Wedding license - Ontario

MichelleS1717

Paul and I are getting married just outside of Ottawa Ontario next September, and I'm a bit confused about when to apply for our wedding license.  Any ideas?

I thought it was 3 months or less before the wedding, but our officiant just sent me an email saying to apply for our wedding certificate 90 days after our ceremony.

Um, aren't those two things the same thing?  Or am I completely confused, and are they completely different things?



M.

miellen

They are 2 different things.

There is the marriage license, which you get before the wedding and need in order to get married. It's around $130 depending where you apply for it. You need to bring this with you on the wedding day to give to your officiant.

Then there is the marriage certificate, which you apply for 90 days after your marriage. You mail a brown envelope (which you will get from your offifiant) to the government. I think that one is $15

ring_pop

^ What miellen said

Technically they are actually the same document. Your license is the application to marry, so to speak. At your wedding, you sign it. This is now the marriage certificate, which is the proof that you got married. The certificate gets filed in the coffers of some government office somewhere and you need to request to have your own copy of it. You'll need it if you want to change your last name, for example.

Littlin

You don't need to wait 90 days to apply for your marriage certificate.  I did it 2 weeks after the wedding and got it less than a week later!  There could be a while to wait, depending on the backlog of certificates to print, but you can apply right away!

missymr

In Ottawa you get your marriage license from the city. It costs $153 at the moment but is only valid for 90 days after it's issued so don't apply for it until 90 days before the wedding.

http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/permits/marriage/index_en.html