By state
New York marriage license: town clerk fee, 24-hour wait and NYC
New York State splits marriage licenses between many local clerks and one separate office for the five boroughs. What the state fee covers, how the wait is counted and where the certified copy comes from.
License fee · New York (outside NYC)
$40
| Waiting period | 24 hours |
| Earliest ceremony | October 25, 2026 |
| License expires | December 23, 2026 |
Your wedding day fits the license.
Town or city clerk outside New York City; 24-hour wait; valid 60 days. Official page
Outside New York City, a New York State marriage license is bought from a town or city clerk, and its price is set by state law at $40. The ceremony cannot take place until 24 hours have passed since the license was issued; a judge can waive that wait by court order. The license is then valid for 60 days, or 180 days for members of the armed forces. Inside the five boroughs, licenses are handled by a different office, the Office of the City Clerk of New York City, which runs its own fees and appointments, and the marriages it records stay out of the state health department's files. After a ceremony elsewhere in the state, the signed license goes back to the clerk who issued it, and certified copies can be ordered from that town or city clerk or from the New York State Department of Health, which charges $30 per copy by mail; online orders cost more because a vendor fee is added. Couples married in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx or Staten Island order their copies from the City Clerk instead. Data read on October 24, 2026.
From license to certificate: what you pay at each step
License + certificate copies
$100
| License (before the wedding) | $40 |
| Certified certificate copies (2) | $60 |
| Who issues the certificate | state and county |
Fees and rules read on official pages by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the fees are checked
Town clerk, city clerk or City Clerk
In New York the word "clerk" can point to two very different systems. Across the state, each town and city has a clerk who sells marriage licenses at the state price. New York City, by contrast, has a single Office of the City Clerk with its own fees, booking system and records. The table shows which one a couple deals with.
| Where the license is bought | Issuing office | License fee |
|---|---|---|
| Anywhere in New York State outside the five boroughs | Town or city clerk | $40 |
| Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island | Office of the City Clerk of New York City | Set by the City Clerk |
This site does not show a New York City fee because none was in the data read; the City Clerk's own page gives it.
The 24 hours and the waiver
New York requires 24 hours between the moment the license is issued and the ceremony. A license collected at 3 p.m. on a Thursday can be used from 3 p.m. on Friday. When that timing does not work, a judge can grant a waiver by court order, which lets the ceremony take place sooner. The tool below shows the wait and the validity together; the waiting periods page lists the states with no wait at all.
License waiting period and validity
Waiting period · New York (outside NYC)
24 hours
| Valid for | 60 days |
| Rule | Town or city clerk outside New York City; 24-hour wait; valid 60 days. |
60 days, or longer for the military
The license lasts 60 days. For members of the armed forces, the validity extends to 180 days, so a service member whose leave dates move has more room. Couples planning a ceremony at a city hall can compare total costs on the courthouse wedding page.
After the ceremony: two record systems
Outside New York City, the officiant returns the signed license to the clerk who issued it. That clerk can sell certified copies, and the New York State Department of Health can too, at $30 per copy by mail. Inside the city, the marriage is recorded by the City Clerk alone, and the state cannot supply a copy. The certificate is not the same document as the license; the license and certificate page explains which one an agency wants, and the marriage certificate copies page compares the states. A partner born in New York State who needs a birth certificate pays $30 to the state office: New York birth certificate.