What do you need for a MA marriage license?

fulloflove

Anybody been through this before?

I know we need:
3 days
money

How about any documents?

Thanks!

elizabethany13

Did this in Salisbury last month.

Both of you have to go before the town clerk to sign forms that s/he will give you.

I would bring your IDs, but they will only ask you for them if you look under 18.

It's that easy!

2dBride

Yeah, MA is good about that.  I was previously divorced, but they didn't need to see any documentation of that.

As for the three days, you can even get around that with court permission, which is very easy to get.  If you can go three days before, you'll save time and money by doing so, but it's not an absolute requirement.

duhbeckster

This document gives a pretty good overview of what's needed to get a license in MA--I *think* it's up to date, but some others on this board would probably know better than I do: http://www.glad.org/uploads/docs/publications/how-to-get-married-ma.pdf

What I'm perplexed by is what to do AFTER we get the license. We're having a wedding ceremony/reception in another state (that won't recognize our marriage), so the Massachusetts ceremony is really just a legal formality and we won't have tons of friends/family there. We were planning to just do a quick courthouse wedding, but as far as I can tell, MA doesn't have anything like that. Instead it sounds like we'll need to pay a Justice of the Peace at least $100, which is a little annoying. But if anyone out there knows of a better option, please do tell!

2dBride

It is possible for a non-minister or non-justice of the peace (such as a relative or friend) to obtain special permission from the Governor to perform a marriage in Massachusetts. Call the Governor's office at 617-727-5787 to obtain an application for a one-time special appointment to solemnize a marriage. After approval, a $25 fee is paid to the Commissions Division of the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.  I suspect this is your easiest and least expensive alternative.

fulloflove

Thanks everybody - very helpful. It actually sounds a bit less complicated than I was thinking, We are honeymooning there so the 3 day wait period is not an issue for us.

pokeycip

We are also going to marry in MA and make it a wedding and honeymoon trip in one this September.  There is a gay event planner who has special packages for couples coming from out of state to get married there.  http://www.14stories.com/  They can arrange many details for you including getting the license and a justice of the peace.  We have been planning on using them, but we haven't talked with them yet.
P.S.  Were both from Ohio too.  O-H-I-O!

2dBride

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_gay-weddings_need-ma-marriage-license?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:44Discussion:2235ec54-9ab9-4cec-8dd3-7dcb4cbdb3c5Post:5958c973-f560-4b5b-8870-737f4b830486">Re: What do you need for a MA marriage license?</a>:
[QUOTE]We are also going to marry in MA and make it a wedding and honeymoon trip in one this September.  There is a gay event planner who has special packages for couples coming from out of state to get married there.  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.14stories.com/">http://www.14stories.com/</a>   They can arrange many details for you including getting the license and a justice of the peace.  We have been planning on using them, but we haven't talked with them yet. P.S.  Were both from Ohio too.  O-H-I-O!
Posted by pokeycip[/QUOTE]Welcome!  I was originally an Ohioan, too.

I would say that the fees for 14 Stories are greater than what you would pay doing it on your own--and arranging a wedding on your own is not that difficult.  We got the waiver of the three-day waiting period and the marriage license on our own, at a cost of $105 in filing fees.  By state law, Justices of the Peace may charge $25 to $75 for a marriage in a town they live in.   Thus, it would be a total of under $200 to do by yourself what they would charge $725 to do.  And it was just not that hard to do.