Colorado Marriage License Requirements 2026: $30, No Wait, 35 Days

In Colorado, the county clerk and recorder issues marriage licenses under Article 2 of Title 14 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. There is no waiting period, the license is good for 35 days and only inside Colorado (C.R.S. 14-2-107), and the counties checked for this page charge $30. Colorado also lets a couple solemnize their own marriage with no officiant and no witnesses (C.R.S. 14-2-109(1)).

For the rules in other states, see our guide to marriage license requirements by state.

Information last verified on October 7, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers getting a marriage license and marrying in Colorado under C.R.S. 14-2-101 to 14-2-113 (the Colorado marriage statutes in Title 14), using the published procedures of the Denver, El Paso, Jefferson, Arapahoe and Sedgwick county clerk and recorder offices. It does not cover divorce, ordering older marriage records, common-law marriage, or the rules of other states.

Where to Get a Marriage License in Colorado

Colorado marriage licenses come from the county clerk and recorder. You can apply in any county, and the license can be used for a ceremony anywhere in Colorado. Arapahoe County's clerk puts it plainly: "Marriage licenses or Civil Union Licenses may be issued and are valid in any Colorado county."

The license stops at the state line. C.R.S. 14-2-107 states: "A license shall not be valid for use outside the state of Colorado." If you plan to marry in another state, apply there. The reverse is also true: the El Paso County clerk notes that a license from another state is not valid for a Colorado wedding.

You do not need to be a Colorado resident. The El Paso County clerk states: "Applicants for a marriage license do not have to be Colorado residents."

Appearing in person or online

At least one of you must appear before the clerk. C.R.S. 14-2-106.5, added in 2021 and made permanent by House Bill 23-1278 (effective August 7, 2023), lets a clerk choose to take both parties' appearance by audiovisual or online means to verify the application, check proof of age and eligibility, and take payment. The two of you must appear together, and remote licensing is not available if either of you is under 18. Each county decides whether it offers it.

How the offices checked for this page handle it:

• Denver: apply online, then attend an online (Microsoft Teams) or in-person appointment. For the online route, Denver says: "You must be within the State of Colorado, and both parties must be in the same room, on the same screen, at the same time." The license is mailed by USPS to a Colorado address. Denver's page gave conflicting dates for in-person appointments when we checked, so confirm the current schedule with the office.
• El Paso County: complete the online application first. "No appointment is needed to visit our office to complete the license." The main office is open Monday to Friday, and the North Office serves Saturdays.
• Jefferson County: appointments Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., bookable 21 days ahead, or drop in Monday to Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fill out the online application before you arrive. "Both people should be present to apply."
• Arapahoe County: appointment only "until further notice," at the Littleton or Aurora office, after an online application.

The same offices also issue civil union licenses. This page covers marriage licenses.

Documents and ID You Need

The application asks for each person's name, date and place of birth, the last four digits of your Social Security number, your parents' names and addresses, how any earlier marriage ended (dissolution or death), and whether the two of you are related (C.R.S. 14-2-105(1)). ID rules differ by county:

• Denver accepts one of: a U.S. state driver's license or permit, a state ID, a U.S. military ID, or a passport (in English or with a certified English translation). A birth certificate is used only to confirm a date of birth, and consular IDs are not accepted. Denver requires your Social Security number if you have one, and prints your names exactly as they appear on your ID.
• El Paso County accepts birth certificates as ID. You do not need to bring a divorce decree; you state the date, place and court of the divorce. If you have no Social Security number, El Paso uses an affidavit.

Ask your own county which documents it takes before your visit.

What a Colorado Marriage License Costs

C.R.S. 14-2-106(1)(a) lets the clerk issue a license once the applicant "has paid the marriage license fee of seven dollars, a fee of twenty dollars" for the domestic abuse program fund, plus an additional amount set under C.R.S. 25-2-121 for the vital statistics records cash fund. C.R.S. 25-2-121 does not state that amount in dollars; the state registrar adjusts its fees each fiscal year, so we do not break the total down further. Every county page that listed a price showed $30.

Arapahoe County's page did not show a dollar figure for the license when we checked, so ask the office. Fees can change; your county clerk and recorder's page is the final word. Denver's online appointments require a card.

Colorado offers no premarital-course discount. Nothing in C.R.S. 14-2-101 to 14-2-113 creates one, or any other fee reduction.

