and their own details, and signs.

At that point it is a marriage certificate. The officiant must return it to the town clerk's office where the license was issued within ten days. A temporary officiant attaches a copy of the Secretary of State's certificate of authorization.

Nobody else is responsible for that return, and it is the step most often forgotten. Decide who holds the license, and who tracks the ten days, before the day arrives.

Before the ceremony: signing the Vermont marriage license

By law both of you sign the license and deliver it to the person who will conduct the ceremony before the marriage can be performed. Decide who is carrying it. It is a single physical document, and a ceremony cannot proceed without it.

If a friend is officiating, check that the temporary registration has been filed. See who can officiate.

After the ceremony: the officiant completes the certificate

The officiant completes the sections for the date, the place and the officiant's own information, and signs. The state says the license becomes a marriage certificate at that point.

Ask the officiant to do it the same day, before the paper leaves their hands. A form left in a coat pocket for a week is the usual cause of a late return.

Returning the Vermont marriage certificate to the town clerk

The officiant returns it to the town clerk's office where the license was issued, within ten days of the wedding. If the officiant is a temporary one, a copy of the Secretary of State's certificate of authorization goes with it.

The clerk to return it to is the clerk who issued the license. If you collected it in a different town from the wedding, that is the office to use.

Who does what, and by when, from the Vermont Department of Health's own guidance.

Sign the license and hand it to the officiant

Both of you; Before the ceremony.

Complete date, place and officiant details, and sign

The officiant; At the ceremony.

Attach the certificate of authorization, if a temporary officiant

The officiant; With the return.

Return the certificate to the issuing town clerk

The officiant; Within 10 days.

Ordering certified copies of your Vermont marriage certificate

At the time you buy the license you can arrange with the clerk to mail you a certified copy once the marriage is recorded. The cost is $10 for the copy along with the $80 license, so $90 in total.

Two weeks or more after the ceremony you can request more copies from that clerk for $10 each. Six weeks or more after, the Department of Health's Vital Records Office issues them for $10. See certificate copies for the online fee and the noncertified option.

Officiants

Who may solemnize a marriage in Vermont, how a friend can be temporarily authorized under 18.

Marriage certificate

How to get a certified or noncertified copy of a Vermont marriage certificate: the $10 state certified-copy fee and the office that holds the record.

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.