Utah Marriage License Requirements 2026: Fees, 32 Days, No Wait

In Utah, you get a marriage license from the county clerk of any county, and you can use it only for a ceremony performed in Utah (Utah Code 81-2-302). There is no waiting period, the license is good for 32 days, and the fee is set by each county: $50 in Salt Lake County and $71.75 for most applicants in Utah County. Utah's marriage law now sits in Title 81, Chapter 2 of the Utah Code, and two 2026 acts changed the rules for minors and for online ceremonies.

For 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 in Utah under Title 81, Chapter 2 of the Utah Code and the published procedures of the Salt Lake, Utah, Davis and Weber county clerks. It does not cover divorce, ordering older marriage records, common-law (unsolemnized) marriage, or the rules of other states.

Note on section numbers: Utah renumbered its marriage statutes on September 1, 2024 (2024 Laws of Utah, Chapter 366), moving them from Title 30, Chapter 1 into Title 81, Chapter 2. The legislature's history notes on the Title 81 sections, such as 81-2-306, read "Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 366, 2024 General Session." If a guide cites "30-1-" sections, it is quoting the old numbering.

Where to get a marriage license in Utah

Utah Code 81-2-302(1) states: "A marriage may not be solemnized in this state without a license issued by the county clerk of any county of this state." There is no residency requirement and no rule that you apply in the county where you will marry. A license from Davis County works for a ceremony in St. George.

The limit runs the other way. A Utah license can be used only in Utah, and the statute treats a license as used in Utah when the officiant is physically present in Utah at the ceremony (Utah Code 81-2-302(2)).

How you apply depends on the county:

• Salt Lake County: complete the online application, then attend an appointment. The clerk's page says both parties attend.
• Utah County: the county says you can "complete the entire application online." Each partner can apply separately from a shared link, using a smartphone ID and face scan.
• Davis County: both applicants must be present with valid picture ID, and appointments are booked through the county's online form.
• Weber County: fill out the online application, then both of you appear in person at the clerk's office at 2380 Washington Blvd in Ogden.

What to bring and what the application asks

Utah Code 81-2-303 lists what the application must contain for each of you:

• full name, including maiden or bachelor name
• Social Security number, unless none has been assigned (it is not recorded on the license itself)
• current address
• date and place of birth
• parents' names, including your mother's maiden name, and your parents' birthplaces
• verification of your age, legal name and identity

Each of you also signs an affidavit that no lawful reason prevents the marriage. Utah County and Weber County ask for government-issued photo ID, Davis County asks for valid picture ID, and Salt Lake County asks for a state driver's license or other valid identification for both of you.

You cannot send someone in your place. Utah Code 81-2-303 states: "A power of attorney may not be used to secure a marriage license on behalf of a party to a marriage."

If either of you was divorced recently, Salt Lake County asks for a certified copy of the decree when the divorce was within the last 30 days. See the remarriage rule below.

How much a Utah marriage license costs

Utah does not set one statewide dollar fee in the marriage chapter. Each county clerk charges its own fee, and the amounts differ.

Fees change, and only four of Utah's counties are listed here. Your county clerk's own page is the final word on the current fee and payment methods.

The $20 premarital education discount

Utah Code 81-2-206(1) requires a county clerk that runs an online marriage application system to "reduce the marriage license fee by $20" for applicants who certify qualifying premarital counseling or education. The rules for qualifying:

• The provider is a licensed or ordained minister (or a trained designee), a licensed mental health professional, a certified family life educator, a family and consumer sciences educator, an instructor of an approved curriculum, or an online course approved by the Utah Marriage Commission.
• The content covers commitment and communication, including avoiding violence and abuse.
• It lasts at least 3 hours of counseling or 6 hours of education.
• It was completed no more than one year before the license is issued and at least 14 days before.

Each applicant may meet the requirement separately. In Utah County, the base license fee is $50 and online applicants who do not claim the discount pay a separate $20 State Marriage Commission fee. Ask your county clerk how it applies the reduction to its fee.

Waiting period and how long the license lasts

Utah has no waiting period for adults. The licensing sections (Utah Code 81-2-302 and 81-2-303) set none, and Weber County states: "A marriage license can be used immediately and is only valid for 32 days from the date of issuance."

The 32 days come from the statute. Utah Code 81-2-302(5) provides: "A license that is not used within 32 days after the day on which the license is issued is invalid." If your date slips past that, you need a new license and a new fee.

Two situations do involve a wait:

• A minor's court authorization cannot be issued until 72 hours after the petition is filed (Utah Code 81-2-304, added by S.B. 76 in 2025).
• Remarriage after divorce: a divorced person cannot marry anyone other than the former spouse until the divorce decree becomes absolute and, if there is an appeal, until the decree is affirmed (Utah Code 81-2-403(1)(c)). A Utah decree usually becomes absolute on the date it is signed and entered, unless the court sets a later date (no more than six months out) or an appeal is taken (Utah Code 81-4-406). Our guide to Utah divorce laws covers the decree itself.

Online and remote marriages in Utah

Utah allows ceremonies where one or both of you are not in the room with the officiant. The rules tightened on May 6, 2026, when S.B. 257 (Domestic Relations Amendments) took effect.

Under Utah Code 81-2-302(2) and (3), a license is not treated as used in Utah when the parties are not physically with the officiant unless both of these are true:

1. The issuing county posts a prominent, bold warning on its website, next to its license application and in at least English, Spanish, Portuguese, Tagalog, French and Mandarin Chinese, that an online marriage solemnized in Utah may be invalid in the parties' home country.
2. The officiant reads that warning verbatim before the ceremony.

The officiant still has to be physically in Utah. If either of you will not be physically in Utah at the ceremony, each of you must file an affidavit, before the license is issued, consenting to the personal jurisdiction of Utah and the issuing county for any later divorce or annulment (Utah Code 81-2-303(5)).

Utah County offers a fully digital application and a remote ceremony "for couples appearing via video conference with no in-office participation," hosted from Provo by a deputy clerk. If you plan an online ceremony, confirm with the issuing county that its website carries the required warning, and check separately whether your home country will recognize the marriage.

Age requirements: who can marry in Utah

You can marry without anyone's consent at 18. Utah Code 81-2-403 makes the marriage of anyone under 18 void unless the 16-or-17 route below is followed (or the person lawfully married before May 14, 2019). There is no route for anyone under 16.

A 16- or 17-year-old (a "minor" under Utah Code 81-2-301) may marry only with both of these (Utah Code 81-2-304):

• Parental consent: signed consent from a parent or legal guardian, given in person to the county clerk, with special rules where parents are divorced.
• Court authorization: written authorization from a juvenile court judge or court commissioner in the county where either party lives, based on findings that the minor is entering the marriage voluntarily and that the marriage is in the minor's best interest.

Both parties must also complete premarital counseling, which the court may waive only if it is not reasonably available. The minor must document the parent-child relationship, identity and birth date, and temporary or altered documents are not accepted.

What changed in 2019, 2025 and 2026

In 2019, H.B. 234 (Marriage Amendments) ended the old route for 15-year-olds and set up the 16-or-17 consent-and-court process. The enrolled 2019 bill capped the age gap at seven years.

S.B. 76 (Marriage Amendments), effective May 7, 2025, tightened the court step:

• Four-year cap: Utah Code 81-2-304 now provides that the judge or court commissioner "may not issue a written authorization for a minor to marry if the age difference between both parties to the marriage is more than four years."
• 72-hour hold: no authorization until 72 hours after the petition is filed.

H.B. 103 (Underage Marriage Amendments), effective May 6, 2026, went further:

• New felonies: unlawfully marrying a minor, transporting a minor out of state to marry, and traveling out of state to marry a minor are third-degree felonies, with a limitation period that runs 15 years after the minor turns 18.
• Marriages performed elsewhere: under Utah Code 81-2-407(3), a minor's marriage performed outside Utah is not valid in Utah unless it meets the same 16-or-17, four-year, consent and court conditions.

Who cannot marry in Utah

Close relatives. Utah Code 81-2-402 voids marriages between parent and child, ancestors and descendants, brothers and sisters of the half or whole blood, uncles or aunts and nieces or nephews, first cousins, and relatives closer than the fifth degree under the civil-law count.

The first-cousin bar has an exception. First cousins may marry if both are 65 or older, or if both are 55 or older and a district court finds that either party is unable to reproduce.

Someone already married. A marriage is void if either party has a living spouse and has not been divorced (Utah Code 81-2-403(1)(a)).

Race is never a bar. Race, ethnicity and national origin cannot be used to refuse a marriage or a license (Utah Code 81-2-405).

Same-sex couples marry in Utah on the same terms as anyone else. Utah Code 81-2-102 still contains older wording describing marriage as "only the legal union of a man and a woman," but 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, which makes that wording unenforceable.

Blood tests and medical requirements

Utah's license statutes (Utah Code 81-2-302 through 81-2-304) contain no blood test or medical exam requirement. Two older sections, 81-2-404 and 81-2-406, now do the opposite of a health screen: they validate marriages that were once invalid because of conditions such as epilepsy, AIDS, syphilis or gonorrhea.

Who can perform a marriage ceremony in Utah

Utah Code 81-2-305(1) authorizes these officiants:

• an individual 18 or older "who is authorized by a religious denomination to solemnize a marriage"
• a Native American spiritual advisor
• the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state treasurer or state auditor
• a mayor or county executive
• a justice, judge or commissioner of a court of record, or a judge of a court not of record
• a U.S. judge or magistrate
• the county clerk or the clerk's designee
• a Utah state legislator or a member of Utah's congressional delegation
• a retired Utah judge or magistrate, under Utah Supreme Court rules
• a military chaplain

Section 81-2-305 contains no state registration step for officiants. Officiants may not delegate the ceremony to someone else, except that a county clerk may act through a designee.