Waiting Period and How Long the License Lasts

Colorado has no waiting period. Denver's clerk states: "Blood tests are not required in Colorado, and there is no waiting period." Nothing in C.R.S. 14-2-101 to 14-2-113 sets one, so the license can be used the day it is issued.

It does not last long. C.R.S. 14-2-107 says licenses "shall not be valid for more than thirty-five days after the date of issue." If you do not marry within 35 days, the license is void and must be returned to the clerk for cancellation. Apply within five weeks of your wedding date.

Age Requirements to Marry in Colorado

You must be 18 to get a Colorado marriage license without a court's approval (C.R.S. 14-2-106(1)(a)(I)). House Bill 19-1316, effective August 2, 2019, amended C.R.S. 14-2-106 and 14-2-108 to set the current rules.

A 16- or 17-year-old can marry only with a juvenile court order. Under C.R.S. 14-2-108, the court "may order the county clerk and recorder ... to issue a marriage license and a marriage certificate form to a person sixteen or seventeen years of age." The process works like this:

• Guardian ad litem: the court appoints a guardian ad litem for the minor.
• What the court must find: that the minor is capable of assuming the responsibilities of marriage and that the marriage would serve the minor's best interests.
• Pregnancy: pregnancy alone does not establish that the marriage is in the minor's best interests.
• No consent shortcut: Colorado has no route where a parent's consent alone is enough.
• No remote license: the online appearance option in C.R.S. 14-2-106.5 is not available if either party is under 18.

The statute authorizes a court order only for a person who is 16 or 17. It provides no route for anyone younger. Some county pages post older or stricter wording (Sedgwick County still mentions parental consent, and El Paso County says no one under 18 can get a license), so a minor with a court order should call the clerk first. A 2026 bill to end the court route, Senate Bill 26-048, did not pass. For how a minor can become legally independent in Colorado, see Colorado emancipation laws.

Who Cannot Marry in Colorado

C.R.S. 14-2-110(1) prohibits these marriages:

• a marriage entered before an earlier marriage or civil union of either party has been dissolved;
• between an ancestor and a descendant;
• between a brother and a sister, whether by the half or the whole blood;
• between an uncle and a niece or an aunt and a nephew, "whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood, except as to marriages permitted by the established customs of aboriginal cultures."

First cousins are not on that list, and the El Paso County clerk says first cousins may marry in Colorado.

Colorado's statute no longer limits marriage to a man and a woman. Senate Bill 25-014, approved April 7, 2025, repealed the "one man and one woman" language in C.R.S. 14-2-104 along with matching civil-union text. Separately, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015), that "same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry."

C.R.S. 14-2-101 to 14-2-113 contain no waiting period after a divorce before you can remarry. The application asks how and when any earlier marriage ended.

No Blood Test Required

Colorado does not require a blood test or other medical exam for a marriage license. The El Paso County clerk states: "As of July 1, 1989, blood tests are NOT needed for either party in the State of Colorado."

Who Can Marry You in Colorado

C.R.S. 14-2-109(1) lets any of these solemnize a marriage:

• a judge of a court, a court magistrate, or a retired judge;
• a public official whose powers include solemnizing marriages;
• the parties to the marriage themselves;
• anyone acting under any mode of solemnization recognized by a religious denomination or an Indian nation or tribe.

Solemnizing your own marriage

Colorado lets a couple marry themselves. The statute lists solemnization "by the parties to the marriage," so you do not need an officiant. When the couple self-solemnizes, one of you completes the certificate and returns it to the clerk.

Jefferson County's clerk adds a practical point: a friend or relative cannot solemnize your marriage unless a legal or religious body authorizes them, and if your "officiant" has no identifiable title, the county treats the marriage as self-solemnized.

Witnesses and officiant registration

Colorado requires no witnesses. Denver notes that two witnesses may accompany you, and El Paso says witnesses are not needed. C.R.S. 14-2-109 sets no officiant registration, and the El Paso County clerk states: "Clergy need not be registered in Colorado." Denver adds that clergy ordained out of state do not need to register.

The statute defers to whatever a religious denomination recognizes. We did not find a Colorado statute, court decision or attorney general opinion addressing online ordination, so if your officiant was ordained online and you want certainty, ask your county clerk, or simply self-solemnize.

Proxy Marriage in Colorado

Colorado allows proxy marriage, but C.R.S. 14-2-109(2) limits it in two steps.

