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Marriage License Requirements

293-2933 or 389-3950

 

To obtain a Marriage License in East Baton Rouge Parish, the parties need not be residents of this parish or state.

After you obtain your Marriage License it must be used in Louisiana ONLY . The marriage cannot be performed outside of this state.

For your convenience the Clerk keeps both your Downtown office and your Coursey Boulevard Branch office open from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, except for legal holidays. Our Downtown personnel will help you obtain your Marriage License in the Public Service Department, located in room B115 of the East Baton Rouge Governmental Building at 222 St. Louis Street. Marriage licenses can be obtained at the Coursey office, located at 10500 Coursey Boulevard and can be reached at 293-2933; the Baker office located in the Municipal annex at 1320 Alabama Street, open from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. and can be reached at 778-1866; the Zachary office at 4410 Florida Street in the Police Building and can be reached at 654-0044. Please arrive at any of our offices at least 30 minutes prior to closing in order that the application process may be completed.

  1. You must be 18 to obtain a marriage license without parental consent.
  2. A minor must be accompanied by both parents, who must show proper identification or provide a signed notarized statement giving the parent's consent for the minor to marry. If one parent has been granted legal custody by the courts, that parent must present a certified copy of the judgement granting custody.
  3. A marriage license cannot be issued to anyone under the age of 16 without an order from a Juvenile Court judge in addition to parental consent.
  4. If both parents are deceased, a legal guardian may give consent with proof of guardianship.
  5. Effective August 15, 1997, a couple for marriage now has the option of contracting a covenant marriage. To do so the couple must have premarital counseling. For more details on the Covenant Marriage Act, please call 389-3950.
  6. If either party has been divorced within a one year period that party must provide us with a certified copy of their Judgement of Divorce.
  7. Both parties need not be present (unless contracting a covenant marriage), but one of the parties must be present to apply for a marriage license. That party must present identification, for the absent party, in the form of a certified birth certificate.
  8. Both Bride and Groom must have proof of age in the form of an original or certified birth certificate. Nothing else will be accepted. Birth Certificates can be obtained from The Vital Records Registry for the state in which you were born. If you were born in Louisiana you can obtain a certified copy of your birth certificate by contacting The Vital Records Registry at 325 Loyola, New Orleans, Louisiana 70160. The phone number is (504)568-5152 .       The Baton Rouge Vital Records officeis located at 353 N. 12th Street.   The Baton Rouge phone number is (225) 242-4864.   If after contacting Vital Records they are unable to locate a birth certificate for you, you must obtain something in writing stating this.
  9. You no longer need a blood test to obtain a marriage license.
  10. The State of Louisiana has set the Marriage License fee at $25.00 cash. You can also purchase a miniature marriage license at an additional cost of   $5.00 for a total of $30.00 .  Couples may now purchase a certified copy of their marriage license for an additional $5.00 along with the purchase of license.  The certified copy will be mailed to the couple upon its return to the Clerks' office after the completion of ceremony.
  11. Each party will need to know their parent's full name, mother's maiden name, and the states in which they were born.
  12. Social Security numbers for both parties must also be supplied.
  13. Once the license has been issued there is a 72 hour waiting period before the marriage ceremony can be performed; also if the license is unused after 30 days, it expires.

If you have any questions, please call 293-2933 or 389-3950 and someone will be happy to assist you. Thank you and have a good day.

If you would like to look at sample certificate of marriage, see here. (Note: it may take a while to load the image)