How to Get Your Marriage License in Colorado, and Can Your Pet Sign as a Witness?

Colorado is one of the most popular states in the US for couples looking to have a destination wedding or elopement. This popularity comes from the state’s astounding beauty, welcoming atmosphere, ease of travel, abundance of options to stay at, and more. Another area where Colorado excels is the topic of today’s article, which is how to get your marriage license here in the Centennial State. Colorado is thankfully one of THE easiest states to get your marriage license in, though there are some key things you’ll want to know as you look into acquiring yours. Let’s go through everything you need to know in order to get your marriage license, as well as a few other pieces of important info you may want to know as you plan your elopement or wedding!

Getting Your Marriage License: Quick and Simple

First, let’s take a look at the steps necessary to get your marriage license here in Colorado. Now this may not be as exciting as some of the other aspects of planning, like deciding on a location for your elopement, but it is equally as important. Lucky for you, Colorado keeps things simple for this process, whether you live in the state or are just visiting.

Choose a County Clerk’s Office

The first thing you’ll want to do when embarking on your (short) journey to get your Colorado marriage license is to decide on a County Clerk’s Office to get the license from. Colorado has 64 counties, each with their own Clerk’s office that you can choose from. They all have roughly the same requirements to acquire your marriage license from them, though there are some slight variations.

For this article we’ll be taking a look at the Denver county’s requirements as most couples will be flying into Denver’s airport for their destination elopement. It’s important to note though that Denver is one of the only counties in the state where a pet cannot sign your marriage license as a witness. We’ll cover this more in depth later. If this is something you were looking forward to I suggest following these steps to apply for your marriage license in a different county. Typically I’ll recommend my couples apply in the county they plan to have their ceremony in to keep things simple.

If you do plan on getting your license from a different county be sure to check for any differences from Denver’s requirements. Again all of Colorado’s counties have almost identical requirements, just with a few minor differences here and there. Finally, I am always happy to help couples that book me to document their day through this entire process!

How to Get Your Marriage License

Complete the Online Application

The first step in getting your Colorado marriage license from the County Clerk is to submit an online application. This can be found on each County Clerk’s website, and is where you’ll take care of the majority of your paperwork. This application being fully online means that you can, and should, complete this section prior to traveling to Colorado for your elopement or wedding. Once you’ve completed the online application you can move on to the next step.

Make Your Appointment

Next you’ll have to book an in-person appointment with the County Clerk’s office, which for Denver can be done through this link. Appointments can only be made up to 7 days in advance from the date of said appointment in Denver. Due to this I recommend looking to book your appointment as soon as you get within that 1 week date from when you ideally want the appointment to be. 

Meet the Requirements

Once you have your appointment scheduled, it’s time to make sure that you meet all the requirements to legally receive your Colorado marriage license. The information and requirements are as follows:

• The date of your ceremony
• Where your ceremony will take place
• Your relationship if blood related (cousins can legally marry in Colorado)
• The city and state where each of your parents were born
• Your social security number(s)

You’ll need to present answers to the above questions during your in-person appointment. In addition to this information you will each need to provide a valid form of identification during your in-person appointment. Acceptable forms of ID include a state-issued driver’s license, permit, or ID, a U.S. military ID, or a passport that includes the English language, or one with a certified English language translation. A $30 fee will also be charged when you attend your appointment for your license.

Knowing this information and having your physical IDs will allow you to take part in the final step, actually getting your Colorado marriage license!

Receive Your Marriage License!

It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for. Once your in-person appointment comes around, be sure you attend it. After a short 15 minutes or so you’ll receive your Colorado marriage license, and then you’re pretty much good to go!

There is no waiting period in Colorado, meaning your license is valid that same day. The license is then valid for the next 35 days, so be sure that your ceremony falls within that time frame. After your ceremony you’ll then have 63 days to return your signed marriage license to the County Clerk’s office you got it from. A late return will incur a fee that you’ll be required to pay.

Congratulations, you two are officially newlyweds!

Important Things to Note About Your Colorado Marriage

Self Solemnization is a Thing

One of THE biggest reasons Colorado is so popular when it comes to elopements is the fact that self solemnization is legal here. For anyone who’s hearing this term for the first time, self solemnization is where a couple is able to legally marry without the need for an officiant or witnesses. This is fantastic for elopements as it allows couples to travel practically anywhere in Colorado without the need for anyone else to come with them aside from their photographer! 

Have Your Pet Sign as a Witness

As I mentioned earlier, one of the other main attractions to eloping, and really weddings in general, here in Colorado is that your pet can sign your marriage license! This is because there’s no official need for a witness, so your fur-baby is able to BE your witness, which is so much fun. I do want to make an INCREDIBLY important note though:

As of August, 2024 the Denver and Arapahoe counties do NOT allow pets to sign as your witness. Denver’s County Clerk’s Site states this directly, while Arapahoe’s site does not and a phone call is required to discover this. Because of this, I recommend that any couple looking to have their pet sign as a witness call ahead to their chosen County Clerk’s office, as while the other 62 counties allow paw signatures at the moment, there’s no telling when they may change their minds.

And that’s how you get a marriage license here in Colorado! Pretty simple right? This simplicity is just another one of the many reasons I adore this state and feel so lucky to be able to document my couples’ love stories here. For more wedding and elopement planning tips check out some of my other blogs, and if you’re looking to book me as your photographer be sure to send me an inquiry ASAP to reserve your date!