Getting started with Marriage Information for Oklahoma
Before you plan to perform a wedding in Oklahoma, 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 Oklahoma.
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 Oklahoma
To get ordained and become a minister to perform ceremonies in Oklahoma, 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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma with Open Ministry by using the button below!
Step 2: Contact The Oklahoma County Clerk
Next, contact the office of your local marriage authority (typically your county clerk in Oklahoma). 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 Oklahoma.
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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma.
- Do you require any additional documentation for me to register as a wedding officiant in Oklahoma?
Step 3: Register with the Oklahoma Clerk
After you've contacted the marriage authority in Oklahoma, we recommend that you visit the bookstore to get your official credentials for your records, presentation or registration.
See Oklahoma State Statutes for More specific Requirements
When registering as an officiant in Oklahoma, you may be asked to display proof of your ordination to the Oklahoma county clerk's office before they will accept the marriage license as having been solemnized. We generally advise ministers of Oklahoma to get a Complete Membership Package for Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma marriage license, Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma, be sure that the couple has picked up their Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma, or who have questions about the ceremony read over our Officiant Guide.
Step 5: Submit the Oklahoma Marriage License
Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma and when the ceremony may be legally performed in Oklahoma.
This information is generally written on the license and must be followed to ensure the ceremony is recorded properly by Oklahoma.
Please note that the signed marriage license for Oklahoma must be returned to the issuing office in Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma.
If you have any questions about the returning of the license, contact the Oklahoma agency that issued it for more information.
Oklahoma State Minister & Marriage Statutes
43-7 Solemnization of marriages; production of license; penalty; registration of persons authorized to solemnize marriages
A. All marriages must be contracted by a formal ceremony performed or solemnized in the presence of at least two adult, competent persons as witnesses, by a judge or retired judge of any court in this state, or an ordained or authorized preacher or minister of the Gospel, priest or other ecclesiastical dignitary of any denomination who has been duly ordained or authorized by the church to which he or she belongs to preach the Gospel, or a rabbi and who is at least eighteen (18) years of age.
B. 1. The judge shall place his or her order of appointment on file with the office of the court clerk of the county in which he or she resides.
2. The preacher, minister, priest, rabbi, or ecclesiastical dignitary who is a resident of this state shall have filed, in the office of the court clerk of the county in which he or she resides, a copy of the credentials or authority from his or her church or synagogue authorizing him or her to solemnize marriages.
3. The preacher, minister, priest, rabbi, or ecclesiastical dignitary who is not a resident of this state, but has complied with the laws of the state of which he or she is a resident, shall have filed once, in the office of the court clerk of the county in which he or she intends to perform or solemnize a marriage, a copy of the credentials or authority from his or her church or synagogue authorizing him or her to solemnize marriages.
4. The filing by resident or nonresident preachers, ministers, priests, rabbis, ecclesiastical dignitaries or judges shall be effective in and for all counties of this state; provided, no fee shall be charged for such recording.
C. No person herein authorized to perform or solemnize a marriage ceremony shall do so unless the license issued therefor be first delivered into his or her possession nor unless he or she has good reason to believe the persons presenting themselves before him or her for marriage are the identical persons named in the license, and for whose marriage the same was issued, and that there is no legal objection or impediment to such marriage.
D. Marriages between persons belonging to the society called Friends, or Quakers, the spiritual assembly of the Baha'is, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which have no ordained minister, may be solemnized by the persons and in the manner prescribed by and practiced in any such society, church, or assembly.
Title 43: Husband and Wife
R.L. 1910, § 3889. Amended by Laws 1951, p. 113, § 1; Laws 1961, p. 285, § 1; Laws 1971, c. 298, § 1, emerg. eff. June 24, 1971; Laws 1986, c. 24, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1986; Laws 1989, c. 333, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 1989; Laws 1998, c. 214, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1998; Laws 1999, c. 305, § 1, emerg. eff. June 4, 1999.
43-7 Solemnization of marriages; production of license; penalty; registration of persons authorized to solemnize marriages
A. All marriages must be contracted by a formal ceremony performed or solemnized in the presence of at least two adult, competent persons as witnesses, by a judge or retired judge of any court in this state, or an ordained or authorized preacher or minister of the Gospel, priest or other ecclesiastical dignitary of any denomination who has been duly ordained or authorized by the church to which he or she belongs to preach the Gospel, or a rabbi and who is at least eighteen (18) years of age.
B. 1. The judge shall place his or her order of appointment on file with the office of the court clerk of the county in which he or she resides.
2. The preacher, minister, priest, rabbi, or ecclesiastical dignitary who is a resident of this state shall have filed, in the office of the court clerk of the county in which he or she resides, a copy of the credentials or authority from his or her church or synagogue authorizing him or her to solemnize marriages.
3. The preacher, minister, priest, rabbi, or ecclesiastical dignitary who is not a resident of this state, but has complied with the laws of the state of which he or she is a resident, shall have filed once, in the office of the court clerk of the county in which he or she intends to perform or solemnize a marriage, a copy of the credentials or authority from his or her church or synagogue authorizing him or her to solemnize marriages.
4. The filing by resident or nonresident preachers, ministers, priests, rabbis, ecclesiastical dignitaries or judges shall be effective in and for all counties of this state; provided, no fee shall be charged for such recording.
C. No person herein authorized to perform or solemnize a marriage ceremony shall do so unless the license issued therefor be first delivered into his or her possession nor unless he or she has good reason to believe the persons presenting themselves before him or her for marriage are the identical persons named in the license, and for whose marriage the same was issued, and that there is no legal objection or impediment to such marriage.
D. Marriages between persons belonging to the society called Friends, or Quakers, the spiritual assembly of the Baha'is, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which have no ordained minister, may be solemnized by the persons and in the manner prescribed by and practiced in any such society, church, or assembly.
Title 43: Husband and Wife
R.L. 1910, § 3889. Amended by Laws 1951, p. 113, § 1; Laws 1961, p. 285, § 1; Laws 1971, c. 298, § 1, emerg. eff. June 24, 1971; Laws 1986, c. 24, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1986; Laws 1989, c. 333, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 1989; Laws 1998, c. 214, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1998; Laws 1999, c. 305, § 1, emerg. eff. June 4, 1999.