Getting started with Marriage Information for Delaware
Before you plan to perform a wedding in Delaware, it is important to understand the state's legal requirements.
To get started, check out the information provided below for getting ordained and registering as a wedding officiant in Delaware.
If you have questions, please go to our helpful FAQ. For more information or support, please visit our contact us page.
Step 1: Become Ordained for Delaware
To get ordained and become a minister to perform ceremonies in Delaware, start by completing our ordination application.
Once you have completed the application for ordination you will be sent an email that confirms your ordination. Our ordinations for Delaware are completely free, granted to you for life and can be completed in less than a day. More than half a million people just like you, have registered and received their license to perform weddings.
If you have not completed the application, you can get ordained for free and start your journey as an authorized minister in Delaware with Open Ministry by using the button below!
Step 2: Contact The Delaware County Clerk
Next, contact the office of your local marriage authority (typically your county clerk in Delaware). Let them know that you are an ordained minister with Open Ministry in California, and ask them what information they require of you, to officiate a marriage in Delaware.
Clerks and governing agencies may require you to present them with a physical copy of your ordination record to register we offer packages which include bundled items at a discount.
When speaking with the Delaware county clerk it can be helpful to use the following phrases:
- I am an ordained minister with a church ministry in California.
- I would like to register as a wedding Officiant in your county to perform and solemnize weddings.
- What agency or department issues marriage licenses in your county and how may I contact them?
- I have my Letter of Good Standing and Ordination Credential as proof of my ministry and ordination for Delaware.
- Do you require any additional documentation for me to register as a wedding officiant in Delaware?
Step 3: Register with the Delaware Clerk
After you've contacted the marriage authority in Delaware, we recommend that you visit the bookstore to get your official credentials for your records, presentation or registration.
See Delaware State Statutes for More specific Requirements
When registering as an officiant in Delaware, you may be asked to display proof of your ordination to the Delaware county clerk's office before they will accept the marriage license as having been solemnized. We generally advise ministers of Delaware to get a Complete Membership Package for Delaware which includes a Letter of Good Standing (the live signed and notarized physical copy of your good standing with our ministry) an Ordination Credential, Minister Wallet Card and much more.
Having physical copies of your credentials provides peace of mind for couples and others that you intend to marry. Additionally, we recommend you give yourself at least 4 weeks between the date of the wedding ceremony and your credential request to ensure that you receive all of your materials to register in time.
Please note, that any state or county can impose different requirements;
this may include other nominal fees and additional paperwork that may need to
be completed before the ceremony can take place.
It is important to note that some county clerks in Delaware may require wedding
officiants to attach a statement which asserts some of the elements in the
marriage license upon submission, including the following:
- The time and location at which the wedding took place
- The names and places of residence of all official witnesses
- The religious organization in which the officiant is ordained
- The printed name and address of the officiant
When filling out the Delaware marriage license, Delaware state or the clerk may
request you use the title "Minister" or "Reverend".
The clerk may also require you enter your denomination, you can use
"Non-Denominational" or your practicing denomination. Failing to
state a denomination may result in rejection and could require a duplicate
marriage license.
Step 4: Perform the Ceremony
Before you perform a wedding in Delaware, be sure that the couple has picked up their Delaware state issued marriage license from the appropriate office. Once you have completed the steps listed, you are ready to perform the wedding!
Officiating a wedding in Delaware can be a great and wonderful experience. Work with the couple to determine the proper ceremony format and any details they wish to have. For ideas and inspiration check out our sample ceremony scripts.
We recommend that new ministers who are going to be performing a wedding in Delaware, or who have questions about the ceremony read over our Officiant Guide.
Step 5: Submit the Delaware Marriage License
Delaware marriage licenses are valid for a set number of days, and there may be a waiting period between when the couple receives the marriage license in Delaware and when the ceremony may be legally performed in Delaware.
This information is generally written on the license and must be followed to ensure the ceremony is recorded properly by Delaware.
Please note that the signed marriage license for Delaware must be returned to the issuing office in Delaware state, before the time limit is reached. You can check the marriage license for the exact dates.
After the ceremony, you will need to return the completed and signed marriage license to the Delaware states issuing office. This is essential for the marriage to be legally recorded. In most cases there is an address listed on the marriage license, use that to mail it back to the governing agency so that it can be recorded by the Delaware.
If you have any questions about the returning of the license, contact the Delaware agency that issued it for more information.
Delaware State Minister & Marriage Statutes
106 Solemnization of marriages; production of license; penalty; registration of persons authorized to solemnize marriages
(a) A clergyperson or minister of any religion, current and former Judges of this State's Supreme Court, Superior Court, Family Court, Court of Chancery, Court of Common Pleas, Justice of the Peace Court, federal Judges, federal Magistrates, clerks of the peace of various counties and current and former judges from other jurisdictions with written authorization by the clerk of the peace from the county in Delaware where the ceremony is to be performed may solemnize marriages between persons who may lawfully enter into the matrimonial relation. The Clerk of the Peace in each county for good cause being shown may:
(1) Allow by written permit within that Clerk's respective county, any duly sworn member of another state's judiciary, to solemnize marriages in the State between persons who may lawfully enter into the matrimonial relation.
(2) Allow by written permit within that Clerk's respective county, the Clerk of the Peace from another county within the State to solemnize marriages in the State between persons who may lawfully enter into the matrimonial relation.
Within the limits of any incorporated municipality, the Mayor thereof may solemnize marriages between persons who may lawfully enter into matrimonial relation. Marriages shall be solemnized in the presence of at least 2 reputable witnesses who shall sign the certificate of marriage as prescribed by this chapter. Marriages may also be solemnized or contracted according to the forms and usages of any religious society. No marriage shall be solemnized or contracted without the production of a license issued pursuant to this chapter.
(b) For purposes of this section, the words "resident of this State" shall include the son or daughter of a person who has been domiciled within the State for 1 year or more, notwithstanding the actual place of residence of the son or daughter immediately prior to the date of the marriage.
(c) In the case of absence or disability of the duly elected Clerk of the Peace, the chief deputy or, if there is no chief deputy, a deputy employed in the office of the Clerk of the Peace, shall be authorized to solemnize marriages.
(d) Whoever, not being authorized by this section, solemnizes a marriage, shall be fined $100, and in default of the payment of such fine shall be imprisoned not more than 30 days, and such marriage shall be void, unless it is in other respects lawful and is consummated with the full belief of either of the parties in its validity.
Title 13: Domestic Relations - Chapter 1: Marriage - Subchapter I: General Provisions
Code 1852, §§ 1438-1440; 17 Del. Laws, c. 207, § 9; 26 Del. Laws, c. 244, § 6; 27 Del. Laws, c. 261, § 2; Code 1915, §§ 2141, 2993; 32 Del. Laws, c. 182, § 1; Code 1935, §§ 2434, 3486; 13 Del. C. 1953, § 106; 49 Del. Laws, c. 220, § 12; 54 Del. Laws, c. 126, § 1; 57 Del. Laws, c. 129, § 1; 59 Del. Laws, c. 34, § 1; 63 Del. Laws, c. 21, §§ 1, 2; 63 Del. Laws, c. 403, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 30, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 307, §§ 1, 2; 71 Del. Laws, c. 289, § 2; 72 Del. Laws, c. 82, § 1; 75 Del. Laws, c. 113, § 1; 76 Del. Laws, c. 24, § 1; 77 Del. Laws, c. 272, §§ 1-3.;