Getting Married in Minnesota: Marriage License & Wedding Officiant Guide
Getting married in Minnesota involves more than choosing a venue, planning your ceremony, and deciding what you'll say in your vows. There are also a few important legal steps that help make your marriage official.
The good news is that the process doesn't have to feel complicated.
From obtaining your marriage license to signing the paperwork after your ceremony, knowing what to expect ahead of time can make your wedding day a little easier.
If you're planning a wedding in Minnesota, here's a simple guide to the marriage license, witnesses, wedding officiant, and what happens with your paperwork after you say “I do.”
1. Start With Your Minnesota Marriage License
Before your wedding ceremony can take place, you need to obtain a valid Minnesota marriage license.
Minnesota law allows you to obtain the license from a local registrar in any Minnesota county. Your wedding does not have to take place in the same county that issued the license, but the marriage ceremony must take place within Minnesota.
That can be helpful for couples planning weddings away from home. If you're getting married in Staples, Brainerd, Nisswa, Wadena, Alexandria, Park Rapids, or another Minnesota community, you aren't necessarily required to get the license from the county where your venue is located.
Because application procedures and fees can vary, check with the county where you plan to obtain your license before applying.
Minnesota marriage requirements are established under Chapter 517 of Minnesota Statutes.
2. Choose an Authorized Minnesota Wedding Officiant
Your wedding officiant does more than lead your ceremony. Your officiant also has an important role in making sure the marriage is properly solemnized and documented.
Minnesota's officiant requirements changed in 2025.
Under current Minnesota law, a person who performs civil marriages must be at least 21 years old and registered as a civil marriage officiant with a local registrar in a Minnesota county. The previous system requiring ministers to file specific ordination or ministerial credentials was repealed.
When choosing your officiant, it is perfectly reasonable to ask whether they are properly registered to perform marriages in Minnesota.
You can learn more about Minnesota's officiant requirements through the Minnesota Department of Administration.
3. You Need Two Witnesses
Minnesota requires two attending witnesses to be present when the marriage is solemnized. During the ceremony, both people getting married make their declaration in the presence of the officiant and those two witnesses.
The witnesses who sign the marriage certificate must be at least 16 years old.
This is something worth deciding before the wedding day so you aren't trying to choose witnesses while everyone is getting ready for the ceremony.
Your witnesses can also become part of the story of your wedding day—two people whose signatures will forever be part of the official record of your marriage.
4. What Happens With the Marriage License During the Ceremony?
Bring your marriage paperwork with you on your wedding day and make sure it gets to your officiant.
Before solemnizing the marriage, an officiant must be satisfied that a marriage license has been obtained and that the people present are the people named on that license.
Your ceremony itself can still feel completely personal.
Minnesota establishes certain legal requirements for solemnizing the marriage, but that doesn't mean every ceremony needs to look or sound the same. Your ceremony can reflect your relationship, beliefs, personalities, traditions, families, and vision for your wedding day.
That's where the legal part of getting married and the personal part of your ceremony come together.
5. Who Signs the Marriage Certificate?
After the ceremony, the marriage certificate must contain the required information and signatures.
Under current Minnesota law, the certificate includes the couple's signatures using their legal names after marriage and the signatures of at least two witnesses who were present at the ceremony. The officiant also completes and signs the certificate.
Your officiant should guide you through what needs to be completed so you aren't left wondering where everyone needs to sign.
It's a small part of the wedding day, but an important one.
6. What Does the Wedding Officiant Do After the Ceremony?
Your officiant's responsibility doesn't end when the ceremony is over.
Minnesota law requires the person who solemnized the marriage to file the completed marriage certificate with the local registrar of the county that issued the marriage license within five days after the ceremony.
When I officiate a wedding through Timeless Tributes LLC, I help guide couples through the officiant portion of the Minnesota marriage paperwork so they can concentrate on something much more important—getting married.
A Simple Minnesota Wedding Paperwork Checklist
Before Your Wedding
Obtain your Minnesota marriage license.
Confirm that your wedding officiant is properly registered in Minnesota.
Choose two witnesses who are at least 16 years old.
Make a plan for getting your marriage paperwork to your officiant on the wedding day.
On Your Wedding Day
Bring your marriage paperwork.
Enjoy your ceremony.
Complete the required signatures with your officiant and witnesses.
After Your Wedding
Your officiant completes the required portion of the marriage certificate and files it with the county that issued the marriage license within the required five-day period.
And then you can get back to enjoying married life.
Your Marriage License Makes It Official. Your Ceremony Makes It Yours.
The paperwork is important, but your wedding ceremony is about much more than signatures.
It's the moment you stand together, make your promises, exchange your vows and begin the next part of your story.
That's why I believe your ceremony should feel like you.
Timeless Tributes LLC creates personalized wedding ceremonies for couples throughout Central and Northern Minnesota. Your ceremony can incorporate your love story, personalized vows, readings, family participation, meaningful traditions, religious or spiritual elements—or none of those at all.
Every couple is welcomed and respected.
Whether you're planning an intimate ceremony or a larger celebration surrounded by family and friends, I'll help guide you through the ceremony process and the officiant portion of your Minnesota marriage paperwork.
Your Love Story. My Honor.