Getting a Georgia Marriage License: The Checklist (Including for Out-of-Town Couples)

Here’s the thing about your Georgia marriage license: it’s one of the smallest items on the whole planning list, and it’s one of the only ones nobody can fix for you on the wedding day. You both walk into a county probate court with a few documents, and that’s about it. The part that surprises people is how different the details are from one county to the next, from fees and hours to appointments and what the clerk wants to see.

We’re photographers, not lawyers, so we stuck to what the state and county probate court pages actually say. Where they disagree or say nothing, we’ll tell you, and we’ll point you back to the county. We checked everything below in November 2026, but fees and hours change, so give your court a call before you drive over.

Where can you actually apply?

Good news, the rule is the same on every page we read. If at least one of you lives in Georgia, you can get the license in any Georgia county. If neither of you does, you’ll need to get it in the county where you’re having the ceremony. That comes straight from the state’s probate court site and from the statute, O.C.G.A. 19-3-30.

You both have to show up together, in person, and sign the application under oath, which is a funny little pre-wedding date nobody tells you about. You’ll also pick the surname each of you will use after the wedding, so it’s worth having that conversation before you’re standing at the counter.

What to bring to the probate court

Every county has its own quirks, so think of this list as the stuff nearly everyone asks for.

• Proof of age. Counties accept a driver’s license or state ID, a certified birth certificate, a passport or a military ID. Fannin County asks for a picture ID and says the address on it should match the application.
• Proof that a prior marriage ended, if either of you was married before. Gwinnett, DeKalb and Fulton ask for a certified divorce decree (stamped and sealed), or a death certificate if a spouse died. Fulton also accepts an annulment.
• A completed application. Many counties let you start online. Hall County keeps your online application for 30 days, and Fannin County wants you to finish in person within two weeks. Fulton asks you to bring the application printed.
• Your premarital education certificate, if you took the course. More on that below.
• Certified translations of any document that is not in English (Gwinnett and DeKalb).
• Payment. Offices don’t all take the same forms. Lumpkin, Cobb and DeKalb add a processing fee to cards, and DeKalb does not take personal checks. Ask before you go.

The age is 18. Since 2019, no one under 17 can get a license, and a 17-year-old can apply only with an emancipation order, a 15-day wait after it, and premarital education. Georgia doesn’t require a blood test, and hasn’t since 2003.

What the license costs, and the premarital discount

Before any discount, the fees we found run from $56 to $76 depending on the county. State law lets couples who finish a qualifying premarital education program skip the license fee, but counties apply that differently, and in practice you’ll usually see a reduced fee rather than zero.

To qualify, the program has to be at least six hours, you take it together within 12 months before you apply, and it’s led by a licensed counselor, social worker, marriage and family therapist, psychiatrist or psychologist, or clergy member. Bring the signed certificate. Hall County wants an original with a notary, not a copy.

County by county: the quick reference

Here are the ten counties our couples use most, as listed on each court’s own site. Fees show the standard fee first, then the fee with a premarital certificate. Where a cell says “not listed,” the page we read didn’t say.

A few things jumped out at us. Offices close earlier than you’d expect, and Cherokee, Cobb and Forsyth ask you to arrive well before closing. DeKalb won’t let you in without an appointment confirmation, Fulton admits applicants by appointment time, and Cherokee and Forsyth list walk-in service. A couple of details are worth a phone call too: we could confirm the Cherokee and Forsyth fees and walk-in policies only through secondary summaries of the county sites, and sources give White County two different addresses.

What happens after the ceremony

Once you’ve said I do, the paperwork isn’t quite finished. Under state law, your officiant returns the signed license to the probate court, with the date of the marriage, within 30 days, and the court then records it. Fulton County does it a little differently: it asks the couple to mail the completed license back, says recording can take up to 30 days after it arrives, and suggests writing to the court if you haven’t heard anything after 45 days.

And who can officiate? The statute lists governors and former governors, judges, city recorders, magistrates, ministers, and other persons of a religious society authorized by that society’s rules. If a friend is officiating, confirm they qualify before you count on them.

If a license never gets returned, the law has a fix: either of you can submit affidavits from two witnesses to the ceremony, and the judge reissues the license. It’s a headache you can skip by putting the return on one person’s checklist.

Order certified copies of your marriage certificate when you apply or soon after. Most counties we checked charge $10 each, and the DeKalb and Fulton fees include one. You’ll need a certified copy to change your name with Social Security, the driver’s license office and your banks, and each of those sets its own document rules, so check them one by one.

So when should you apply?

Our suggestion is to apply two to four weeks before the wedding. That’s early enough that a missing document is still fixable, and late enough to fit the limits we found: Fannin County wants you to finish within two weeks of starting online, Hall County keeps your application for 30 days, and the premarital course must be completed within 12 months of applying.

Only DeKalb and Fulton say the license never expires. The others don’t say, so unless your county tells you otherwise, don’t apply many months ahead.

And please don’t leave it to the day before. The county pages we read list weekday hours only, so for a Saturday wedding, plan your visit for the week before. If you’re taking the premarital course, schedule it first, because you need the certificate in hand when you apply.

If you’re marrying from out of town

You don’t need to be a Georgia resident, and the pages we read list no residency period. The only thing that changes is where you apply.

• Apply in the county where you will marry. If neither of you lives in Georgia, no other county will do. A venue can sit in a different county than its town name suggests, so look it up.
• Arrive a day early, on a weekday. You both have to appear in person, and the offices keep weekday hours. For a Saturday wedding, that means the court on Friday at the latest, earlier if you want a buffer.
• Bring everything in original or certified form. Divorce decrees need to be certified copies, and documents in another language need a certified translation.
• Ask about payment. White County asks out-of-state residents to pay by cash, money order or credit card.
• Keep the license in Georgia. It’s valid only for a ceremony performed here.

If you are marrying at a venue like The Tate House, Little River Farms or Ivy Hall from out of town, put the license visit in your travel plan early, right next to flights and hotel. Once it’s done, the rest of the weekend is about the day itself, and our 4 PM ceremony timeline is a good place to start on that.

Your next step

So pull up your county’s page above, check the hours and appointment rules, and get that visit on your calendar with a week to spare. Still choosing a date? Check ours. Every couple we work with gets a planning questionnaire and help with the timeline, and the license visit belongs right there on it, next to the cake and the florist.