WV Marriage License Requirements, Fees, and Ceremony Rules

To get a marriage license in West Virginia, both partners must apply together in person at any county clerk’s office in the state, show proof of age and provide Social Security numbers, and pay $55 (or $35 if you have completed a qualifying premarital education course). The license is issued the same day, is valid for 60 days, and must be used for a ceremony performed by an authorized officiant within the state. These are the core West Virginia marriage license requirements, and they apply whether you live in the state or are traveling in to marry.

Without a license, a West Virginia marriage is void. The state does not recognize common-law marriages formed inside its borders, so the license is the only route to legal recognition here.¹

Who Can Legally Marry

Age

The general age of consent for marriage is 18. A 16- or 17-year-old can still obtain a license with notarized written consent from a parent or legal guardian, acknowledged before an officer authorized to acknowledge a deed. Both parents must sign if they share parenting rights; the parent with primary decision-making authority can sign alone if the parents are separated; a legal guardian signs if both parents are deceased.²

Two hard limits apply. A license will not issue to a 16- or 17-year-old whose intended spouse is more than four years older, and no one under 16 may marry under any circumstances.²

Prohibited Relationships

West Virginia bars marriages between close blood relatives, and the list is broader than many people expect: parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, siblings, half-siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, first cousins, and double cousins. The same prohibitions apply to relatives by marriage (affinity), and they stay in effect even after the marriage that created the connection ends by death or divorce.³ A marriage that violates these rules, or one entered by someone already legally married to another person, can be annulled.

What to Bring

The application form comes from the county clerk’s office; some counties post it online. You will sign it under oath in front of the clerk. Have the following ready:

Proof of age for each applicant. Acceptable proof includes a certified birth certificate, driver’s license, voter registration certificate, or a sworn affidavit from both parents or a legal guardian. The statute also allows “other good and sufficient evidence,” so clerks have some flexibility.⁴
A Social Security number for each applicant. A non-citizen without one may substitute a visa number or equivalent identification number.⁵
Full legal names, dates of birth, places of birth, and current addresses for both applicants, plus each parent’s full name (including the mother’s maiden name) and birthplace.
If either applicant was previously married, the exact date the prior marriage ended and whether it ended by divorce, annulment, or death.

Fees and the Premarital Education Discount

The statutory license fee is $55, reduced to $35 for couples who complete a qualifying premarital education course.⁶ Some counties add small technology or processing surcharges, so the total at the counter may run a few dollars higher. Cash and money orders are universally accepted; check and card acceptance varies by county, so call ahead if that matters.

To claim the $20 discount, bring a signed and dated certificate of completion when you apply. The course must be at least four hours long, completed within the twelve months before your application, and taught by a licensed professional counselor or marriage and family therapist, a licensed social worker, or a licensed psychiatrist. The curriculum covers communication, conflict management, finances, and parenting.⁷ The course is optional.

Where and When to Apply

Both applicants must appear together, in person, at a county clerk’s office. You cannot send one person alone or apply by mail. Any county clerk in West Virginia will do, regardless of where you live or where the ceremony will take place, as long as the wedding itself happens within the state.⁸

There is no waiting period for adult applicants. The license can be issued and used the same day.⁸ Once issued, it is valid for 60 days. If the ceremony does not happen in that window, the license expires and you start over with a new application and a new fee.⁹

Who Can Perform the Ceremony

West Virginia authorizes three groups to officiate anywhere in the state:

Ministers, priests, rabbis, and leaders of recognized spiritual assemblies, churches, or religious organizations. The term is broad enough to reach leaders of groups that do not formally ordain clergy.
Family court judges, circuit court judges, and justices of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
Active and senior Article III federal judges and federal magistrate judges who are West Virginia residents.

Religious officiants must register with the West Virginia Secretary of State before they can legally perform a marriage here. Registration requires documentation of ordination or authorization from the religious organization, a notarized letter signed by two church officers, and a $25 application fee through the Secretary of State’s online portal. A printout of a digital ordination certificate alone is not enough.¹⁰ This step catches couples off guard when a friend gets ordained online for the wedding. Confirm registration well before the date.

After the Ceremony

The officiant must endorse the license (recording the fact of the marriage, the date, and the place) and return the original to the county clerk who issued it. The deadline is before the sixth day of the month following the month of the marriage. A wedding on March 20, for example, requires return by April 5.⁹ If the clerk does not receive the return within 60 days, the clerk is required to notify one of the spouses. Follow up if that happens. The returned license is what creates your official marriage record.

Getting Certified Copies

Once the license is returned and recorded, certified copies are available from the county clerk who recorded it or from the state Vital Registration Office in Charleston. You will need copies for name changes, insurance, tax filing, and other routine business. The state office charges $12 per certified copy, which covers a nonrefundable search of the year you specify plus one year on either side; additional three-year search periods cost $12 each. Requests can be made in person or by mail; West Virginia does not offer direct online ordering, and third-party websites that advertise it simply add fees on top of a mail request.¹¹

One Boundary Worth Knowing

A ceremony without a license produces no marriage in West Virginia, and the state does not create common-law marriages from cohabitation or reputation here. It will recognize a valid common-law marriage established in another state where such marriages are legal, but there is no in-state workaround: the license is the requirement.

1
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 48-2-101 – Necessity of Marriage License
2
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 48-2-301 – Age of Consent for Marriage; Exception
3
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code Chapter 48 Article 2 – Marriages – Section 48-2-302
4
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 48-2-106 – Proof of Age
5
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code Chapter 48 Article 2 – Marriages – Section 48-2-104
6
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 59-1-10 – Fees of County Clerk
7
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 48-2-701 – Premarital Education Encouraged; Requirements
8
Jefferson County Commission, WV. Applying for a Marriage License
9
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 48-2-202 – Endorsement and Return of Licenses by Persons Solemnizing Marriage; Duties of Clerk Pertaining Thereto
10
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 48-2-401 – Persons Authorized to Perform Marriages
11
West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. Certificate Requests