Kentucky Marriage License Requirements 2026: Fees, Age, 30-Day Limit

In Kentucky, the county clerk issues marriage licenses under Chapter 402 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes. Both of you must appear in person with proof of age, the license is valid for 30 days including the day it is issued (KRS 402.105), and the statute sets no waiting period that we found. You must be 18, or 17 with a court order, and each county clerk posts the total price: Fayette County charges $60.00.

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 Kentucky under Chapter 402 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes (with the clerk fee in KRS 64.012), using the published procedures of the Fayette and Letcher county clerks. 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 Kentucky

Kentucky marriage licenses come from the county clerk. KRS 402.080 says: "No marriage shall be solemnized without a license therefor."

The same section still contains an older residence rule, written in gendered terms. The license "shall be issued by the clerk of the county in which the female resides at the time, unless the female is eighteen (18) years of age or over or a widow, and the license is issued on her application in person, in which case it may be issued by any county clerk." Because both applicants must now appear in person (KRS 402.210) and adults applying in person fall within the "any county clerk" clause, the county of residence rarely matters for adult couples. If you are unsure, call the clerk's office first.

The Fourteenth Amendment requires every state to license marriages between two people of the same sex (Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015)). KRS 402.005 and KRS 402.020(1)(d) still contain language limiting marriage to one man and one woman, but that language cannot be enforced after Obergefell.

Both of you must be present

KRS 402.210(1)(a) requires both parties to "Be present for a marriage license to be issued." Fayette County's clerk (Lexington) states: "Both applicants must appear in person and be 18 or older."

Fayette lets you fill out an online form before your visit, but you still apply at the office together. None of the clerk offices checked for this page offers a fully remote license.

Use the license in Kentucky

A Kentucky license is for a Kentucky wedding. The Fayette County clerk says the license "can be used anywhere in the Commonwealth of Kentucky." If you will marry in another state, apply there instead.

What a Kentucky Marriage License Costs

The statute and the counter price are different numbers. KRS 64.012(1)(n), in the version effective July 15, 2026, lists the county clerk's fee as follows: "Marriage license, indexing, recording, and issuing certificate thereof ....$26.50."

Clerks charge more than that line. Fayette County's clerk lists a "$60.00 application fee," payable by cash, credit card or check. Other statutes add to that line. KRS 142.010(1)(a) imposes a state tax of $4.50 on each marriage license, KRS 64.012(3)(a) entitles the clerk to a $10 reimbursement for the permanent storage of marriage records, and KRS 209A.045 directs clerks to remit $10 collected from the issuance of marriage licenses to the state domestic violence shelter fund. The Franklin County clerk also lists $60.00, covering the license and a certified copy. Use the price your county clerk posts.

The Letcher County clerk notes that the "license fee is non-refundable," so make sure both of you can marry before paying. We found no premarital-course discount in Chapter 402.

Documents You Need

KRS 402.210(1)(b) requires each party to "Present to the county clerk documentary proof of age." The statute lists nine accepted forms, including a birth record, a passport, a driver's license, and a school or government ID showing your date of birth.

County offices add their own expectations:

• Fayette County: an original ID such as a driver's license, passport, REAL ID, birth certificate or court papers.
• Letcher County: a photo ID and a Social Security card for applicants 18 and older.

The license form under KRS 402.100 collects each party's full name, date and place of birth, race, gender, marital status (single, widowed or divorced), number of previous marriages, occupation, residence, relationship to each other, and parents' full names. KRS 402.100(4) adds that a Social Security card or other government-issued identification card "shall be requested" from each party as identification, but the number is not recorded or retained.

If either of you was married before, ask your clerk whether to bring the divorce decree or death certificate. Neither the statute sections nor the clerk pages checked for this page state that requirement.

Waiting Period and Expiration

Chapter 402 contains no section setting a waiting period between the application and the ceremony, based on the chapter's section list. The Letcher County clerk's page says no waiting period or blood test is required. Confirm with your clerk before you set the date.

The license expires quickly. KRS 402.105 states: "A marriage license shall be valid for thirty (30) days, including the date it is issued, and after that time it shall be invalid." Plan your trip to the clerk for within 30 days of the wedding, counting the day of issue as day one.

Age Requirements to Marry in Kentucky

Kentucky's minimum marriage age is 18, with one narrow exception for 17-year-olds. These rules came from Senate Bill 48 (2018 Ky. Acts ch. 36), effective July 14, 2018.

KRS 402.210(2) is firm on the floor: "If either of the parties is under seventeen (17) years of age, no license shall be issued." KRS 402.020(1)(f) makes a marriage under 18 void unless it was made as KRS 402.210 allows.

The court-order route for a 17-year-old

A 17-year-old cannot marry on parental consent alone. Under KRS 402.205, the minor must petition the family court in the county where the minor lives (or the District Court there if the county has no family court division). The process:

• Hearing timing: the court holds an evidentiary hearing no sooner than 30 days and no later than 60 days after the petition is filed.
• What the petition needs: among other items, an affidavit of consent signed by the parent or parents (or other person with lawful custody) the statute specifies; evidence of the minor's maturity and self-sufficiency, including proof of stable housing or employment for at least three consecutive months and proof of finishing high school, a High School Equivalency Diploma, or a vocational training or certificate program; and copies of any criminal records and any domestic violence or interpersonal protective orders involving either party.
• When the court will not grant it: after the hearing, KRS 402.205(5) says the court shall grant the petition unless, for example, the age difference between the parties is more than four years, the intended spouse is or was in a position of authority or special trust over the minor, the intended spouse has been subject to a domestic violence or interpersonal protective order, the intended spouse has certain convictions (including offenses against a minor victim), the court finds abuse, coercion, undue influence or duress, or the marriage would not be in the minor's best interest.
• Pregnancy: under KRS 402.205(6), a past or current pregnancy is not by itself sufficient evidence that the marriage is in the minor's best interests.
• Emancipation: granting the petition removes the minor's "disabilities of minority" (KRS 402.205(7)).
• Fee: the court may set a filing fee of no more than $20 (KRS 402.205(10)).

Even with the order, the clerk cannot issue the license until "At least fifteen (15) days have elapsed since the court order was granted" (KRS 402.210(3)(b)). For how emancipation works in the state, see Kentucky emancipation laws.

Bills to end marriage under 18 (not law)

Two 2026 bills would have removed the 17-year-old exception. Senate Bill 156 passed the Senate 36-0 on March 3, 2026, and was recommitted to the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee on April 15, 2026. House Bill 174 has sat in the House Families and Children Committee since January 14, 2026. Neither has been enacted, so the KRS 402.205 court-order route remains the law.

Who Cannot Marry in Kentucky

KRS 402.010(1) bars marriage between relatives: "No marriage shall be contracted between persons who are nearer of kin to each other by consanguinity, whether of the whole or half-blood, than second cousins." First cousins are nearer of kin than second cousins, so they cannot marry in Kentucky. Under KRS 402.010(2), such marriages "are incestuous and void."

KRS 402.020 lists other void marriages, including:

• with a person a court has adjudged mentally disabled;
• where either person has a living husband or wife from whom they have not been divorced;
• when not solemnized or contracted in the presence of an authorized person or society;
• between more than two persons;
• with a person under 18, except as KRS 402.210 allows.

No Blood Test Required

Kentucky does not require a blood test to get a marriage license. KRS 402.320 says a physician who is examining applicants "may obtain an appropriate blood specimen" to test for sickle cell trait or other hemoglobin disorders. The word is "may": the test is the physician's option, not a license condition.

Who Can Perform a Marriage in Kentucky

KRS 402.050(1) says a marriage "shall be solemnized only by" the people and bodies it lists:

• ministers of the gospel or priests of any denomination in regular communion with a religious society;
• justices and judges of the Court of Justice, and retired justices and judges (except those removed for cause or convicted of a felony);
• county judges/executive;
• justices of the peace and fiscal court commissioners whom the Governor or the county judge/executive authorizes;
• a religious society with no officiating minister or priest whose practice is to solemnize marriage at its usual place of worship by consent given in the presence of the society, if either party belongs to it.

Two witnesses are required

KRS 402.050 also requires an audience: "At least two (2) persons, in addition to the parties and the person solemnizing the marriage, shall be present at every marriage." The officiant's certificate must name at least two of them (KRS 402.220).

Registration, online ordination and good faith

We found no officiant registration requirement in Chapter 402; the old KRS 402.060 was repealed in 1996. The certificate form under KRS 402.100(2)(b) still asks for the officiant's qualification, including the county or city where the officiant's license to perform marriages was issued, so ask the clerk what your officiant should enter there.

Whether Kentucky clerks accept online ordination is not settled in the statute text checked for this page. If your officiant was ordained online, ask the county clerk before the wedding. Under KRS 402.990(4), an unauthorized person who solemnizes a marriage "under pretense of having authority" commits a Class D felony.

KRS 402.070 protects couples who acted in good faith: a marriage solemnized by someone professing to have authority is not void if the parties believed the person had it. Chapter 402 has no self-uniting option outside the religious-society route above.

Proxy Marriage

Chapter 402 does not address marrying by proxy at the ceremony. It does require both parties to be present for the license to be issued (KRS 402.210(1)(a)), so a couple cannot obtain a Kentucky license through a stand-in. Kentucky also has no covenant marriage option in Chapter 402.

After the Ceremony

Your officiant files the record. KRS 402.220 requires the person solemnizing the marriage (or the clerk of the religious society) to "within one (1) month return the license to the county clerk of the county in which it was issued," with a signed certificate giving the date and place of the wedding and the names of at least two people present. Fayette County's clerk asks for the return within 30 days for recording.

Failing to return the license is a "violation" under KRS 402.990(11). The county clerk then files the certificate and enters the marriage in a register (KRS 402.230). If the application or license contains an error, such as a misspelled name or a wrong marriage date, KRS 402.235 (effective June 27, 2025) lets the clerk of the county where it was issued or recorded correct it on an affidavit signed by both spouses.

Certified copies come from the county clerk. KRS 64.012(1)(q) sets the clerk's fee for a certified copy of any record at $5.00, and Fayette County lists additional certified copies of the marriage license and certificate at $5.00. For ordering copies, see Kentucky marriage and divorce records. If one of you is changing your last name, see Kentucky name change laws and name change after marriage.

Common Myths About Kentucky Marriage Licenses

"Kentucky requires a blood test." It does not. KRS 402.320 lets an examining physician test for sickle cell trait; it does not make a test a condition of the license.

"First cousins can marry in Kentucky." They cannot. KRS 402.010 bars marriages between relatives nearer than second cousins.

"A pregnant 17-year-old can marry automatically." KRS 402.205(6) says pregnancy alone is not sufficient to grant a 17-year-old's petition.

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about getting a marriage license in Kentucky under Chapter 402 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes and KRS 64.012. It is not legal advice. The information was verified on October 7, 2026. For your specific situation, contact your county clerk or consult a lawyer licensed in Kentucky.

Related

• Marriage license requirements by state
• Kentucky marriage and divorce records
• Kentucky common-law marriage
• Kentucky name change laws
• Ohio marriage license requirements

Last updated: October 7, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do I get a marriage license in Kentucky?

At a Kentucky county clerk's office. Both of you must be present for the license to be issued under KRS 402.210(1)(a).

How much does a marriage license cost in Kentucky?

It depends on the county. KRS 64.012(1)(n) lists a $26.50 clerk fee, but clerks charge more at the counter; Fayette County lists a $60.00 application fee.

Is there a waiting period to get married in Kentucky?

Chapter 402 sets no general waiting period that we found, and the Letcher County clerk says none is required. A 17-year-old must wait at least 15 days after the court order (KRS 402.210(3)(b)).

How long is a Kentucky marriage license valid?

30 days, including the day it is issued. After that it is invalid under KRS 402.105.

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

Only with an order from the family court or District Court under KRS 402.205, after a hearing. No license is issued if either party is under 17.

Can first cousins marry in Kentucky?

No. KRS 402.010 bars marriage between relatives nearer of kin than second cousins and makes such marriages void.

Do you need witnesses to get married in Kentucky?

Yes. KRS 402.050 requires at least two people besides the couple and the officiant to be present at every marriage.

Does Kentucky require a blood test for a marriage license?

No. KRS 402.320 only lets an examining physician test for sickle cell trait; it is not a license requirement.