You can pick up applications at the Town Office or download it from this page.
Receiving a Vermont Marriage Certificate begins by submitting an Application for Civil Marriage to the town clerk.
A reference sheet entitled “Completing the Civil Marriage Certificate” provides guidelines for officiants performing civil marriages, completing the Certificate, and preparing for the marriage ceremony.
For additional information on Vermont marriages, you can access “Getting Married in Vermont Information Sheet.”
If both of you are Vermont residents, you can get your license at the town office in either of your towns of residence. If just one of you resides in a Vermont town, you must get the license in that town. If neither of you are Vermont residents, and you are getting married in Vermont, you can obtain your license in any Vermont town.
Vermont law requires that at least one of you sign the license in the presence of the town clerk, certifying that all the information you provided is correct. However, we prefer to see both of you in person before issuing your license. The law requires that we ascertain that you are both free to marry under Vermont laws. Therefore, we may legally ask to see documented proof of your statements (birth certificates, divorce/dissolution decrees, death certificates, etc.). The application asks you to provide the number of previous marriages and civil unions, and how and when they ended. This information is confidential and does not become part of the marriage certificate.
By law, you must deliver the license to the person who will conduct your wedding ceremony before the marriage can be performed. After the ceremony, the person who performs the ceremony (officiant) will complete the sections concerning the date, place and officiant information, and sign your license. At that point, the license becomes a marriage certificate.
The officiant must return the certificate to the town clerk’s office where it was issued within 10 days after the wedding, so that your marriage can be officially registered. The certificate is not a complete legal document until it has been recorded in the town clerk’s office where it was purchased.
The fee for a marriage license is $80. At the time you buy your license, you can arrange for us to mail you a certified copy(s) of your certificate as soon as your marriage has been recorded. The cost is $10 for each certified copy along with the $80 for the license purchase ($10 + $80 = $90). A certified copy is accepted for all legal purposes as proof of a valid marriage.
Documents
Completing the Civil Marriage Certificate