Getting started with Marriage Information for Texas
Before you plan to perform a wedding in Texas, 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 Texas.
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 Texas
To get ordained and become a minister to perform ceremonies in Texas, 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 Texas 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 Texas with Open Ministry by using the button below!
Step 2: Contact The Texas County Clerk
Next, contact the office of your local marriage authority (typically your county clerk in Texas). 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 Texas.
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 Texas 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 Texas.
- Do you require any additional documentation for me to register as a wedding officiant in Texas?
Step 3: Register with the Texas Clerk
After you've contacted the marriage authority in Texas, we recommend that you visit the bookstore to get your official credentials for your records, presentation or registration.
See Texas State Statutes for More specific Requirements
When registering as an officiant in Texas, you may be asked to display proof of your ordination to the Texas county clerk's office before they will accept the marriage license as having been solemnized. We generally advise ministers of Texas to get a Complete Membership Package for Texas 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 Texas 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 Texas marriage license, Texas 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 Texas, be sure that the couple has picked up their Texas 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 Texas 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 Texas, or who have questions about the ceremony read over our Officiant Guide.
Step 5: Submit the Texas Marriage License
Texas 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 Texas and when the ceremony may be legally performed in Texas.
This information is generally written on the license and must be followed to ensure the ceremony is recorded properly by Texas.
Please note that the signed marriage license for Texas must be returned to the issuing office in Texas 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 Texas 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 Texas.
If you have any questions about the returning of the license, contact the Texas agency that issued it for more information.
Texas State Minister & Marriage Statutes
2.202 PERSONS AUTHORIZED TO CONDUCT CEREMONY
(a) The following persons are authorized to conduct a marriage ceremony:
(1) a licensed or ordained Christian minister or priest;
(2) a Jewish rabbi;
(3) a person who is an officer of a religious organization and who is authorized by the organization to conduct a marriage ceremony; and
(4) a justice of the supreme court, judge of the court of criminal appeals, justice of the courts of appeals, judge of the district, county, and probate courts, judge of the county courts at law, judge of the courts of domestic relations, judge of the juvenile courts, retired justice or judge of those courts, justice of the peace, retired justice of the peace, judge of a municipal court, or judge or magistrate of a federal court of this state.
(b) For the purposes of this section, a retired judge or justice is a former judge or justice who is vested in the Judicial Retirement System of Texas Plan One or the Judicial Retirement System of Texas Plan Two or who has an aggregate of at least 12 years of service as judge or justice of any type listed in Subsection (a)(4).
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a person commits an offense if the person knowingly conducts a marriage ceremony without authorization under this section. An offense under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor.
(d) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly conducts a marriage ceremony of a minor whose marriage is prohibited by law or of a person who by marrying commits an offense under Section 25.01, Penal Code. An offense under this subsection is a felony of the third degree.
FAMILY CODE - TITLE 1. THE MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIP - SUBTITLE A. MARRIAGE - CHAPTER 2. THE MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIP - SUBCHAPTER C. CEREMONY AND RETURN OF LICENSE
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, Sec. 1, eff. April 17, 1997. Amended by: Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 268, Sec. 4.10, eff. September 1, 2005. Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 134, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.