By state
Georgia marriage license: probate court fees and the premarital discount
In Georgia the license comes from the probate court, and a premarital education program cuts its price sharply. What each court charges, what the program changes and where the record is kept.
License fee · Georgia
$56–$78
| County range | $56–$78 |
| Waiting period | none |
| Earliest ceremony | October 24, 2026 |
| License expires | does not expire |
Your wedding day fits the license.
Fee set by each probate court; a 6-hour premarital program cuts the fee; the license does not expire. Official page
A Georgia marriage license is issued by the probate court of a county, and each court sets its own price: the courts read for this site ask $56 to $78 without premarital education, for example Clayton $66 ($26 with course). A premarital education program of 6 hours lowers the fee by $40, which brings the same range down to $16 to $38, so the course pays for a large share of the license. Georgia sets no waiting period: once the court has issued the license, the ceremony can take place. The pages read do not publish a single expiry period for the whole state, so the date by which the license must be used is a question to put to the probate court that issues it. After the ceremony, the signed license is filed with that probate court, which records the marriage and issues certified copies. The state Office of Vital Records holds marriage records only from June 1952 to August 1996; for every other year, the county probate court is the only source. Fees were read on the court pages on October 24, 2026, and this site is not a government office.
Marriage license fee in your state
License · Georgia
$16–$38
| Who sets the fee | each county or town |
| Course discount | $40 (6 h) |
| Example | Clayton $66 ($26 with course) |
Fees and rules read on official pages by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the fees are checked
A probate court matter
Georgia gives marriage licenses to its probate courts, the same courts that handle wills and estates. That is why the fee varies: each court publishes its own, and the pages read for this site go from $56 to $78. The court page is also the place to check the hours and the documents requested.
| Without the program | With a program certificate | |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest fee read | $56 | $16 |
| Highest fee read | $78 | $38 |
In money terms, the program discount of $40 is larger than the whole gap between the cheapest and the most expensive court read, which is $22. The certificate therefore weighs more on the final price than the fee level of the county itself.
What the premarital program changes
The discount is the point of the program in Georgia. A course of 6 hours with a provider earns a certificate, and the probate court then takes $40 off the license. In the cheapest counties read here, the license falls to under a third of its usual price. Nearby states use the same lever with other amounts: the Florida course saves $25, and the Tennessee course saves $60. The mini calculator compares the license with the certificate copies a couple will order afterward.
From license to certificate: what you pay at each step
License + certificate copies
$71
| License (before the wedding) | from $56 |
| Certified certificate copies (2) | $15 |
| Who issues the certificate | state and county |
Dates to keep in mind
- Waiting period: no waiting period, so the license can be used as soon as it is issued.
- Expiry: not published in the data read for this site; ask the issuing probate court.
- Recording: the signed license returns to the same court, which records the marriage.
Copies depend on the year of the wedding
For a marriage celebrated now, the certified copy comes from the probate court of the county that issued the license. The state Office of Vital Records keeps only the marriages from June 1952 to August 1996 and sells those copies at $10, then $5 for each extra one. The marriage certificate copies page explains how other states split the work, and the name change checklist lists where to present the copy first. Before ordering, count the offices that will want a certified copy, such as Social Security, the driver's license office, a bank or an employer's benefits department: ordering them together is simpler than going back to the court later. The cost by state page shows where Georgia's fees sit nationally.