City of Hartford marriage license
To marry in City of Hartford, you apply to the City of Hartford Town and City Clerk, Bureau of Vital Records. There, both applicants must appear together.
- Fee
- $50
- Waiting period
- 48 hoursFrom 2026-10-01
- License valid
- 65 daysFrom issuance
- Both must appear
- YesTogether, at the same time
Reviewed July 30, 20265 official sourcesSee sources
Where to apply
- Apply online
- No
The Bureau of Vital Records heads the whole process "In-Person Only" and requires both parties to appear. It does link a fillable marriage license application form that couples can complete in advance, but no license is issued remotely.
Official requirementIn-Person Only
- Apply in person
- Yes
Licenses are issued at the Bureau of Vital Records, Hartford City Hall, 550 Main St., 1st Floor, Room 103. Staff are available Monday to Thursday 8:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Friday 8:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. No appointment system is published.
Official requirementBoth parties must appear in person
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
- Yes
Connecticut law says the same thing: the registrar may not issue a license until both people have appeared and applied. No exception is published for an absent applicant.
Official requirementBoth parties must appear in person
- Residency
- Residence does not decide where you apply. Connecticut ties the license to the ceremony: you apply to the vital records office of the town where the marriage will take place, whether or not either applicant lives there. A couple marrying in Hartford applies in Hartford even if neither lives in the city or the state; a Hartford couple marrying elsewhere in Connecticut applies in that town instead.
Neither the Bureau of Vital Records nor the Department of Public Health publishes any residency condition on the applicants themselves. Connecticut removed the old alternative of applying in a town where either person resided (P.A. 09-232), so the ceremony town is now the only basis.
Official requirementIf you are planning to marry in Connecticut, you must obtain a marriage license from the vital records office of the town where the marriage will take place.
Identification and personal information
We list what the office says it may ask for. We never collect any of it.
- Identification
- A driver's license or non-driver photo ID for each applicant
- A Social Security card for each applicant
- A passport instead, for an applicant who is not a resident
The Bureau of Vital Records also states that a blood test is no longer required. It does not publish whether any other document is accepted in place of those listed, so call ahead if you do not hold them.
Official requirementA driver’s license or non-drivers photo ID, and social security card (or if non-resident a passport)is required
- Social Security number
- Each applicant must bring a Social Security card. State law then requires both applicants' Social Security numbers to be recorded in the administrative purposes section of the license.
The Bureau states the card requirement; the recording requirement comes from Connecticut statute. An applicant who has no Social Security number should call the Bureau on (860) 757-9690 before applying, because no alternative is published.
Official requirementA driver’s license or non-drivers photo ID, and social security card (or if non-resident a passport)is required
- Age
- Both applicants must be at least 18. State law adds that neither may already be party to a marriage or to a relationship carrying substantially the same rights, that neither may be under the supervision or control of a conservator without that conservator's written consent, and that the couple may not be related within the degrees listed in C.G.S. § 46b-21.Official requirement
Parties must be at least 18 years of age
- Applicants under 18
This does not apply here.
Connecticut has no route to marriage under 18. The old provision letting a 16 or 17 year old be licensed with consent was deleted in 2023, and the separate marriage-of-minors statute was repealed in 2017, so there is no minor rule for the Bureau of Vital Records to publish.
Not applicable hereP.A. 23-44 deleted former Subsec. (b) re issuance of marriage license to minor who is at least 16 but under 18 years of age, deleted former Subsec. (a) designator and amended former Subsec. (a)(2) by deleting “Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section”, effective July 1, 2023.
Prior-marriage documents
- If a marriage ended
This office does not publish this. Confirm with them directly before relying on it.
The Bureau of Vital Records does not publish what a previously married applicant must bring or show. The state application worksheet asks each applicant to state whether they are single, widowed or divorced, but no document requirement is published. Call the Bureau on (860) 757-9690 before applying if a previous marriage ended recently.
Not published by this office
Fee and payment
- Fee
- $50
The Department of Public Health publishes the same $50 fee for every Connecticut town. A certified copy of the marriage certificate afterwards is a separate $20.
Official requirementMarriage license are $50.00 and valid for 65 days
- Payment methods
- Cash
- Money order payable to the City of Hartford
- Credit card
These are the methods published for the license fee. Ordering a marriage certificate by mail is different: that takes money orders only, and the Bureau states it does not accept personal checks.
Official requirementPurchases can be made with cash or money order payable to the City of Hartford.
Waiting period and expiration
- Waiting period
- 48 hours
Takes effect October 1, 2026 — not yet in force.
This is a new statewide rule, not a Hartford rule, and it starts on 1 October 2026. Public Act 26-141, signed on 4 June 2026, bars the registrar from issuing the license sooner than 48 hours after the application, and bars the ceremony from being held sooner than 48 hours after the date of application. For an application made before 1 October 2026, neither the Bureau of Vital Records nor the Department of Public Health publishes any waiting period at all. If the two applicants sign and swear the license on different dates, the later date is the date of application. Two days is the planning figure; the rule is written in hours.
Applies in some casesThe registrar shall issue a license to any two persons eligible to marry under this chapter, provided no such license may be issued by the registrar sooner than forty-eight hours after the time of such application.
- Waiver
This office does not publish this. Confirm with them directly before relying on it.
Public Act 26-141 provides no waiver of the 48-hour wait it creates, and the Bureau of Vital Records publishes none.
Not published by this office- License expires
- 65 days
The start of the 65 days changes on 1 October 2026. Until then state law runs them from the date of application, taking the later signing date when the two applicants sign on different days. From 1 October 2026 Public Act 26-141 runs them from the date the license is issued instead. The Bureau of Vital Records publishes the length but not the start point, so go by the dates on your own license.
