MarriageLicenseCheck

City of Boston marriage license

Issued by the City of Boston Registry Division (Registry: Birth, Death, and Marriage)

To marry in City of Boston, you apply to the City of Boston Registry Division (Registry: Birth, Death, and Marriage). There, both applicants must appear together, there is no residency requirement and the license is valid throughout the state.

Fee
$50
Waiting period
3 daysWaiver available
License valid
60 daysFrom issuance
Both must appear
YesTogether, at the same time

Reviewed July 26, 20267 official sourcesSee sources

Where to apply

City of Boston Registry Division (Registry: Birth, Death, and Marriage)

Apply online
Yes

Booking the appointment online triggers an emailed link to a Marriage Intention form. That form only pre-fills the paperwork — both parties must still come to City Hall together to review, edit and sign it, and no license is issued remotely.

Official requirement

After you book an appointment with us online, we will email you a link to a Marriage Intention form that you need to complete.

Apply in person
Yes

In Massachusetts the issuer is the municipal clerk or registrar, not a county office. In Boston that office is the Registry Division at 1 City Hall Square, Room 213, windows 24 and 25 — not the separate City Clerk's Office, which performs ceremonies and handles domestic partnerships but does not issue licenses. Appointments must be booked in advance through the Registry's online booking application, linked from its page; walk-ins are not accepted.

Official requirement

To apply for a marriage license, couples must apply together and in person, and you need to make an appointment.

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

The Registry Division asks couples to call 617-635-4175 if one party is a Massachusetts resident on active military duty outside the state, or if a special circumstance such as hospitalisation or imprisonment prevents either party from coming to City Hall.

Official requirement

To apply for a marriage license couples must apply together, make an appointment, and come to City Hall in person.

Residency
No residency is required. State law lets a couple intending to marry in Massachusetts file their notice of intention with the clerk or registrar of any city or town in the commonwealth.

Recorded from state statute, which state law makes uniform. The Registry Division's own page states no residency condition either way.

Official requirement

Persons intending to be joined in marriage in the commonwealth shall, not less than three days before their marriage, jointly cause notice of their intention to be filed in the office of the clerk or registrar of any city or town in the commonwealth

Identification and personal information

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

Identification
  • Valid photo identification for each applicant
  • Accepted forms: passport, driver's license, state ID, or military ID

The Registry Division does not publish whether a document not on this list is accepted, nor an expiry condition. Each applicant must also give a Social Security number; see the Social Security rule.

Official requirement

Valid photo identification (this includes passports, driver's licenses, state IDs, or military IDs)

Social Security number
Both applicants must give their Social Security number at the appointment. An applicant who does not have one must write down the reason — for example that it was never issued, or that the applicant is not a resident.
Official requirement

Your Social Security numbers (if you do not have a Social Security number, you have to write down why — for example, it was never issued or you are not a resident)

Age
Both applicants must be 18 or older, and neither may currently be married to anyone else.

Eighteen is an absolute floor in Massachusetts: a clerk or registrar may not accept a notice of intention from a person under 18.

Official requirement

Any couple can get married as long as each person is 18 or older, and currently not married.

Applicants under 18

This does not apply here.

Massachusetts has no path to marriage under 18. There is no parental-consent or judicial-approval route, so there is no minor rule for the Registry Division to publish.

Not applicable here

The clerk or registrar shall not receive a notice of the intention of marriage of a person under the age of 18.

Prior-marriage documents

If a marriage ended
An applicant who was previously married must state how many times, and give the date the divorce became final or show annulment papers. You cannot apply until at least one day after the divorce is final, and in Massachusetts a divorce is not considered final until after 90 days. Check the divorce decree for the exact date.

An applicant who lives in Massachusetts but divorced in another state is asked to call the Registry Division at 617-635-4175 first.

Applies in some cases

You can’t apply for a marriage license until at least one day after the divorce is final. In Massachusetts, a divorce is not considered final until after 90 days.

Fee and payment

Fee
$50

This is the license application fee only. A City Hall ceremony with the Registry Division costs a further $75, cash only, and a court waiver of the three-day wait costs $195.

Official requirement

A $50 application fee.

Payment methods
  • Cash
  • Debit card
  • Credit card
  • Money order made payable to the "City of Boston"

These are the methods for the $50 license fee. The separate $75 City Hall ceremony fee is cash only.

Official requirement

We take cash, a debit or credit card, or a money order made payable to the "City of Boston".

Waiting period and expiration

Waiting period
3 days

The license is printed and handed over at the appointment, but it cannot be used for three days. State law counts Sundays and holidays inside the three days.

Official requirement

The Registry will issue your marriage license immediately. However, you cannot use it to get married for 3 days after your appointment.

Waiver
A court can waive the three-day wait by issuing a Marriage Without Delay order. The court charges $195. Ask the Registry Division which court to go to when you file the marriage intention form.

The $195 is a court fee, separate from the $50 license fee. The Registry Division does not name the court on its page.

Official requirement

If you want to waive the 3 day waiting period, a court needs to give you Marriage Without Delay Waiver to waive the waiting period. They will charge you a $195 fee.

