No appointment is necessary, and the process takes about 30 minutes.

Marriage applications are processed from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Consult our Holiday Schedule and Office Closures before visiting our office locations.

Marriage Licenses are valid for 60 days.

Non-Florida residents can get their license the same day as the wedding ceremony. Learn how to get a marriage license as Non-Florida Residents.

Florida residents must wait 3 days before using their license. Learn how to get a marriage license if one or both of you are a Florida Resident, and your option to eliminate this waiting period.

Applicants are required to provide one of the following ID's, and the ID must include his/her date of birth:

1. A Florida identification card or driver's license issued by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
2. A passport issued by the Department of State of the United States.
3. A passport issued by a foreign government if the document is stamped by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service.
4. A driver's license or identification card issued by a public agency authorized to issue driver's licenses in a state other that Florida, a territory of the United States, Canada or Mexico.
5. An identification card issued by any branch of the armed forces of the United States.
6. An inmate identification card issued on or after January 1, 1991, by the Florida Department of Corrections for an inmate who is in the custody of the department.
7. A sworn, written statement from a sworn law enforcement officer as to the date of birth of an applicant and that the identification documents for an inmate in an institution of confinement were confiscated upon confinement and that the person named in the document is the person whose signature is to be sworn to.
8. An identification card issued by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Make sure your ID reflects your current address.

If you have moved, make sure your photo ID reflects your current address.

The oath you will be asked to answer is as follows:

"Do you swear or affirm that all the information contained in the license is true and correct, that neither of you are married at this time, neither of you have been adjudicated incompetent, and you are not related within the prohibited degree?"

Make sure your photo ID reflects your current address.

No appointment is needed, and weddings are performed from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

If you are applying for your marriage license and wish to get married at the courthouse the same day, allow yourself an additional 30 minutes to get your marriage license. Ceremonies with larger wedding parties may be limited to 30 minutes.

Consult our Holiday Schedule and Office Closures before visiting our office locations.

Box 18a on your Marriage License shows the first date you can get married (effective date). Your ceremony must be on or after this effective date to be considered valid.

Understand important dates and instructions for using your Marriage License.

That depends.

If both of you are Non-Florida Residents, you do not have to wait to get married. You can have your ceremony the same day you receive your Marriage License.

If one or both of you are a Florida Resident, a 3-day waiting period applies. For example: A Florida-Resident couple, who receives their license on Tuesday, can have their wedding ceremony 3 days later, on Friday.

To have this 3-day waiting period waived, consider taking a Premarital Counseling Course before you apply for your Marriage License.

When in doubt, consult box 18a on your Marriage License which shows the first date you can get married.

Yes. Your license is valid for 60 days from the date it is issued. Check box 19 on your Marriage License for the last day you can use your license.

Understand important dates and instructions for using your Marriage License.

Florida Statutes 741.07 states that the following persons can perform a marriage in Florida.

• Ordained ministers, clergy, or elders
• Florida Judicial Officers (Judges), including retired judicial officers
• Florida Clerks of the Circuit Court
• Florida Notary Publics only
• Society of Friends or Quakers

Who cannot perform your ceremony? Out-of-state notaries, persons who are not ordained, and family or friends who are not one of the above groups of people authorized by Florida Law to perform wedding ceremonies.

No. You do not need a special license or to register with the Clerk and Comptroller's office to perform the ceremony.

You are encouraged to become familiar with important dates and instructions for Wedding Officiants. You will learn how to properly complete the license, when the license can be used, and when and where to return the completed Marriage License,

If you are interested in providing counseling services for a Florida couple, you must register as a Premarital Course Provider in order for a Florida-Resident couple to receive the reduced fee and be able to use their license immediately.

No. Weddings are performed from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

If you are applying for your marriage license and wish to get married at the courthouse the same day, allow yourself an extra 30 minutes to get your marriage license. Ceremonies with larger wedding parties may be limited to 30 minutes. 

Consult our Holiday Schedule and Office Closures before visiting our office locations.

The most important thing to do after the wedding ceremony is to properly complete the license and return it to the Clerk and Comptroller's office to be placed in the official records. If your license is not returned to the Clerk and Comptroller, there will be no record of your marriage.

Learn more about how to complete and return your completed Marriage License after the ceremony.

Yes. The Officiant who performed the ceremony, or a trusted family member or friend, can return the completed license by mail or in person at either of our Sarasota Main or Venice Full-Service Branch office locations.

Be sure to review the instructions on how to complete and return a Marriage License after the ceremony before you send in the Marriage License.

A certified copy of your Marriage License is required to change your name - on your photo identification, passport, credit cards, bank accounts, insurance, etc. - by most banks, companies, and government agencies (such as Department of Motor Vehicles, Social Security Administration, U.S. Department of State, etc.) You can purchase certified copies two ways.

1. Contact the Clerk and Comptroller's Public Access Department to order certified copies be sent to you; or
2. Purchase certified copies in person once your license has been delivered to the Clerk and Comptroller after the ceremony.

Only the Wedding Officiant (the person who performed the ceremony) needs to sign the license after the ceremony. The couple does not need to sign. Witness signatures are optional.

Learn more about how to complete and return a marriage license after the ceremony.

Yes. You can search an index of Sarasota County Marriage Records from 1982 to present online.  Images are available to view and print.

For older records or copies, contact the Public Access Department for assistance.

The Online Marriage Records Search shows Marriage Licenses issued in Sarasota County from 1982 to present.

If you were married before 1982, contact the Public Access Department for assistance with your Marriage Record search.

If you received your Marriage License from another Florida county, you can check the records of that Florida Clerk and Comptroller.

If you know that you were married in Florida, you can also check the Bureau of Vital Statistics or the website Vital Chek.

Amending a Marriage License requires the following:

• Signed and notarized affidavits from each party;
• Legal proof of the change requested; and
• Additional cost of $7.00.

 Contact the Clerk and Comptroller's office to begin the process of amending your license.