Where to Apply

In person from the County Clerk's Office in the Courthouse at 500 Forest Street, Wausau, WI 54403.

Office Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 3:00pm and by appointment during County Board meetings on November 12 and December 17.

Prior to applying for a marriage license, you must have a wedding date and officiant scheduled.

When applying for a marriage license, only the couple will be able to participate in the application process. Any other parties - parents, siblings, friends, etc, will be asked to wait in the hallway. The exception to this policy will be if the couple brings their own interpreter. An interpreter must be a neutral third party with no stake in the marriage.

Please plan ahead and make arrangements for childcare, as you will need to give your full attention to the marriage license process.

Cost

Licenses are $100 per couple.

Requirements

• CERTIFIED copies of birth certificates are required for all applicants, regardless of age. Hospital copies will not be accepted. If you are a legal immigrant, you must show a green card, or if you have become a citizen of the United States, you must show your citizenship papers.  Foreign birth certificates must be translated into English.
• A Social Security Number must be provided for both of the applicants (if they have one). You are not required to show your card.
• VALID Photo ID, such as a driver's license, state ID card, Passport, etc. Document must not be expired.
• Proof of Residency for the past 30 days.  If ID address is not current, bring in an official document with your name and address (i.e. utility bill, lease, bank statement, paystub, etc.).  Each person must show where they have been living for the past 30 days. Application for a marriage license can be made in any county in Wisconsin and the license may be filed with the Register of Deeds in any county in Wisconsin.
• If previously married, death certificate, "findings and facts" with the date and judge's signature from divorce papers (a six-month waiting period is required after your divorce is finalized before you can apply for a marriage license), or court annulment certificate.
• If you are under the age of 18, a consent form must be signed by both parents or legal guardian.
• Application must be made between 3 and 60 days prior to the wedding (not more than 60 days prior, and not fewer than 3 days prior).  The day of application is not included in the three-day waiting period (i.e. If you apply on the 20th, you can be married on the 24th).  In certain circumstances, a waiver may be issued to obtain a license in fewer than three days for an additional $25.00 fee.
• Both of the parties must make application together in person.
• Once a marriage license has been issued by the County Clerk: WI Stats. 765.16 - The marriage may be validly solemnized and contracted in this state only after a marriage license has been issued therefor, and only by the mutual declarations of the two parties to be joined in marriage that they take each other as husband and wife, made before an authorized officiating person and in the presence of at least two competent adult witnesses, other than the officiating person.
• The officiating person who marries the couple will file the original marriage license with the any Register of Deeds office in the state so an official marriage document will be on file with the State of Wisconsin.
• The couple should be prepared to let the County Clerk's Office know the date of the wedding ceremony; the county where they will be married; the municipality (city, village or township); and the name of the officiant, along with the officiant's address and phone number.

Officiant Information

Out of State Officiants: Letters of Sponsorship are no longer required effective April 25, 2014, with the enactment and publication 2013 Wisconsin Act 372.

Officiant Instructions: As of September 1, 2013, County Clerks throughout the State of Wisconsin are no longer required to request "title" of officiants as instructed by the Wisconsin State Vital Records Office. Couples are responsible for determining that the officiant they have chosen to solemnize the ceremony is compliant with Wisconsin Statutes (see Statutory Requirements for who may perform marriages in Wisconsin).

If desired, the following can provide civil wedding ceremonies: