MarriageLicenseCheck

Anchorage marriage license

Issued by the Alaska Department of Health, Health Analytics and Vital Records Section (Bureau of Vital Statistics) — Anchorage Vital Records Office

To marry in Anchorage, you apply to the Alaska Department of Health, Health Analytics and Vital Records Section (Bureau of Vital Statistics) — Anchorage Vital Records Office. There, the applicants do not both have to appear, there is no residency requirement and the license is valid throughout the state.

Fee
$60
Waiting period
3 business days
License valid
90 daysFrom issuance
Both must appear
NoEach party must sign the application in person before a licensing officer or notary

Reviewed July 30, 20266 official sourcesSee sources

Where to apply

Alaska Department of Health, Health Analytics and Vital Records Section (Bureau of Vital Statistics) — Anchorage Vital Records Office

Apply online
Yes

There is no online application — the form is a PDF you print. But you do not have to be in Alaska to apply: the oath can be administered by any notary in your own community, and the signed application can be mailed with payment to the Anchorage or Juneau Vital Records Office. The Alaska Court System adds that a public notary or postmaster may notarize it.

Official requirement

Both parties must be sworn in by a Licensing Officer or Notary and sign this application IN PERSON in their presence. This can be done at the Juneau or Anchorage Vital Records Office, at any Alaska Courthouse, by an Alaska postmaster or by a notary in your home jurisdiction.

Apply in person
Yes

In Anchorage the license comes from the Health Analytics and Vital Records office at 3901 Old Seward Highway, Suite 101. Most Alaska courts issue licenses, but the Alaska Court System states that the Anchorage and Juneau courts do not — so a courthouse is not an option in Anchorage.

Official requirement

Submit the completed application and fee to the nearest Alaska Vital Records Office or an Alaska Court Office.

When to apply

We will work out when you can apply. We never ask for names, dates of birth or any other personal detail.

Who must appear

Both applicants
No

Each party must sign the application in person before a licensing officer or notary, but the two do not have to appear together, and neither has to appear at the Vital Records office at all. The license is not issued until both parties have completed and signed the application.

Official requirement

Both parties must be sworn in by a Licensing Officer or Notary and sign this application IN PERSON in their presence.

Residency
No residency requirement. Alaska residents and nonresidents alike may apply.
Official requirement

Alaska residents and nonresidents are eligible to apply for a marriage license.

Identification and personal information

We list what the office says it may ask for. We never collect any of it.

Identification
  • A government-issued photo ID for each party — examples given are a driver's license, state-issued ID, passport, military ID, or Tribal/BIA card
  • A birth certificate may be required to show proof of age, and must be provided for any party under 18
  • A copy of the divorce, annulment or dissolution decree if a previous marriage ended within the past 60 days
  • For a party aged 16 or 17: a court order plus written parental or guardian consent

The Alaska Court System adds that a birth certificate on its own is not sufficient identification — photo ID showing name and birthdate is what is asked for.

Official requirement

Both parties must present a government-issued photo ID. (examples include: driver's license, state-issued ID, passport, military ID, or Tribal/BIA card).

Social Security number
Each party must give a Social Security number on the application.

The number is collected under federal child-support law.

Official requirement

Disclosure of your Social Security Number is mandatory under 42 U.S.C. §666 (a)(13) and may be used for child support purposes.

Age
Both parties must be 18 or older to marry without parental consent and a court order. No one under 16 may marry in Alaska for any reason.

The application also allows a party under 18 who is a member of the U.S. armed forces on active duty to be licensed without consent.

Official requirement

Both parties must be 18 years of age or older to marry without parental consent and a court order. A birth certificate may be required to show proof of age.

Applicants under 18
A party aged 16 or 17 needs both a court order granting permission to marry and a written parental consent form signed by both parents, filed with the application, and the other party can be no more than three years older. The Bureau of Vital Statistics asks to be contacted on (907) 465-3391 before the application is completed.

Alaska raised the floor from 14 to 16 and added the court-order requirement in 2022.

