A marriage license runs $18 to $169 depending on the state, and most couples pay $40–$90 at the clerk's counter. Indiana ($18–$30) is the floor; Washington ($169 after its July 2025 jump from $69) is the ceiling, with Minnesota at $125 and Los Angeles County's approved $176 fee (delayed; currently $91) set to push past it. The license is the cheapest line in your wedding budget, but it comes with the details couples actually trip on: county-set fees, waiting periods, expiration windows, and certified copies for the name change. Here's the full map.
| State | Fee | State | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $40–$80 | Montana | $53 |
| Alaska | $60 | Nebraska | $25 |
| Arizona | $72–$83 | Nevada | $75–$102 |
| Arkansas | $35–$60 | New Hampshire | $50 |
| California | $91–$176* | New Jersey | $28 |
| Colorado | $30 | New Mexico | $25 |
| Connecticut | $30–$50 | New York | $35–$40 |
| Delaware | $70–$120 | North Carolina | $60 |
| Florida | $93.50 | North Dakota | $65 |
| Georgia | $50–$60 | Ohio | $50–$75 |
| Hawaii | $65 | Oklahoma | $50 |
| Idaho | $30 | Oregon | $60 |
| Illinois | $60–$75 | Pennsylvania | $50–$90 |
| Indiana | $18–$30 | Rhode Island | $24 |
| Iowa | $35 | South Carolina | $30–$100 |
| Kansas | $85.50 | South Dakota | $30–$40 |
| Kentucky | $35 | Tennessee | $95 |
| Louisiana | $27.50 | Texas | $82 |
| Maine | $40 | Utah | $35 |
| Maryland | $35–$85 | Vermont | $35–$60 |
| Massachusetts | $30–$50 | Virginia | $30 |
| Michigan | $20–$30 | Washington | $169 |
| Minnesota | $125 | West Virginia | $57 |
| Mississippi | $20–$25 | Wisconsin | $95–$120 |
| Missouri | $50 | Wyoming | $30 |
Typical published base fees as of 2026. Where you see a range, the state lets counties set the fee. *Los Angeles County's increase from $91 to $176 was approved but delayed — call the clerk before budgeting for it. Three rules survive every fee change: apply in the state where you'll marry, confirm the exact amount with that county's clerk before you go, and bring a payment method they actually accept, a third of clerk offices still won't take a card.
Pick your state, toggle the ceremony and copies, apply the counseling discount if your state offers one.
Marriage License Cost Calculator →Roughly fifteen states cut the license fee for couples who complete an approved premarital education course. The six biggest verified discounts:
| State | Standard | With course | Course length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | $50 | $5 | certified provider |
| Texas | $82 | $22 | 8 hours |
| Georgia | ~$56 | $16 | qualified program |
| Florida | $93.50 | $61 | 4 hours |
| Tennessee | $95 | $60 | approved program |
| Minnesota | $125 | $50 | 12 hours / 6 sessions |
Courses run $20–$50 online or through a local provider, so in every state above the certificate pays for itself, usually several times over. Texas is the headline: $60 back for an 8-hour course that most providers deliver in a weekend or a set of evenings.
The ceremony line is smaller than couples expect. Most counties charge $25–$100 for a civil ceremony with a judge or justice of the peace; some run them free during business hours, and Las Vegas, the volume leader, has officiants starting around $50–$75. Add certified copies at $5–$25 each, you want 2–4 for a name change, and the all-in math looks like this for a Texas couple: $82 license + $25–$100 ceremony + $10–$50 for two copies = $117–$232, with the counseling certificate dragging it down to $57–$172.
What the fee never covers: witnesses in states that require them (usually one or two, and clerk offices don't supply them), photos beyond what your phones take, and the marriage certificate copies themselves, those are ordered separately after the signed license goes back to the clerk.
One budgeting note: the license is a rounding error next to the wedding itself. If the paperwork math has you thinking about the bigger picture, the wedding budget calculator allocates the whole event, the officiant cost calculator prices the non-courthouse ceremony route, and the marriage tax penalty calculator handles what happens after the paperwork clears, since filing jointly helps some couples and costs others.
$18 to $169 depending on the state, with most couples paying $40-$90. Indiana ($18-$30) and Michigan ($20-$30) are cheapest; Washington ($169 after its July 2025 increase), Minnesota ($125), and Los Angeles County (at $91, with an approved increase to $176 still pending) are the expensive end. Because counties set fees in most states, two couples in the same state can pay different amounts.
In the states that offer the discount, yes, and the course usually costs less than it saves. Oklahoma drops $50 to $5, Texas $82 to $22 (8-hour course), Georgia about $56 to $16, Florida $93.50 to $61 (4-hour course), Tennessee $95 to $35, and Minnesota $125 to $50, the biggest dollar discount in the country. Fifteen-plus states have some version of the discount.
License plus ceremony plus copies. The civil ceremony itself runs $25-$100 in most counties, some do it free, Las Vegas officiants start around $50-$75. Certified copies for the name change run $5-$25 each and most couples want 2-4. A Texas example: $82 license + $25-$100 ceremony + $10-$50 for two copies = $117-$232 all-in.
The fee funds the county clerk's vital-records work: processing, filing, verification, and producing the document. States with county-set fees show wide internal ranges, Pennsylvania runs $50-$90 and Maryland $35-$85 by county, and urban counties with higher operating costs tend to sit at the top. A few states raised fees sharply in 2025, Washington jumped from $69 to $169, which is why stale articles underquote.