Residence Requirements

You not required to be a resident of New Hampshire in order to be legally married in the state. A marriage application may be filed for in any city or town within the State of New Hampshire.

 

Filing Intentions

Couples wishing to marry in New Hampshire must appear together at the clerks office as both signatures are required. Call your clerks office for exceptions for military personnel that cannot appear in person. All couples will be required to pay a marriage license fee.

Documents Required

Applicants will need to supply proof of age. If any applicant has been previously married they will need to supply a certified copy of a death certificate of former spouse or a divorce decree from former spouse or annulment decree from former spouse.

License Period

The marriage license issued by the clerks office will be valid immediately and expires in ninety (90) days so it is important to plan accordingly.

 

Officiating a Marriage in New Hampshire

In New Hampshire a wedding may be preformed by

• Justice of the Peace commissioned in New Hampshire
   

• A minister of the gospel in New Hampshire who has been ordained according to the usage of his denomination and resides in state and is in regular standing with the denomination
   

• A minister within his parish, residing outside New Hampshire but having a pastoral charge wholly or partly in the state
   

• Jewish Rabbis who are citizens of the US and reside in New Hampshire
   

• Quakers
   

• A Deacon in the Roman Catholic Church ordained according to the usage of his denomination
   

• Clergymen who are not ordained and non-resident ministers or Jewish Rabbis only after being licensed by the Secretary of State

Certified Marriage License

A certified copy of your marriage license may be obtained from the city or town clerks office where you filed for your license after the officiator has completed and returned the marriage license to the clerk.  This will take approximately one to two weeks.

Additional Information

It is not legal in the state of New Hampshire to marry your first cousin or anyone in closer kinship to you.

It is not legal to be married in the state of New Hampshire if you are under the age of 18. Exceptions are made if you are a female between the ages of 13 and 17 or a male between the ages of 14 and 17 and have obtained parental permission and a waiver from a superior court or probate court judge.

No marriage by parties residing outside of New Hampshire shall be construed as legal if the jurisdiction they live in would interpret the marriage as null and void.  This also applies to residents of New Hampshire if they are married outside of the state jurisdiction and New Hampshire would interpret the marriage as null and void.