Getting started with Marriage Information for Vermont
Before you plan to perform a wedding in Vermont, 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 Vermont.
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 Vermont
To get ordained and become a minister to perform ceremonies in Vermont, 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 Vermont 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 Vermont with Open Ministry by using the button below!
Step 2: Contact The Vermont County Clerk
Next, contact the office of your local marriage authority (typically your county clerk in Vermont). 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 Vermont.
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 Vermont 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 Vermont.
- Do you require any additional documentation for me to register as a wedding officiant in Vermont?
Step 3: Register with the Vermont Clerk
After you've contacted the marriage authority in Vermont, we recommend that you visit the bookstore to get your official credentials for your records, presentation or registration.
See Vermont State Statutes for More specific Requirements
When registering as an officiant in Vermont, you may be asked to display proof of your ordination to the Vermont county clerk's office before they will accept the marriage license as having been solemnized. We generally advise ministers of Vermont to get a Complete Membership Package for Vermont 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 Vermont 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 Vermont marriage license, Vermont 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 Vermont, be sure that the couple has picked up their Vermont 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 Vermont 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 Vermont, or who have questions about the ceremony read over our Officiant Guide.
Step 5: Submit the Vermont Marriage License
Vermont 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 Vermont and when the ceremony may be legally performed in Vermont.
This information is generally written on the license and must be followed to ensure the ceremony is recorded properly by Vermont.
Please note that the signed marriage license for Vermont must be returned to the issuing office in Vermont 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 Vermont 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 Vermont.
If you have any questions about the returning of the license, contact the Vermont agency that issued it for more information.
Vermont State Minister & Marriage Statutes
§ 5144. Persons authorized to solemnize marriage
(a) Marriages may be solemnized by:
(1) a Supreme Court Justice, a Superior judge, a judge of Probate, an assistant judge, a justice of the peace, a magistrate, a Judicial Bureau hearing officer, or an individual who has registered as a temporary officiant with the Vermont Secretary of State pursuant to section 5144a of this title;
(2) a member of the clergy ordained, licensed, or otherwise regularly authorized by the published laws or discipline of the general conference, convention, or other authority of his or her faith or denomination who:
(A) resides in this State;
(B) resides in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, or New York or in the adjacent province of Quebec, Canada, whose parish, church, temple, mosque, or other religious organization lies wholly or in part in this State; or
(C) resides in some other state of the United States or in Canada and whose parish, church, temple, mosque, or other religious organization lies wholly outside this State, provided he or she has first secured from the Probate Division of the Superior Court in the unit within which the marriage is to be solemnized a special authorization, authorizing him or her to certify the marriage if the Probate judge determines that the circumstances make the special authorization desirable.
(b) Marriage among the Friends or Quakers, the Christadelphian Ecclesia, and the Baha’i Faith may be solemnized in the manner used in such societies.
(c) This section does not require a member of the clergy authorized to solemnize a marriage as set forth in subsection (a) of this section, nor societies of Friends or Quakers, the Christadelphian Ecclesia, or the Baha’i Faith to solemnize any marriage, and any refusal to do so shall not create any civil claim or cause of action. (Amended 1965, No. 194, § 10, eff. Feb. 1, 1967; 1971, No. 22, eff. March 23, 1971; 1975, No. 1; 1979, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 26; 1981, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.); 1999, No. 91 (Adj. Sess.), § 28; 2007, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2009, No. 3, § 9, eff. Sept. 1, 2009; 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 147; 2013, No. 164 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 28, 2014; 2017, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 11, 2018.)