Applies in some cases

Persons ages 16 and 17 will be required to get a court order as well as submit a parental consent form signed by both parents with their application. If either party is 16-17, the person you are marrying can be no more than 3 years older.

Prior-marriage documents

If a marriage ended
All divorces must be final and filed with the courts in the state that granted them, and the beginning and ending dates of every previous marriage must be listed on the application. A copy of the divorce, dissolution or annulment decree is required only when the marriage ended less than 60 days before the application.
Applies in some cases

Submitting a copy of a divorce decree is only required if the divorce or dissolution occurred less than sixty days prior to applying for the marriage license.

Fee and payment

Fee
$60

The $60.00 buys the license only. A mailed-out license is published at $73.00 in one place and at $70.00 elsewhere on the same page ($60.00 plus $10.00 for Priority Mail with tracking) — confirm with the office before mailing payment. The Certificate of Marriage, which is the document that proves the marriage is registered, costs a further $30.00 and is ordered after the signed license is returned.

Official requirement

The Marriage License Application fee is $60.00 ($73.00 for mailed-out licenses), payable by check or money order and must be submitted with the application.

Payment methods
  • Check, payable to Alaska Vital Records
  • Money order, payable to Alaska Vital Records

Payment must be submitted together with the application.

Official requirement

Please make checks or money orders payable to Alaska Vital Records and be sure to include payment when mailing in your Marriage License Application.

Waiting period and expiration

Waiting period
3 business days

The clock runs in full business days from the day the issuing office receives the completed application — not from the day you sign it, and not in calendar days. Applying by mail therefore adds the mail time on top.

Official requirement

There is a three (3) day waiting period that begins once a mailed or in-person application is received by the issuing office. This means that you must wait at least three full business days after the application is submitted before you can pick up the license and the marriage ceremony can be performed.

Waiver

This office does not publish this. Confirm with them directly before relying on it.

Neither the Vital Records office nor the Alaska Court System publishes any way to shorten or waive the three-day waiting period.

Not published by this office
License expires
90 days

Two separate clocks, and they are easy to confuse: the application stays valid for a year, but the issued license lasts only 90 days from issuance. The service page words the same rule as "three (3) months from the date of issuance". There are no refunds and no extensions — if the license lapses you reapply and pay the $60.00 fee again.

Official requirement

The application is valid for one year, however once the license is issued and picked up, it is only valid for 90 days. If you do not get married within that time frame, the license will be void and you must reapply, including another $60.00 fee.

Where it is valid
Valid for marriages performed anywhere in Alaska or in Alaska State waters, and nowhere else. It is not restricted to Anchorage.
Official requirement

An Alaskan marriage license is valid only for marriages performed in Alaska or in Alaska State waters.

Witness and ceremony notes

Witnesses
Exactly one witness. The witness must be 18 or older, must confirm that each party agrees to marry the other, and must give a printed name, mailing and email address and phone number on the marriage certificate. The officiant cannot be the witness.

Alaska reduced the requirement from two witnesses to one in 2022.

Official requirement

The witness must be 18 years of age or older and confirm that each party agrees to marry the other.

Officiant
A ceremony is required — a marriage is not valid in Alaska unless it is solemnized, and there is no common law marriage. It may be performed by a religious leader, a state judge or magistrate, any person holding elective public office in the state, or a marriage commissioner appointed by a court. A marriage commissioner appointment lets any adult, Alaska resident or not, marry one specific couple on one specific date at one specific place; if any of those facts change, a new appointment order is needed.

Proxy marriages are not allowed: both parties must be present with the officiant and the witness. The Alaska Court System publishes $25.00 for a marriage commissioner appointment and $25.00 for a ceremony performed by a judge or magistrate at a courthouse.

Official requirement

Proxy marriages (where someone stands in for the other party) are not permitted in Alaska. The two parties must be present before the one witness and the officiant in order for the ceremony to be performed. The officiant cannot be the witness.