Official requirementMarriage license are $50.00 and valid for 65 days
- Where it is valid
- A Hartford license is for a ceremony in Hartford. Connecticut requires the license to be issued by the registrar for the town in which the marriage is to be celebrated, so to marry in another Connecticut town you apply to that town's registrar instead.
Marriages celebrated before 6 June 2014 in a town other than the issuing town were validated by a separate statute, C.G.S. § 46b-24a. There is no standing provision validating later ones, so do not treat a Connecticut license as usable town to town.
Official requirementThe license must be obtained from the city/town where the ceremony will occur.
Witness and ceremony notes
- Witnesses
This office does not publish this. Confirm with them directly before relying on it.
Neither the Bureau of Vital Records nor the Department of Public Health publishes a witness requirement or a witness count, and Connecticut's marriage chapter sets none.
Not published by this office- Officiant
This office does not publish this. Confirm with them directly before relying on it.
The Bureau of Vital Records publishes nothing about who may officiate or about ceremonies at City Hall. Connecticut sets the list of authorized officiants by statute, at C.G.S. § 46b-22, and the Department of Public Health restates it on its own License to Get Married page — but neither is the office that issues this license, so no officiant rule is recorded here as a Hartford fact.
Not published by this office
Returning and recording the license
- After the ceremony
This office does not publish this. Confirm with them directly before relying on it.
The Bureau of Vital Records does not publish who returns the completed license or by when. Connecticut sets that deadline by statute, at C.G.S. § 46b-34, and the Department of Public Health describes the officiant submitting the license to the registrar of the town where the marriage took place — but neither is the issuing office, so no return deadline is recorded here as a Hartford fact.
Not published by this office- Processing
- A certified marriage certificate cannot be issued until 48 hours after the completed marriage license has been submitted to the Bureau of Vital Records. Certificates are otherwise available immediately in person, and cost $20 each.
The Bureau does not publish how long issuing the license itself takes at the counter. Plan around the office hours instead: Monday to Thursday 8:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Friday 8:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. From 1 October 2026 the registrar may not hand over the license sooner than 48 hours after the application.
Official requirementEffective January 9, 2024, there will be a mandatory 48-hour waiting period for obtaining a certified marriage certificate after the submission of a marriage license.
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 City of Hartford publishes no accessibility statement or language-access commitment that could be retrieved for this record. Its site carries an automated translation widget, but that is a site feature rather than a published service commitment by the Bureau of Vital Records.
Not published by this office
Common questions
- How much does a marriage license cost in City of Hartford?
- The fee is $50, set by the City of Hartford Town and City Clerk, Bureau of Vital Records.
- Is there a waiting period for a marriage license in City of Hartford?
- Yes. A waiting period of 48 hours applies between issuance and the ceremony.
- How long is a City of Hartford marriage license valid?
- The license is valid for 65 days from issuance. A ceremony after that date requires a new license.
- Do both partners have to appear in person in City of Hartford?
- Yes. Both applicants must appear together to complete the application.
- Do we have to be residents to marry in City of Hartford?
- Residence does not decide where you apply. Connecticut ties the license to the ceremony: you apply to the vital records office of the town where the marriage will take place, whether or not either applicant lives there. A couple marrying in Hartford applies in Hartford even if neither lives in the city or the state; a Hartford couple marrying elsewhere in Connecticut applies in that town instead.
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.
- Obtain a Marriage LicenseCity of Hartford Town and City Clerk, Bureau of Vital Records · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-30
- Obtain a Marriage CertificateCity of Hartford Town and City Clerk, Bureau of Vital Records · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-30
- License to Get MarriedConnecticut Department of Public Health, State Vital Records Office · state-level source · retrieved 2026-07-30
- Connecticut General Statutes, Chapter 815e — MarriageConnecticut General Assembly · state-level source · retrieved 2026-07-30
- Public Act No. 26-141 (Substitute House Bill No. 5509), An Act Concerning Justices of the PeaceConnecticut General Assembly · state-level source · retrieved 2026-07-30
Recorded conflicts
- Connecticut's timing rules change on 1 October 2026. Public Act 26-141, signed on 4 June 2026, adds a 48-hour wait between application and issuance, and re-anchors the 65-day life of the license from the date of application to the date of issuance. Both the Bureau of Vital Records page and the Department of Public Health page still describe the pre-October position and neither mentions the change. The waiting period is recorded here as conditional, with the date it starts, rather than left unpublished, because a couple planning a same-day Connecticut wedding after 1 October 2026 would otherwise be misled.
- The Bureau of Vital Records notice headed "Marriage Certificate Memo as of January 08, 2025" states in its own text that it is "Effective January 9, 2024". The two dates disagree on the page. More importantly the 48 hours in that memo is a wait before a certified marriage CERTIFICATE can be issued after the completed license is submitted — it is not a wait before the wedding, and it is unrelated to the separate 48-hour rule that Public Act 26-141 introduces on 1 October 2026.
- The Town and City Clerk's current site menu item "Vital Records" redirects off-site to the VitalChek ordering service. The marriage license content lives under the older "Vital-Records-Old" path, which is the page this record cites and the page the Clerk's own search surfaces.
- Retrieval note for future re-checks: www.hartfordct.gov intermittently returns an Akamai "Access Denied" on several paths even to a browser user-agent, and www.cga.ct.gov serves an incomplete TLS chain (missing the GoDaddy intermediate), so strict clients fail to verify it. Both were retrieved successfully on 2026-07-30.
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