Getting a proxy license. One party must be a Colorado resident, one party must appear in person and pay the fees, the absent party must provide a notarized absentee affidavit and ID, and both parties must be at least 18. The statute's quote on residence: "One party to the proxy marriage is a resident of the state of Colorado."

Using a proxy at the ceremony. A stand-in may take the absent party's place only if that person is a member of the U.S. armed forces stationed elsewhere in support of combat or other military operations, or a government contractor or employee supporting U.S. forces. If the person solemnizing the marriage is not satisfied the requirements are met, the parties may petition the district court.

Separately, the counties accept a notarized absentee affidavit when one party simply cannot come in to apply for an ordinary license. That is a different process from a proxy marriage. Denver says the affidavit must be used within 30 days of the date it was notarized, and that a proxy marriage cannot be self-solemnized.

Colorado has no covenant marriage option: the term does not appear in Title 14 of the Colorado Revised Statutes (2024 edition).

After the Ceremony

The ceremony must take place in Colorado within 35 days of issue. Afterward, the officiant (or one of you, if you self-solemnized) completes the marriage certificate and forwards it to the county clerk and recorder "within sixty-three days after the solemnization" (C.R.S. 14-2-109(1)).

Returning it late costs money. The statute sets a late fee of not less than $20, plus $5 for each additional day, up to $50, and the postmark date counts as the filing date. Denver and El Paso both list the same $20 plus $5 per day schedule capped at $50; recording within 63 days is free in Denver.

Certified copies come from the county that recorded the license. Denver charges $1.25 for the first page and $0.25 for each additional page, and El Paso charges $1.00 per document. For ordering copies later, see Colorado marriage and divorce records.

If one of you is changing your last name, the El Paso County clerk notes: "Your marriage license must be returned and recorded before one of the parties can make any name changes." See Colorado name change laws and name change after marriage.

Common Myths About Colorado Marriage Licenses

"You have to marry in the county that issued the license." You do not. A Colorado license is valid in any Colorado county, but not outside the state (C.R.S. 14-2-107).

"Colorado has a waiting period or a blood test." It has neither, according to the Denver and El Paso County clerks.

"You need an officiant and witnesses." You need neither. The couple may self-solemnize, and no witnesses are required (C.R.S. 14-2-109(1)).

"A parent can sign for a 17-year-old to marry." Not in Colorado. A 16- or 17-year-old needs a juvenile court order after a guardian ad litem is appointed (C.R.S. 14-2-108).

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about getting a marriage license in Colorado under C.R.S. 14-2-101 to 14-2-113. It is not legal advice. The information was verified on October 7, 2026. For your specific situation, contact your county clerk and recorder or consult a lawyer licensed in Colorado.

Related

• Marriage license requirements by state
• Colorado marriage and divorce records
• Colorado common-law marriage
• Colorado name change laws
• Kansas marriage license requirements
• Wyoming marriage license requirements

Last updated: October 7, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do I get a marriage license in Colorado?

At any Colorado county clerk and recorder's office. The license is valid in every Colorado county but not outside the state (C.R.S. 14-2-107).

How much is a marriage license in Colorado?

Denver, El Paso, Jefferson and Sedgwick counties charge $30. C.R.S. 14-2-106(1)(a) builds the fee from a $7 license fee, a $20 domestic abuse program fee and an amount set under C.R.S. 25-2-121.

Is there a waiting period to get married in Colorado?

No. Denver's clerk states there is no waiting period, so you can marry the day the license is issued.

How long is a Colorado marriage license good for?

35 days from the date of issue under C.R.S. 14-2-107. An unused license is void and should be returned to the clerk.

Can you marry yourselves in Colorado?

Yes. C.R.S. 14-2-109(1) allows solemnization by the parties to the marriage, and Colorado requires no witnesses.

Do I have to live in Colorado to get married there?

No. The El Paso County clerk states applicants do not have to be Colorado residents. A proxy marriage is different: one party must be a Colorado resident (C.R.S. 14-2-109(2)).

Can a 17-year-old get married in Colorado?

Only with a juvenile court order under C.R.S. 14-2-108, after a guardian ad litem is appointed. Parental consent alone is not enough.

Can first cousins marry in Colorado?

Yes. C.R.S. 14-2-110 does not list first cousins among prohibited marriages, and the El Paso County clerk confirms they may marry.

When does the marriage certificate have to be returned in Colorado?

Within 63 days after the ceremony. A late return costs at least $20 plus $5 a day, up to $50 (C.R.S. 14-2-109(1)).