By state
Florida marriage license: fee, residents, course and copies
Florida treats residents and visitors differently, and the premarital course changes both the price and the date. What the clerk of court charges and what happens to the license after the wedding.
License fee · Florida
$86
| Waiting period | 3 days |
| Earliest ceremony | October 27, 2026 |
| License expires | December 23, 2026 |
Your wedding day fits the license.
Fee set by state law; residents wait 3 days unless they take a 4-hour premarital course, which also cuts the fee. Official page
A Florida marriage license is sold by the clerk of court of each county, but the price is not a local decision: section 741.02 of the Florida Statutes fixes it, so every clerk read for this site asks $86. Couples who complete a premarital preparation course of 4 hours and hand the provider's certificate to the clerk pay $25 less, $61 in all, and the course also lifts the waiting period. That wait concerns Florida residents only: without the course, they must let 3 days pass after the license is issued before the ceremony, while a couple in which neither partner lives in Florida can marry the same day. The license is valid for 60 days; an unused license then lapses and a new application is needed. After the wedding, the signed license goes back to the clerk who issued it, who files and records it, then forwards it to the state Bureau of Vital Statistics, which can also sell certified copies once the record reaches it. Fees and rules were read on the clerks' pages on October 24, 2026.
License waiting period and validity
Waiting period · Florida
72 hours
| Valid for | 60 days |
| Rule | Fee set by state law; residents wait 3 days unless they take a 4-hour premarital course, which also cuts the fee. |
Fees and rules read on official pages by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the fees are checked
Residents and visitors: who waits
Florida sorts couples by residence, not by county. The clerk asks where each applicant lives, and the answer decides whether the license can be used at once. The table sums up the three situations described on the clerks' pages.
| Situation | Waiting period | License fee |
|---|---|---|
| Florida resident, no course certificate | 3 days | $86 |
| Florida resident with a course certificate | None | $61 |
| Neither partner lives in Florida | None | $86 |
The 3 days are counted from the issue of the license. A resident couple that applies on a Tuesday without a course certificate plans the ceremony for Friday or later. The waiting periods page sets Florida beside the states that impose none.
The premarital course in practice
The course lasts 4 hours and is taken before the application, with a provider chosen by the couple. The certificate it produces is shown to the clerk on the day the couple applies. For a resident couple it brings two gains at once: $25 off the price and no waiting period, which makes it worth booking a few weeks before the wedding.
A fee written into state law
Most states let counties set their own license price. Florida does not: the amount sits in section 741.02 of the Florida Statutes, so the $86 asked in Jacksonville is the same in every other county. Comparing clerks on price is therefore pointless; what changes is how appointments are booked and when the office is open. The mini calculator below shows the figure with and without the course, and the cost comparison by state places it among the others.
Marriage license fee in your state
License · Florida
$86
| Who sets the fee | state law |
| Course discount | $25 (4 h) |
| Example | – |
From the clerk's file to the state copy
Once the ceremony is over, the officiant completes the license and it returns to the clerk of court of the issuing county, who files and records it. The clerk then forwards it to the Bureau of Vital Statistics; the state says this transfer takes about 60 days. During that period, a certified copy comes only from the county clerk. Afterward the state can issue it as well, at $5 for the first copy and $4 for each additional one: see marriage certificate copies. That copy opens the name change steps, beginning with Social Security. A partner born in Florida who needs a birth certificate for another state's clerk pays $9: Florida birth certificate. For a neighboring state where a course also cuts the fee, read the Georgia marriage license page.