Getting started with Marriage Information for Tennessee
Before you plan to perform a wedding in Tennessee, 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 Tennessee.
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 Tennessee
To get ordained and become a minister to perform ceremonies in Tennessee, 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee with Open Ministry by using the button below!
Step 2: Contact The Tennessee County Clerk
Next, contact the office of your local marriage authority (typically your county clerk in Tennessee). 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 Tennessee.
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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee.
- Do you require any additional documentation for me to register as a wedding officiant in Tennessee?
Step 3: Register with the Tennessee Clerk
After you've contacted the marriage authority in Tennessee, we recommend that you visit the bookstore to get your official credentials for your records, presentation or registration.
See Tennessee State Statutes for More specific Requirements
When registering as an officiant in Tennessee, you may be asked to display proof of your ordination to the Tennessee county clerk's office before they will accept the marriage license as having been solemnized. We generally advise ministers of Tennessee to get a Complete Membership Package for Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee marriage license, Tennessee 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 Tennessee, be sure that the couple has picked up their Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee, or who have questions about the ceremony read over our Officiant Guide.
Step 5: Submit the Tennessee Marriage License
Tennessee 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 Tennessee and when the ceremony may be legally performed in Tennessee.
This information is generally written on the license and must be followed to ensure the ceremony is recorded properly by Tennessee.
Please note that the signed marriage license for Tennessee must be returned to the issuing office in Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee.
If you have any questions about the returning of the license, contact the Tennessee agency that issued it for more information.
Tennessee State Minister & Marriage Statutes
36-3-301 Persons who may solemnize marriages
(a) (1) All regular ministers, preachers, pastors, priests, rabbis and other spiritual leaders of every religious belief, more than eighteen (18) years of age, having the care of souls, and all members of the county legislative bodies, county mayors, judges, chancellors, former chancellors and former judges of this state, former county executives or county mayors of this state, former members of quarterly county courts or county commissions, the governor, the speaker of the senate and former speakers of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives and former speakers of the house of representatives, the county clerk of each county and the mayor of any municipality in the state may solemnize the rite of matrimony. For the purposes of this section, the several judges of the United States courts, including United States magistrates and United States bankruptcy judges, who are citizens of Tennessee are deemed to be judges of this state. The amendments to this section by Acts 1987, ch. 336, which applied provisions of this section to certain former judges, do not apply to any judge who has been convicted of a felony or who has been removed from office.
(2) In order to solemnize the rite of matrimony, any such minister, preacher, pastor, priest, rabbi or other spiritual leader must be ordained or otherwise designated in conformity with the customs of a church, temple or other religious group or organization; and such customs must provide for such ordination or designation by a considered, deliberate, and responsible act.
(3) If any marriage has been entered into by license issued pursuant to this chapter at which any minister officiated before June 1, 1999, such marriage shall not be invalid because the requirements of the preceding subdivision (2) have not been met.
(b) The traditional marriage rite of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), whereby the parties simply pledge their vows one to another in the presence of the congregation, constitutes an equally effective solemnization.
(c) Any gratuity received by a county mayor, county clerk or municipal mayor for the solemnization of a marriage, whether performed during or after such person's regular working hours, shall be retained by such person as personal renumeration for such services, in addition to any other sources of compensation such person might receive, and such gratuity shall not be paid into the county general fund or the treasury of such municipality.
(d) If any marriage has been entered into by license regularly issued at which a county executive officiated prior to April 24, 1981, such marriage shall be valid and is hereby declared to be in full compliance with the laws of this state.
(e) For the purposes of this section, "retired judges of this state" is construed to include persons who served as judges of any municipal or county court in any county that has adopted a metropolitan form of government and persons who served as county judges (judges of the quarterly county court) prior to the 1978 constitutional amendments.
(f) If any marriage has been entered into by license regularly issued at which a retired judge of this state officiated prior to April 13, 1984, such marriage shall be valid and is hereby declared to be in full compliance with the laws of this state.
(g) If any marriage has been entered into by license issued pursuant to this chapter at which a judicial commissioner officiated prior to March 28, 1991, such marriage is valid and is declared to be in full compliance with the laws of this state.
(h) The judge of the general sessions court of any county, and any former judge of any general sessions court, may solemnize the rite of matrimony in any county of this state. Any marriage performed by any judge of the general sessions court in any county of this state before March 16, 1994, shall be valid and declared to be in full compliance with the laws of this state.
(i) All elected officials and former officials, who are authorized to solemnize the rite of matrimony pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a), may solemnize the rite of matrimony in any county of this state.
(j) If any marriage has been entered into by license issued pursuant to this chapter at which a county mayor officiated outside such mayor's county prior to May 29, 1997, such marriage is valid and is declared to be in full compliance with the laws of this state.
Title 36: Domestic Relations - Chapter 3: Marriage - Part 3: Ceremony
[Code 1858, § 2439 (deriv. Acts 1778, ch. 7, § 2; 1845-1846, ch. 145, § 7); Acts 1879, ch. 98, § 1; 1889, ch. 134, § 1; Shan., § 4189; Code 1932, § 8412; Acts 1949, ch. 251, § 4; C. Supp. 1950, § 8412; Acts 1970, ch. 440, § 1; 1973, ch. 66, § 3; impl. am. Acts 1978, ch. 934, § 7; Acts 1979, ch. 87, § 1; 1981, ch. 211, §§ 1, 2; 1983, ch. 331, §§ 1, 2; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 36-415; Acts 1984, ch. 516, § 1; 1987, ch. 146, § 1; 1987, ch. 336, §§ 4, 5; 1988, ch. 471, §§ 1, 2; 1991, ch. 86, § 1; 1992, ch. 911, § 1; 1993, ch. 50, § 1; 1994, ch. 619, § 1; 1995, ch. 94, § 1; 1995, ch. 128, § 1; 1997, ch. 295, §§ 1, 2; 1998, ch. 745, §§ 1, 2; 1999, ch. 526, § 1; 2003, ch. 90, § 2; 2003, ch. 376, § 3; 2005, ch. 21, § 1.]