Expediting a marriage certificate?

TashaK24

Does anyone know if it's possible to get the marriage certificate faster than the couple of months it takes for them to mail it to you?  I'd like to get a copy before we head back to the mainland for visa purposes but I don't know if it's possible.

breaness

You can expedite it by requesting certified copies, I know there's a charge, but it still takes a pretty long time.

ETA: I just emailed my WC to find out the procedure and how long it's expected to take.

breaness

I don't believe there is any way to get a copy before you leave. If you sign up for a certified copy (read: expedited service) before you leave the license office they will send you a copy in 3-4 weeks instead of 3-4 months. Be prepared to pay cash for that as well as the license.

TashaK24

Ah, crap.  I was afraid of that :P 

breaness

At least weeks is WAY better than months! I would be pissed if I were you and had to wait 4 months!

suwannee79

The expediting fee is only $10 so it's not too bad  They gave me a form to fill out and send in with the cash to expedite the process.

breaness

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_hawaii_expediting-marriage-certificate?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:73Discussion:ba346536-824a-4d86-bd58-2bb8338b4e35Post:068a6291-2f4c-4d9b-8ac1-c2e3134bac15">Re: Expediting a marriage certificate?</a>:
[QUOTE]The expediting fee is only $10 so it's not too bad :)  They gave me a form to fill out and send in with the cash to expedite the process.
Posted by suwannee79[/QUOTE]

<div>Have you gotten it yet?</div>

carrieoz_76

We got ours within 8 weeks, and didn't pay for expedited service.  I understand with the expedited service, you can get it within 6 weeks.  Knotties advised that they were all getting theirs within about two months without expedited service, so it didn't seem worth it to spend extra for two week quicker service.

ETA: What you get from them without expedited service or ordering extra stuff is one certified copy.  You can order more, but you don't really need more than one certified copy since SSA and our Department of Licensing only asked to look at it, and if anyone needs to keep a copy, they can just have a copy of the certified copy.

Oh, and you can't get it by the time you leave because you and your officiant will sign it then the officiant sends it off to the state's vital statisics office to be processed.  That's where it gets mailed from.

ninja500

We're still waiting for ours and it's been 2 months, but we knew it takes about 4 months to get.  Yes, you can get it in 3-4 weeks.  I'm kind of wishing we got ours expidited since I've started a new job with an email, name badge, ect. that I'm going to have to get changed once I start the new last name process.

SydneyKate8711

This is an odd question but do you sign a marriage certificate as part of the ceremony in Hawaii?

In Australian weddings you usually sign the certificate as part of the ceremony but I can't see anywhere in our service that our celebrant has emailed us that we sign the certificate. Is that done as part when we apply for the marriage license?

carrieoz_76

In ours, we signed the certificate after the ceremony, but before the group pictures (although lots of folks took pics of it ).

Tanq&Tonic

We signed ours during the reception. We just snuck into the house for a few minutes with our officiant and signed without many onlookers.

RiverChick

I just started a new thread about requesting a copy of my marriage certificate online directly with the State of Hawaii.  Hopefully that will be quicker the the conventional route of mailing it in.  I got married in Kauai last month, so we will see how long it takes as I just ordered it today.

Here is the website: www.ehawaiigov.org/ohsm">www.ehawaiigov.org/ohsm