 Obtaining A Marriage Certificate
In Massachusetts one of the most important steps in planning a wedding – whether a religious or secular ceremony – is obtaining a marriage certificate. If the wedding is to be performed in Massachusetts, the couple can obtain a certificate from any City or Town Clerk in Massachusetts.
Newton City Clerk Application Hours
Monday - Friday: 8:30am to 5:00 pm.
Tuesdays: 8:30am to 8:00 pm
Please arrive at least 1 hour before the office closes to allow enough time to complete the forms.
What Do I Do to Obtain a Marriage Certificate?
To obtain a marriage certificate you must be at least eighteen years old. The couple must go together to the Office of the City Clerk to complete the Marriage Intention forms. The Marriage Intention must be completed by the couple in person in the Office of the City Clerk. Marriage Intention forms cannot be mailed or taken out of the office. The filing fee is $35.00 and can be paid at City Hall with cash, check or debit card. The couple should consider the date and place of the wedding, the name of the officiant and the name that each party will use after the wedding. The couple can pick up the Marriage Certificate on the third day after the filing of the Intention (for example, if the couple applies on Tuesday, the license will be ready on Friday).
Note: As of January 28, 2005 blood tests are no longer required for the issuance of a marriage license.
Important Dates to Remember
You cannot receive your Marriage Certificate until the third day after filing the Intention, unless a court order is obtained. The wedding ceremony must be performed within 60 days of the date of filing the Marriage Intention.
What Do I Do with the Certificate?
Bring the original certificate to the officiant of the wedding. To register the marriage, the officiant (a member of the clergy or Justice of the Peace who is commissioned in Massachusetts who presides over the ceremony) must sign the certificate in black ink and return it directly to the City or Town Clerk that issued the license.
After the Wedding; Obtaining a Marriage Certificate
How Do I Get a Copy of my Certificate?
The officiant will sign and return the original marriage certificate to the City Clerk or Town Clerk that issued the certificate. Once the certificate is received in the Office of the City or Town Clerk, the couple can obtain a certified copy of the Marriage Certificate. If either party changes his or her name following the wedding a certified copy of the Marriage Certificate will have to be obtained by the couple for Social Security and the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Couples may purchase as many certified copies as they like. Copies are $10.00 each.
A certified copy of the Marriage Certificate can only be obtained from the City or Town Clerk that issued the certificate even if the ceremony was performed in another community or the couple moves.
Click Here For Printable Certified Copy Form (PDF)
A certified copy can also be obtained from the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics at:
Registry of Vital Records and Statistics
150 Mt. Vernon Street
First Floor
Dorchester, MA 02125-2714
For more information on the Registry of Vital Records please visit the state’s website at: http://www.mass.gov/.
If the officiant for your wedding is from another state, or is not with the clergy or a Justice of the Peace, he or she must apply for and receive a one-day commission before the marriage takes place. The Commission must be obtained from:
Secretary of State, Commissions Division
McCormack Building 17th floor
1 Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
Information and the appropriate forms can be found on-line at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/.
For more information please call the Clerk's Office at (617) 796-1200.
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