Florida Marriage License Requirements: Waiting Period, Fees and the Premarital Course Discount
Updated: 6 days ago
There is a moment I have seen countless times with couples preparing to marry.
The venue is reserved. The dress has been chosen. Someone is worrying about flowers, someone else about the guest list—and then, usually somewhere in the middle of all that excitement, comes a surprisingly practical question:
“Wait… what do we actually have to do to get legally married in Florida?”
Fortunately, the answer is much simpler than planning the wedding.
The Florida marriage license requirements are fairly straightforward. But there are a few things every couple should know before heading to the Clerk’s Office—particularly Florida’s three-day waiting period, the cost of the marriage license, and a little-known benefit of completing an approved premarital course.
Let me walk you through them.
What Are the Florida Marriage License Requirements?
To be legally married in Florida, you first need a Florida marriage license.
In general, couples should be prepared to:
Apply for a marriage license through a Florida Clerk of the Circuit Court.
Provide valid government-issued photo identification.
Provide the identifying information required by the clerk, including Social Security numbers when applicable.
Provide information about prior marriages, if applicable.
Read or access Florida’s Family Law Handbook.
Pay the applicable marriage license fee.
Florida law generally requires applicants to be at least 18 years old. There is a limited exception for a 17-year-old who meets the statutory requirements, including parental or guardian consent and the age limitation involving the other prospective spouse.
There is no Florida residency requirement to obtain a Florida marriage license. So yes, you can live in Florida, another state, or another country and still obtain a Florida marriage license for a marriage taking place in Florida. Destination wedding anyone?
Once issued, a Florida marriage license is valid for 60 days.
One practical suggestion: always check the website of the Clerk of Court in the county where you plan to apply before you go. Application procedures, appointments and document-processing practices can vary somewhat from county to county.
Is There a Three-Day Waiting Period to Get Married in Florida?
For Florida residents, yes—unless you complete a qualifying premarital preparation course or otherwise qualify for an exception under Florida law.
Without a valid premarital course certificate, the effective date of the marriage license is delayed by three days from the date of application.
Complete the qualifying course and present the valid certificate when applying, however, and that waiting period is waived. Your license can become effective without the three-day delay.
This is one of those details couples often, unfortunately, discover very late.
I have worked with couples for nearly three decades, and one thing I know about weddings is that the final days rarely become less complicated. There is always something—a vendor calling, a family member arriving, a forgotten detail suddenly becoming urgent.
Discovering at the last minute that your marriage license is not yet effective should not be one of them.
}What About Couples Who Don't Live in Florida?
There is an important distinction here. Non-Florida residents are exempt from Florida's three-day waiting period.
So, if you are traveling to Florida for a destination wedding, the waiting-period rule generally does not apply to you.
The premarital course may still be something you choose to take for the relationship education itself, but you do not need it simply to avoid the three-day waiting period if you are a nonresident.
How Much Does a Florida Marriage License Cost?
The standard Florida marriage license fee charged by clerks is generally $86.
Couples who complete a qualifying premarital preparation course receive a $25 reduction, bringing the marriage license fee to $61. Florida law provides for this fee reduction when couples present a valid certificate from a qualified registered premarital course provider.
So the simple comparison is:
Without premarital course: $86 marriage license
With qualifying premarital course: $61 marriage license
Savings: $25
That is in addition to eliminating the three-day waiting period for Florida residents.
How Much Does It Cost to Get Married at the Courthouse in Florida?
This question causes some confusion because the marriage license fee and the courthouse ceremony fee are not necessarily the same thing.
The marriage license itself is generally $86, or $61 with the qualifying premarital-course reduction.
If you also want the Clerk’s Office to perform a civil marriage ceremony, the clerk may charge a separate ceremony fee. That amount can vary, so check directly with the county where you intend to marry.
For example, Miami-Dade currently lists a $30 civil ceremony fee in addition to the marriage license fee.
So when researching how much it costs to get married at the courthouse, make sure you are comparing the complete cost: the license plus any separate ceremony or related service fees.
What Is the Marriage License Course in Florida?
The marriage license course in Florida is more formally known as a premarital preparation course.
Under Florida law, a qualifying course must be at least four hours long and must be offered by a qualified provider. The law permits the course to address subjects such as communication skills, conflict management, financial responsibilities, children and parenting responsibilities, and common problems reported by couples seeking counseling.
