MarriageLicenseCheck.com

Yellowstone County exact answer

Do both applicants have to appear in Yellowstone County?

This answer belongs to the issuing office and task named above. It does not substitute a statewide summary or infer a rule the office does not publish.

Direct answer

No. The applicants do not both have to appear under the published rule in Yellowstone County. Only one partner has to come to the counter, though both must complete and sign the application. Montana Code Annotated 40-1-201(3) expressly allows an applicant who lives outside the county to complete and swear their part of the application before the official who accepts license applications where they live. The Yellowstone County Clerk of District Court publishes no appearance rule of its own, so a couple sending one partner alone should call 406-256-2869 first to settle how the absent partner's signed and sworn part reaches the office.

Published rule and conditions

Applicant appearance rule
No

Who must appear is usually the issuing office's own practice, but Montana fixes it by statute. MCA 40-1-202 makes issuance a duty rather than a discretion — the clerk "shall issue" once the application is signed by both parties, at least one party has appeared, and the fee is paid — and the same sentence fixes the $53 fee this office charges. Parts 1 and 2 of Title 40, Chapter 1 were read section by section on 30 July 2026 and no provision requires both parties to attend.

Only one partner has to come to the counter, though both must complete and sign the application. Montana Code Annotated 40-1-201(3) expressly allows an applicant who lives outside the county to complete and swear their part of the application before the official who accepts license applications where they live. The Yellowstone County Clerk of District Court publishes no appearance rule of its own, so a couple sending one partner alone should call 406-256-2869 first to settle how the absent partner's signed and sworn part reaches the office.

Official requirement

Except as provided in 40-1-301, when a marriage application has been completed and signed by both parties to a prospective marriage and at least one party has appeared before the clerk of the district court and paid the marriage license fee of $53, the clerk of the district court shall issue a license to marry and a marriage certificate form upon being furnished:

Issuing office

Yellowstone County Clerk of District Court

Open the issuing office

Official sources for this answer

  • MCA 40-1-201. License applicationMontana Legislative Services Division — Montana Code Annotated 2025 - checked July 30, 2026

    (1) Parties may not be joined in marriage within this state until a license has been obtained for that purpose from a clerk of the district court. (2) A license authorizes a marriage ceremony to be performed in any county of this state. (3) If an applicant for a marriage license is a nonresident of the county where the license is to issue, the nonresident applicant's part of the application may be completed and sworn to or affirmed before the person authorized to accept license applications in the county and state in which the nonresident applicant resides.

  • MCA 40-1-202. License issuanceMontana Legislative Services Division — Montana Code Annotated 2025 - checked July 30, 2026

    Except as provided in 40-1-301, when a marriage application has been completed and signed by both parties to a prospective marriage and at least one party has appeared before the clerk of the district court and paid the marriage license fee of $53, the clerk of the district court shall issue a license to marry and a marriage certificate form upon being furnished: (1) satisfactory proof that each party to the marriage will have attained 18 years of age at the time the marriage license is effective or will have attained 16 years of age and has obtained judicial approval as provided in 40-1-213; and (2) satisfactory proof that the marriage is not prohibited. Read together with the whole of Part 2 (40-1-201 License application, 40-1-203 Proof of age, 40-1-210 No license to be issued when applicants under influence of liquor or drug, 40-1-212 Effective period of license, 40-1-213 Judicial approval) and Part 1 (40-1-107 Form of application), reviewed section by section on 30 July 2026: no section of Title 40, Chapter 1 requires both parties to appear before the clerk.

Answer boundary

MarriageLicenseCheck is an independent reference, not the issuing office or legal advice. Applicant facts, timing, prior marriages, and document type can change the result. The official office decides what it will accept.

Open the complete Yellowstone County guide - Browse exact answers - Report a correction