Returning and recording the license

After the ceremony
After the ceremony the license must be signed by both parties, the officiant and the one witness, and the original returned to Health Analytics and Vital Records — in person or by mail — within seven days of the ceremony. The state registers the marriage from that returned license.

Either the officiant or the couple may return it. The Certificate of Marriage can only be ordered once the license has been returned and the marriage registered.

Official requirement

After the marriage ceremony, the person who performed the ceremony or the couple must return the completed marriage license to Health Analytics and Vital Records. This must be done within seven days after the ceremony.

Processing
The license is ready for pickup, or can be mailed, three business days after a completed application is received.

Regular mail can take four weeks or longer and cannot be tracked; $10.00 adds Priority Mail with tracking. Vital Records warns that it works with no third-party vendor except VitalChek.

Official requirement

Your license will be available for pickup or can be mailed to you 3 business days after a completed application is received.

Ordering the certified record afterwards is a separate request: official certified copy page

Access and language

Published notes

This office does not publish this. Confirm with them directly before relying on it.

The Vital Records marriage pages carry no accessibility or language-assistance statement of their own.

Not published by this office

Common questions

How much does a marriage license cost in Anchorage?
The fee is $60, set by the Alaska Department of Health, Health Analytics and Vital Records Section (Bureau of Vital Statistics) — Anchorage Vital Records Office.
Is there a waiting period for a marriage license in Anchorage?
Yes. A waiting period of 3 business days applies between issuance and the ceremony.
How long is a Anchorage marriage license valid?
The license is valid for 90 days from issuance. A ceremony after that date requires a new license.
Do both partners have to appear in person in Anchorage?
No. Each party must sign the application in person before a licensing officer or notary.
Do we have to be residents to marry in Anchorage?
No residency requirement. Alaska residents and nonresidents alike may apply.

Each answer restates the verified rule above; the official wording and sources are in the numbered sections.

Sources and reviewed date

Every fact above is quoted from one of these pages. Reviewed July 30, 2026.

  1. Marriage LicenseAlaska Department of Health, Health Analytics and Vital Records Section · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-30
  2. Marriage License Application (form VS 351(a), Rev. 04/2026)Alaska Department of Health, Health Analytics and Vital Records Section · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-30
  3. Vital Records OrdersAlaska Department of Health, Health Analytics and Vital Records Section · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-30
  4. HB 62 FAQs — updated marriage statuteAlaska Department of Health, Health Analytics and Vital Records, Division of Public Health · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-30
  5. Information About Marriage License, Ceremony, and Certificate (VS-361)Alaska Court System · state-level source · retrieved 2026-07-30
  6. Marriage Information — Frequently Asked QuestionsAlaska Court System · state-level source · retrieved 2026-07-30

Recorded conflicts

  • License lifetime is published two ways. The Vital Records service page says "three (3) months from the date of issuance"; the current application form (VS 351(a), Rev. 04/2026) and the Alaska Court System's VS-361 both say 90 days. Recorded as 90 days — the figure printed on the form couples actually file — with the three-month wording preserved in the note.
  • Mail-out pricing is inconsistent on the issuing authority's own page: "$73.00 for mailed-out licenses" in the how-to-apply section, and "$70" in the waiting-period section as the total of the $60.00 fee plus $10.00 Priority Mail with tracking. Both figures are recorded and neither is presented as the settled amount.
  • The Alaska Court System's VS-361 (rev. 11/22) starts the three-day waiting period "when either party starts the process by completing that party's section of the application form", while the Vital Records service page and the 04/2026 application both start it when the completed application is received by the issuing office. The issuing office's own, more recent wording is recorded.
  • Most Alaska courts issue marriage licenses, but the Alaska Court System publishes that the Anchorage and Juneau courts do not. In Anchorage the license must be obtained from the Health Analytics and Vital Records office, so guidance that points Alaskans to "any courthouse" does not hold here.
  • Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality — a merged city and borough. It is recorded as a borough because the borough is Alaska's county-equivalent unit, with the Municipality of Anchorage named as the county equivalent.

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