Getting started with Marriage Information for New York
Before you plan to perform a wedding in New York, 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 New York.
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 New York
To get ordained and become a minister to perform ceremonies in New York, 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 New York 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 New York with Open Ministry by using the button below!
Step 2: Contact The New York County Clerk
Next, contact the office of your local marriage authority (typically your county clerk in New York). 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 New York.
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 New York 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 New York.
- Do you require any additional documentation for me to register as a wedding officiant in New York?
Step 3: Register with the New York Clerk
After you've contacted the marriage authority in New York, we recommend that you visit the bookstore to get your official credentials for your records, presentation or registration.
See New York State Statutes for More specific Requirements
When registering as an officiant in New York, you may be asked to display proof of your ordination to the New York county clerk's office before they will accept the marriage license as having been solemnized. We generally advise ministers of New York to get a Complete Membership Package for New York 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 New York 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 New York marriage license, New York 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 New York, be sure that the couple has picked up their New York 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 New York 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 New York, or who have questions about the ceremony read over our Officiant Guide.
Step 5: Submit the New York Marriage License
New York 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 New York and when the ceremony may be legally performed in New York.
This information is generally written on the license and must be followed to ensure the ceremony is recorded properly by New York.
Please note that the signed marriage license for New York must be returned to the issuing office in New York 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 New York 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 New York.
If you have any questions about the returning of the license, contact the New York agency that issued it for more information.
New York State Minister & Marriage Statutes
If you are or have been asked to perform a wedding in the City of New York. The county clerk will require you to have the Letter of Good Standing for New York City, which will contain Appendix A and B for registering.
11 By whom a marriage must be solemnized
No marriage shall be valid unless solemnized by either:
1. A clergyman or minister of any religion, or by the senior leader, or any of the other leaders, of The Society for Ethical Culture in the city of New York, having its principal office in the borough of Manhattan, or by the leader of The Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, having its principal office in the borough of Brooklyn of the city of New York, or of the Westchester Ethical Society, having its principal office in Westchester county, or of the Ethical Culture Society of Long Island, having its principal office in Nassau county, or of the Riverdale-Yonkers Ethical Society having its principal office in Bronx county, or by the leader of any other Ethical Culture Society affiliated with the American Ethical Union.
2. A mayor of a village, a county executive of a county, or a mayor, recorder, city magistrate, police justice or police magistrate of a city, a former mayor or the city clerk of a city of the first class of over one million inhabitants or any of his or her deputies or not more than four regular clerks, designated by him or her for such purpose as provided in section eleven-a of this chapter, except that in cities which contain more than one hundred thousand and less than one million inhabitants, a marriage shall be solemnized by the mayor, or police justice, and by no other officer of such city, except as provided in subdivisions one and three of this section.
3. A judge of the federal circuit court of appeals for the second circuit, a judge of a federal district court for the northern, southern, eastern or western district of New York, a judge of the United States court of international trade, a federal administrative law judge presiding in this state, a justice or judge of a court of the unified court system, a housing judge of the civil court of the city of New York, a retired justice or judge of the unified court system or a retired housing judge of the civil court of the city of New York certified pursuant to paragraph (k) of subdivision two of section two hundred twelve of the judiciary law, the clerk of the appellate division of the supreme court in each judicial department, a retired city clerk who served for more than ten years in such capacity in a city having a population of one million or more or a county clerk of a county wholly within cities having a population of one million or more; or,
4. A written contract of marriage signed by both parties and at least two witnesses, all of whom shall subscribe the same within this state, stating the place of residence of each of the parties and witnesses and the date and place of marriage, and acknowledged before a judge of a court of record of this state by the parties and witnesses in the manner required for the acknowledgment of a conveyance of real estate to entitle the same to be recorded.
5. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, where either or both of the parties is under the age of eighteen years a marriage shall be solemnized only by those authorized in subdivision one of this section or by (1) the mayor of a city or village, or county executive of a county, or by (2) a judge of the federal circuit court of appeals for the second circuit, a judge of a federal district court for the northern, southern, eastern or western district of New York, a judge of the United States court of international trade, or a justice or a judge of a court of the unified court system, or by (3) a housing judge of the civil court of the city of New York, or by (4) a former mayor or the clerk of a city of the first class of over one million inhabitants or any of his or her deputies designated by him or her for such purposes as provided in section eleven-a of this chapter.
6. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article to the contrary no marriage shall be solemnized by a public officer specified in this section, other than a judge of a federal district court for the northern, southern, eastern or western district of New York, a judge of the United States court of international trade, a federal administrative law judge presiding in this state, a judge or justice of the unified court system of this State, a housing judge of the civil court of the city of New York, or a retired judge or justice of the unified court system or a retired housing judge of the civil court certified pursuant to paragraph (k) of subdivision two of section two hundred twelve of the judiciary law, outside the territorial jurisdiction in which he or she was elected or appointed. Such a public officer, however, elected or appointed within the city of New York may solemnize a marriage anywhere within such city.
7. The term "clergyman" or "minister" when used in this article, shall include those defined in section two of the religious corporations law. The word "magistrate, " when so used, includes any person referred to in the second or third subdivision.
DOM Domestic Relations - Article 3
11-b Registration of persons performing marriage ceremonies in the city of New York
Every person authorized by law to perform the marriage ceremony, before performing any such ceremonies in the city of New York, shall register his or her name and address in the office of the city clerk of the city of New York. Every such person, before performing any marriage ceremonies subsequent to a change in his or her address, shall likewise register such change of address. Such city clerk is hereby empowered to cancel the registration of any person so registered upon satisfactory proof that the registration was fraudulent, or upon satisfactory proof that such person is no longer entitled to perform such ceremony.
DOM Domestic Relations - Article 3