How can we get a marriage license?
Congratulations!
Marriage licenses are issued at the Town Clerk’s office at Town Hall. Please bring photo identification, and if this isn’t your first marriage, you must bring a certified divorce decree or death certificate. For more information on getting married in Maine please click here. You will find license information, who can perform your ceremony, and what you would need to bring with you.
If either applicant is a Maine resident, you must apply in the town office where one of you resides.
If you are both non-residents, you can apply at any town office in Maine. If you are planning to marry in Bristol you may download and complete the following forms:
- Cover Letter
- Intention of Marriage Application (black ink only)
- Guardian Consent Form (only used for applicants under 18 years of age)
Please note that if the intentions are returned by mail, the applicants’ signatures must be notarized.
Applicants must sign the license in the clerk’s presence.
| FORM | FEE |
|---|---|
| Marriage License | $40.00 per copy |
| Certified Marriage Certificate | $15.00 first copy |
| Additional Marriage Certificates | $6.00 additional copies in the same order |
If submitting a marriage license application by mail please note that the $40 fee must be included. If you would like a certified copy of your Marriage Certificate mailed to you once the license is returned please also include $15.00 for the first copy and $6.00 for additional copies.
Information for Officiating a Ceremony
If you need to choose an officiant or already have someone planned to perform your ceremony, you probably still have a few questions. Please click here for more information on those performing a marriage ceremony. Below is a list of persons authorized to solemnize marriages in Maine.
- If the officiant is a resident of this state:
- A justice or a judge;
- A lawyer admitted to the Maine Bar; or
- A licensed marriage officiant, click here for list
- Whether the officiant is a resident or a nonresident of this State and whether or not a citizen of the United States:
- An ordained minister of the gospel;
- A cleric engaged in the service of the religious body to which the cleric belongs; or
- A person licensed to preach by an association of ministers, religious seminary or ecclesiastical body.
- A nonresident of Maine who has a temporary registration certificate issued by the Maine CDC vital records office. Please see below for links to information on this process: