How far in advance did you get your marriage license? My fiance and I are getting married in my home state but we won’t be there until the day before my mehndi. Our state requires us to be there physically…I’m kind of stressing that if something happens and we don’t get our license, we’re not gonna be able to get nikkahed…I don’t really understand how all that works. Ideas?
And can my fiance’s nephew do our nikkah? Or does the person performing that have to have some special certification or something?
Sorry…I’m on my phone and it posted the reply before I was done. So as I was saying, you need to go to the court clerk’s office in person with your fiance within 60 days before the nikkah. The certificate will say that you can get married anytime from the next day to the next 60th day. I think the “next day” rule is to prevent people getting drunk and suddenly deciding to get married (I guess you can only do that in Vegas). Also, we were required to have a certified person to perform the ceremony so we went to our local islamic center and got an appointment for the nikkah day. You can start by just going to your local court and islamic center and finding out the rules.
The county you’re planning on getting married in…look up that county clerk’s website to find out details of your particular state/county. In my county, you have to get the license at least 72 hours BEFORE the ceremony which means you can NOT get it the day before. And in my county, the marriage license expires in 90 days so you can get the license up to 3 months before the wedding. And in my county, you do NOT have to be present in person to get the license. There is an option to fill out a affidavit to apply for a license if you can’t be present.
Don’t rely on what anyone in GS tells you. Look up your county clerk’s website. If their website does not EXPLICITLY answer all the questions you asked here, then call them tomorrow and ask them. Going by the rules in my county, your fiancé’s nephew would NOT be able to perform a nikkah that would be considered valid by the county/State.
stupid question but getting your marriage license “on the spot” means that you can get married right after if we wanted, correct?
"Marriage LicensesMarriage licenses are issued to applicants on the spot. A marriage license is valid for 90 days. There are no citizenship or residency requirements, nor are blood tests required to obtain a marriage license. Applicants must be over 18 years old. Couples can begin the process for submitting an application for a marriage license online. (See Online Services.)
For your convenience, appointments are accepted but not required. Online applicants are given priority.
Walk in applicants are taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Afternoons and Fridays are the busiest times.
Payment can be made by cash, personal check, cashier’s check, money order, Discover, American Express, MasterCard/Visa Credit and Debit.
To complete the application for a marriage license, a couple must:
Appear together in person.
Each present one form of a valid non-expired photo identification (such as a driver’s license or passport).
If divorced within the last 90 days, please provide a certified copy of the divorce decree. If spouse is deceased within the previous 90 days, please provide a certified copy of the death certificate.
Select the name each wishes to use after marriage, to be listed on the marriage license. Couples are not required to change their names nor are they required to take the same name. However, if a name change is desired, it must be correctly reflected before the marriage license is signed. Once the license is signed, names can only be changed by a court order."
When my husband and I went, we were issued the license “on the spot” too. This means you do not have to go back another day to pick up the license. They will hand you that piece of paper that day.
Based on what you posted, it SEEMS that your county does not have a minimum waiting requirement. You should definitely do the application online since they seem to prefer that. HOWEVER, I still think you should call them tomorrow and explain your plans (that you and fiancé will fly into town 24 hours before the wedding ceremony). You have nothing to lose by making that free phone call. Just make sure the timing won’t be an issue. If the website doesn’t mention it, also ask about the nephew marrying you.
The license is the official license to go ahead and get married. Like a permit.
Its issued on the spot so you can have it with you to show your officiant whenever you decide to get married. Usually, there’s a time limit until this permit is valid. After that time, you need to get another license if you don’t get married within the time frame indicated.
The person performing the ceremony can be anyone but they do have to be an officiant. Meaning, registered to perform marriages in whatever state they’re in. This can also differ from state to state.
So like Paheli said…make sure you check with your clerk’s office.