Penalties are serious. Knowingly solemnizing a marriage without a valid license is a third-degree felony, and knowingly solemnizing a prohibited marriage between two adults is a class A misdemeanor (Utah Code 81-2-305).

Witnesses and the ceremony

Each party must willingly declare their intent to marry, and the officiant pronounces them married. At least two witnesses aged 18 or older must witness the declarations and the pronouncement (Utah Code 81-2-302(4)). Utah's statute provides no self-uniting ceremony without an officiant.

Courthouse weddings

Some county clerks perform ceremonies. Davis County charges $10 for an in-office ceremony, and Utah County runs a remote ceremony by video, performed by a deputy clerk "with a simple script." Ask your county clerk for the current ceremony fee and schedule.

Proxy marriage

Utah does not allow a stand-in to marry for an absent party. Utah Code 81-2-303 bars using a power of attorney to obtain the license, and 81-2-302(4) requires each party to declare their own intent. The online-ceremony rules above are the only way for a party to marry in Utah without being physically there.

After the ceremony: returning the license and getting copies

The officiant gives you a certificate showing the issuing county and the date of issue. Utah Code 81-2-305(5) then requires: "Within 30 days after the day on which a marriage is solemnized, the individual solemnizing the marriage shall return the marriage license to the county clerk that issued the marriage license."

The returned license carries a certificate signed by the officiant stating the date and place of the marriage and the names of two or more witnesses. Failing to return it is an infraction, and a false statement on it is perjury. The clerk files and records the license and sends a transcript to the state registrar (Utah Code 81-2-306).

Davis County includes two certified copies in its $60 fee and charges $5 for each additional copy. For ordering a certified copy later, see Utah marriage and divorce records and how to get a copy of your marriage certificate. For changing your surname, see Utah name change laws.

Couples who never had a ceremony

Utah Code 81-2-408, as amended in 2026, allows a court petition to validate a marriage that was not solemnized only before May 5, 2027, and only during the relationship or within one year after it ends. If that describes you, read Utah common-law marriage and talk with a Utah lawyer before that date.

Common myths about Utah marriage licenses

• "Utah's marriage law is Title 30, Chapter 1." It was renumbered to Title 81, Chapter 2 on September 1, 2024.
• "There is a waiting period." There is none for adults; Weber County says the license can be used immediately.
• "The license lasts 30 days." The statute says 32 days from issuance (Utah Code 81-2-302(5)).
• "A 15-year-old can marry with a judge's approval" or "a seven-year age gap is allowed." The 15-year-old route ended in 2019, and the gap cap has been four years since May 7, 2025.
• "You can marry online through Utah with no strings attached." The officiant must be in Utah, the county must post the multilingual warning, the officiant must read it, and both of you file jurisdiction affidavits.

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about Utah marriage licenses under Title 81, Chapter 2 of the Utah Code, verified on October 7, 2026. It is not legal advice. For your specific situation, contact your county clerk or a lawyer licensed in Utah.

Related

• Marriage license requirements by state
• Arizona marriage license requirements
• Nevada marriage license requirements
• Utah marriage and divorce records
• Name change after marriage

Last updated: October 7, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is a marriage license in Utah?

Each county sets its own fee. Salt Lake County charges $50, Davis County $60 (two certified copies included), Weber County $50, and Utah County says most applicants pay $71.75, including all fees.

Is there a waiting period to get married in Utah?

No. Utah's licensing statutes (Utah Code 81-2-302 and 81-2-303) set no waiting period, and Weber County states that a license can be used immediately.

How long is a Utah marriage license valid?

32 days. Under Utah Code 81-2-302(5), a license that is not used within 32 days after the day it is issued is invalid, and you would need a new license.

Do we have to get the license in the county where we marry?

No. Utah Code 81-2-302(1) accepts a license from the county clerk of any Utah county, but the license can only be used in Utah.

Can we get married online through Utah if we live somewhere else?

Only under the conditions in Utah Code 81-2-302 and 81-2-303. The officiant must be in Utah, the issuing county must post a warning, in at least six languages, that an online marriage may be invalid in your home country, the officiant must read it to you before the ceremony, and each of you must file an affidavit consenting to Utah jurisdiction for any divorce or annulment.

Can a 16-year-old get married in Utah?

Only with a parent's or guardian's consent given in person to the clerk and a juvenile court's written authorization (Utah Code 81-2-304). Since May 7, 2025, the court cannot authorize the marriage if the age gap is more than four years or until 72 hours after the petition is filed.

How many witnesses do you need to get married in Utah?

At least two witnesses who are 18 or older (Utah Code 81-2-302(4)).

Can first cousins marry in Utah?

Generally no. Utah Code 81-2-402 voids first-cousin marriages unless both cousins are 65 or older, or both are 55 or older and a district court finds that either one is unable to reproduce.

Can I use a power of attorney to get a Utah marriage license for my partner?

No. Utah Code 81-2-303 states that a power of attorney may not be used to secure a marriage license on behalf of a party to a marriage.