After completing the course, the provider issues a certificate of completion. That certificate is important. It is what you present when applying for your marriage license to receive the applicable benefits.
There is also a timing requirement that is easy to overlook: for purposes of the marriage-license fee reduction, Florida law requires the qualifying course to have been completed no more than one year before applying for the marriage license.
Does the Florida Premarital Course Have to Be Taken in Person?
No. Florida law specifically recognizes instruction delivered electronically, which means couples can complete an approved course online rather than attending a traditional classroom program.
And I think this is where technology has actually made something better.
Years ago, premarital education often meant finding a class, coordinating two schedules and spending part of a weekend sitting in a classroom.
Today, couples can complete a legitimate Florida premarital course from home and work through it at their own pace.
But I would encourage you not to choose a course based solely on how quickly you can get through it.
A certificate may be the document you need for the Clerk of Court.
The conversation you have while earning it may be far more valuable.
A Premarital Course Should Be More Than a Certificate
Perhaps I am biased after spending most of my professional life working with couples, but I have never believed premarital education should feel like another bureaucratic box to check before the wedding.
The State of Florida requires a minimum four-hour course. What couples do with those four hours matters.
You are preparing for a marriage—not merely a wedding.
That distinction guided me when I created my Florida Premarital Course Online.
I wanted couples to have the convenience they were looking for without sacrificing the quality of what they were learning.
This leads me to the course I crafted. My course is 100% online, self-paced and video-based, and couples receive their official certificate upon successful completion. It is accepted throughout Florida because I am a registered premarital course provider in all 67 Florida counties.
But the part I care most about is what happens before that certificate appears.
The interactive parts of the course gives couples an opportunity to talk about the things that become very real after the wedding: how they communicate when they disagree, how they handle money, what they expect from one another, how they approach family and parenting, and how they protect the emotional connection between them when life becomes difficult.
I have spent nearly three decades working with couples as a psychotherapist, university professor, parenting coordinator and Florida Supreme Court Certified family mediator. I have seen what strengthens relationships—and I have also seen the patterns that slowly pull good people apart.
That experience is woven into the course. Perhaps that is also why the feedback from couples means so much to me. Thousands of couples have taken the course, and the large number of Google reviews they have voluntarily left tells me something important (over twelve hundred five-stars and counting): couples can recognize the difference between simply completing a requirement and actually learning something useful together.
I believe premarital education can be both excellent and affordable. Couples should not have to choose between the two.
Is Taking the Florida Premarital Course Worth It?
If you are a Florida resident, there are two immediate practical benefits:
You can eliminate the three-day waiting period and reduce the cost of your marriage license by $25.
Those are good reasons to take the course. But I hope they are not the only reasons.
Over the years, I have sat with many couples who loved one another deeply but discovered that love did not automatically teach them how to resolve conflict, talk about money, navigate differences or stay emotionally connected during difficult seasons.
Those are skills.
And skills can be learned.
A wedding asks, How do we want to celebrate our beginning?
Premarital preparation asks a different question:
How do we want to live the marriage that comes afterward?
I think both questions deserve our attention.
Florida Marriage License Requirements: A Quick Checklist
Before applying for your Florida marriage license, make sure you have:
Valid government-issued identification
The identifying information required by the Clerk
Information about previous marriages, when applicable
Read or accessed the Florida Family Law Handbook
Completed a qualifying four-hour premarital course if you want the applicable waiting-period and fee benefits
Your valid premarital course certificate
Payment for the marriage license and any additional county services you request
And remember: your Florida marriage license is valid for 60 days after issuance.
One Last Thought Before You Say “I Do”
Most couples will spend far more than four hours choosing flowers, looking at venues, tasting cakes or deciding where everyone will sit at the reception. There is nothing wrong with any of that. Weddings deserve to be celebrated. But marriage deserves preparation, too.
If four hours can save you money, eliminate an inconvenient waiting period and give you an opportunity to have conversations that may serve your relationship for years to come, those may be four of the better hours you spend preparing for your wedding.
The certificate gets you closer to the wedding day.
What you learn together is meant for all the days that come after it.
Dr. Liliana Wolf is a Florida-licensed psychotherapist, relationship educator and former family mediator with nearly three decades of experience working with couples and families. She is a registered Florida premarital course provider in all 67 Florida counties.
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