License expires
60 days

The 60 days run from the date the marriage intention is filed and signed — the appointment date — not from any later pickup. With the three-day wait, the usable window runs from day 3 to day 60.

Official requirement

Your marriage license expires 60 days from the date that you file and sign your marriage intention at the Registry Department on the day of your appointment.

Where it is valid
Valid anywhere in Massachusetts. A license issued in Boston can be used for a ceremony in any city or town in the commonwealth, but it cannot be used for a ceremony outside the state.

State law allows a marriage to be solemnized in any place within the commonwealth, so the license is not tied to Boston or to Suffolk County.

Official requirement

You also can't use the marriage license outside of Massachusetts. You have to get married in the state.

Witness and ceremony notes

Witnesses
No witness is required.
Official requirement

No, Massachusetts law does not require a witness to solemnize a wedding ceremony.

Officiant
A Massachusetts minister, priest, rabbi or justice of the peace can officiate. A friend or family member can officiate one ceremony under a One-Day Marriage Designation from the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Clergy from outside Massachusetts need state authorization. Couples can also marry at City Hall: the Registry Division holds 15-minute ceremonies in Room 213, officiated by a Registry Division justice of the peace, for $75 cash; the City Clerk's Office runs comparable ceremonies in Room 601.

Registry Division ceremonies can be streamed for guests who cannot attend in person if you say so when booking. The ceremony room seats 14 guests and holds up to 20 people standing.

Official requirement

A Massachusetts minister, priest, rabbi, or justice of the peace can officiate the ceremony. You can also have a friend or family member marry you with a One-Day Marriage Designation.

Returning and recording the license

After the ceremony
The person who performed the ceremony must complete the license and return it to the Registry Division, 1 City Hall Square, Room 213, Boston, MA 02201-2006. The marriage is not registered until that happens.

State law requires the officiant to return the certificate to the clerk or registrar who issued it no later than the tenth day of the month following the month in which the ceremony took place.

Official requirement

The person who performed the ceremony needs to complete the marriage license and mail it to the City

Processing
The license is issued at the appointment and can be taken away the same day, but it cannot be used for three days.

A certified copy of the marriage certificate afterwards costs $12 in person and $14 by mail. Where Boston issued the license and the ceremony was held at City Hall, the Registry Division registers the marriage after the ceremony and mails a certified copy.

Official requirement

The Registry will issue your marriage license immediately.

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

Access and language

Published notes
  • Interpretation, translation and disability accommodation services are provided at no cost on request to registry@boston.gov or 617-635-4175
  • The accommodation notice is published in Spanish, Haitian Creole, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Vietnamese, Cabo Verdean Creole, Russian, Arabic, Portuguese, French and Somali
  • Interpreters are available at no cost for City Hall ceremonies on request to marriage@boston.gov
  • City Hall ceremonies can be streamed so guests who cannot attend in person can watch
Official requirement

Interpretation, translation, and disability accommodation services are available to you at no cost.

Common questions

How much does a marriage license cost in City of Boston?
The fee is $50, set by the City of Boston Registry Division (Registry: Birth, Death, and Marriage).
Is there a waiting period for a marriage license in City of Boston?
Yes. A waiting period of 3 days applies between issuance and the ceremony. A waiver is available in some circumstances.
How long is a City of Boston marriage license valid?
The license is valid for 60 days from issuance. A ceremony after that date requires a new license.
Do both partners have to appear in person in City of Boston?
Yes. Both applicants must appear together to complete the application.
Do we have to be residents to marry in City of Boston?
No residency is required. State law lets a couple intending to marry in Massachusetts file their notice of intention with the clerk or registrar of any city or town in the commonwealth.

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 26, 2026.

  1. How to Get Married in BostonCity of Boston Registry Division · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-26
  2. Get Married Through The Registry Department At City HallCity of Boston Registry Division · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-26
  3. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 207, Section 19: Intention of marriage; situs; time; feesThe General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts · state-level source · retrieved 2026-07-26
  4. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 207, Section 24: Notice of intention of marriage of person under the age of 18 prohibitedThe General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts · state-level source · retrieved 2026-07-26
  5. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 207, Section 28: Certificate of intention of marriage; delivery; timeThe General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts · state-level source · retrieved 2026-07-26
  6. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 207, Section 38: Solemnization of marriage; situs; persons authorizedThe General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts · state-level source · retrieved 2026-07-26
  7. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 207, Section 40: Solemnization of marriage; records; returnsThe General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts · state-level source · retrieved 2026-07-26

Recorded conflicts

  • State statute (M.G.L. c.207 §28) describes the clerk or registrar delivering the certificate on or after the third day from the filing of the notice of intention. The Registry Division instead prints and hands over the license at the appointment and bars its use for three days. The earliest lawful ceremony date is the same either way; the Registry Division's own published procedure is what this record records.
  • The Registry Division's older guidance URL, /departments/registry/how-get-marriage-license, now returns 404. The current page, /departments/registry/how-get-married-boston, is the one linked from the Registry department page and is the source used here.
  • Appointments are booked through a third-party scheduling host linked from the Registry Division's page rather than a boston.gov address, so no appointment URL is recorded in this dataset. Book through the 'online booking application' link on the issuing authority page.

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