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INFORMATION ON OBTAINING A MARRIAGE LICENSE IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA

COURTHOUSE LOCATION

MONROE COUNTY COURTHOUSE LOCATION AND HOURS

500 WHITEHEAD ST
KEY WEST FLORIDA
TELEPHONE: (305) 294-4641
HOURS: 8:30AM to 5:00PM MONDAY - FRIDAY (EXCEPT HOLIDAYS)

You do not have to get married in the same county in which you obtain your license.

Applicant must be eighteen (18) years old to obtain a marriage license. Sixteen (16), and Seventeen (17), year olds must have both parent's consent. If you are younger, parent's consent/consent of a County Judge, and proven pregnancy may apply, depending on the age and situation. Both applicants must appear in person at the time of application.

IDENTIFICATION:
Applicant's must provide a valid picture-type ID, with date of birth shown. (Driver's License, passport, student ID Card, Military ID, or Alien Registration Card.) There is no residence or citizenship requirement.

PRIOR MARRIAGES:
If either applicant has been previously married, the exact date of the last death, divorce, or annulment must be provided. You should bring a copy of your divorce decree with you at the time of application.

TIME LIMIT:
The license must be used within sixty (60) days from the "effective date". Below is the effective date criteria:

* If both parties are Florida residents there is a three (3) day waiting period (from the date of issue), before the marriage ceremony may take place. Waiting period can be waived both parties attend a premarital class and present certification of the attendance to the clerk at the time of application. This class must be taken thru an authorized provider listed in Monroe County. Original certificate of completion is required at time of application. List of providers is available upon request.
* If only one of the couples is a Florida resident and the Florida resident takes the course, there is no waiting period.
* If both parties are out of state residents, there is no waiting period.

SOLEMNIZATION:
A marriage may be performed by regularly ordained clergy, judiciary, State of Florida notaries, the Clerk of the Circuit Court, and Deputy Clerks.

COST:
$93.50 (cash or check only in Monroe County). The exception is if both parties are Florida residents, have both provided proof of a premarital class cost is then $56.00.

RECORDING OF LICENSE:
After the marriage, the person who performed the ceremony must return the license, within ten (10) days, to the marriage license section, where it will then be recorded in the Official Records. Until that license is received, there is no record of the marriage. After recordation, a certified copy will be returned to the newlyweds, by mail. The original license is sent to the OFFICE OF VITAL STATISTICS in Jacksonville.

The process takes approximately 3 weeks.

Obtaining an Apostille Seal in Florida.

Many countries (such as Germany and Austria) require an Apostille

Seal on the marriage license. Below is the procedure for obtaining

the seal. You cannot request the seal until you have received the

certified copy of your marriage license from Florida. Note: the

below information is copied directly from the State of Florida web

site.

Procedure for Document Authentication (Apostilles)

DOCUMENTS WHICH MAY BE CERTIFIED:

The Secretary of State will Certify or Apostille the following

documents:

Documents notarized or certified as true copies by a Florida Notary

Public.

Birth and Death Certificates bearing the signature of the State.

Registrar obtained from the Bureau of Vital Statistics in

Jacksonville Florida.

Vehicle Titles certified by the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles

Corporation documents bearing the signature of the Secretary of

State

Documents certified by a Clerk of the Court from a county within

Florida

**NOTE: Documents must be submitted with original signatures; copies

cannot be certified.

CERTIFICATION FEES: The fee for certification by the Secretary of

State is $10 per notarization. However, a county certified document,

which also requires an Apostille (example, Marriage License)

requires an additional $10 fee for a total of $20 per document. We

accept either checks (drawn on a U.S. Bank) or money orders made

payable to the Department of State. We do not accept cash.

PROCESSING TIME: The processing time varies dependent upon the

volume of work received and the resources available. We advise you

to allow at least five (5) working days for processing. Requests are

completed in the date order they are received. We do not offer

expedited services.

PROCEDURES:

Please follow these procedures carefully to enable our staff to

process your request without delay.

Enclose a cover letter stating the name of the country in which the

documents will be used. The country name is needed in order to

authenticate the document correctly, whether by Certificate of

Notarial Authority or Apostille.

Enclose the required fee. (See "Certification Fees" above)

Enclose a self addressed, stamped envelope for return of the

documents. If you wish the order to be returned by a courier

service, you must enclose a pre-paid air bill with your order.

Mail your request to:

Department of State

Division of Corporations

Apostille Certification

P.O. Box 6800

Tallahassee, FL 32314-6800

NOTARIAL CERTIFICATES AND APOSTILLES

Tallahassee Office

Clifton Building

2661 Executive Center Circle

Tallahassee, FL 32301

Phone:850-245-6945