How to Get a Marriage License in Las Vegas

To get a marriage license in Las Vegas, the two of you go together, in person, to the Clark County Marriage License Bureau at 201 E. Clark Avenue in downtown Las Vegas. You each show a current government issued photo ID, you pay $102 in cash, and you walk out with the license during that same visit. There is no appointment to book, no blood test, and no waiting period in Nevada. I’m McKenzie, I grew up here, and I’ve photographed more than 300 weddings over 17 years, so I know the parts of this errand that go wrong for couples.

What to bring to the Marriage License Bureau

Everything on this list gets checked at the counter, so pack it before you fly out. The most common problem I hear about is a couple arriving with something on a phone screen instead of in a wallet.

• A current, unexpired government issued photo ID for each of you. A driver’s license, a state ID card, a passport, or a military ID all work.
• The physical document, not a picture of it. Clark County requires original ID with a current, recognizable photo, so a photo on your phone or a photocopy will not be accepted. See the county’s ID requirements.
• Your Social Security number, if you have one. You do not need to bring the card. You just need to know the number.
• The date and the place where any earlier marriage ended. If either of you has been divorced or widowed, you state the date and the city and state on the application.
• A way to pay. Cash and cards both work at the downtown bureau, and paying cash costs less.

Both of you have to be standing at that counter at the same time. One person cannot pick up the license alone while the other sleeps off the flight, and there is no way to handle it by mail or online. You both also need to be at least 18.

How to get your Las Vegas marriage license, step by step

Here is the order it happens in.

1. Fill out the application online first, if you want to. Clark County runs a marriage license pre application where each of you enters your information ahead of time and gets a confirmation number to bring with you. You can submit it up to 90 days before your wedding date. It is optional. If you skip it, you fill out the same form at the counter and you still walk out with your license that day. All it saves you is the few minutes of filling out the form once you are there. You can keep the confirmation number on your phone, too. Only your ID has to be the original, physical document.
2. Go to the bureau together. It is walk in only, so there is no appointment to book. You show up during open hours and get in line.
3. Show your ID and confirm your information. A clerk checks both IDs, pulls up your application, and has you confirm that the names, dates, and details are right. Read your names closely here. The license is issued in each of your names exactly as they appear on the ID you hand over. Nobody chooses a married name at this counter, and adopting one afterward is a separate process.
4. Pay the fee. You pay before the license is printed.
5. Take your license with you. It is printed and handed to you before you leave. Keep it somewhere safe in your hotel room and hand it to your officiant on the wedding day.

Where the Marriage License Bureau is and when it is open

The main bureau is at 201 E. Clark Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89101, in downtown Las Vegas near the courthouse. From the Strip, that is roughly 3 to 4 miles, or about 10 to 15 minutes by car. From Harry Reid International Airport it is around 5 miles, or about 15 to 20 minutes. Those drive times are approximate, not official, and Las Vegas traffic can make either one longer. Clark County says parking is available across the street at reasonable rates, and that is all the county publishes about it.

It is open seven days a week, from 8:00 a.m. to midnight, every single day of the year. The bureau is open on Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s Day, the same hours as any other day.

Once you reach the counter, the paperwork usually takes under an hour. How long you wait to get to the counter is the part nobody can promise you, because Clark County does not publish wait times. The county does publish when the bureau is busiest. The quietest days are Sundays and Tuesdays. On any day, the quietest hours are the first couple of hours after it opens at 8:00 a.m. and the late stretch from 8:00 p.m. to midnight. February is the busiest month because of Valentine’s Day, and dates with repeating numbers draw crowds of their own. If your trip falls on one of those dates, go early in the morning or late at night.

Clark County also issues licenses at two smaller offices, one in Henderson at 240 S. Water Street and one in Laughlin at 101 Civic Way. Both keep short weekday hours and close for legal holidays, so for most couples flying in, downtown is the simpler choice.

What a Las Vegas marriage license costs

The fee is $102 as of 2026, and what you hand over depends on whether you pay with cash or a card. Paying cash costs exactly $102. A card adds a processing fee of 2 percent plus $1.25, which comes to $105.29 on a $102 license. That fee goes to the outside company that processes card payments, not to the county, so cash is the only way to pay $102 and nothing more. The Henderson and Laughlin offices are the opposite: they take cards and checks, and no cash at all.

When to get your marriage license before the wedding

Once a Nevada marriage license is issued, it is good for one year from that date, and it works anywhere in Nevada. You cannot really be too early. If your ceremony is nine months out and you happen to be in town for a venue visit, pick the license up on that trip and it will still be valid on your wedding day. If the year runs out before the ceremony, the license expires and you buy a new one.

For a couple flying in, get it on the day you land. Put it on the itinerary next to the rental car and the hotel check in, so it is finished before the rest of the week fills up.

Getting the license and getting married on the same day is legal. Nevada has no waiting period and no blood test, the bureau opens at 8:00 a.m., and couples really do pick up a license in the morning and marry that afternoon.

I still would not plan it that way. The drive from the Strip is 10 to 15 minutes on a good day. Add heavy traffic on Las Vegas Boulevard, or a long line on a Valentine’s weekend, and a short errand becomes the thing you are worrying about while you should be getting dressed.

What happens to your license after the ceremony

Nevada requires one witness at your ceremony, and one is all you ever need. I can be that witness at any wedding I photograph.

Your license and your marriage certificate are two different documents, and this is the part couples are most surprised by. The license is what you buy before the wedding, and it gives your officiant the authority to marry you.

The certificate is the recorded proof that the marriage happened, and it is created after the ceremony from the signed license. When someone asks for your marriage documents later, at a bank, at Social Security, at the DMV, they mean the certificate.

You do not have to mail anything in. Your officiant signs the license after the ceremony and has 10 days to return it to the Clark County Clerk for recording. The Clerk’s Office handles this whole process, from issuing the license to recording the certificate to selling copies of it, so there is only one office to deal with.

Once the Clerk receives the signed license, a certified copy of your certificate is usually available about a day later. You can order copies online, by mail, or in person at the office. The Clerk charges a fee per copy, and the current amount is listed on the Clerk’s fee page. Order online if you are in a hurry, because copies sent by regular mail can take up to three weeks to reach you. Order at least one certified copy, and order two if you plan to change your name, since the certified copy is the document every name change starts with.

Common questions about Las Vegas marriage licenses

Can I get a marriage license in Las Vegas if I have been divorced?

Yes, and you do not need to bring your divorce decree. You do need to know the date your divorce was finalized and the city and state where it happened, because you state both on the application. The one time a decree matters is if you want a name on the license that is different from the name on your photo ID, since the county needs proof of that legal name change. It works the same way if you were widowed: the county wants the date and the city and state where your spouse died, and does not ask to see a death certificate.

Can you get married in Las Vegas at 17?

Only with a court’s permission. Nevada’s minimum marriage age is 18. A 17 year old can marry only with the consent of a parent or legal guardian, proof of Nevada residency, and an order from a Nevada district court authorizing the marriage. The court has to find that the circumstances are extraordinary and that the marriage is in the minor’s best interest, which makes this rare.

Can I use a foreign passport to get a Las Vegas marriage license?

Yes. A valid, unexpired foreign passport is accepted as photo ID at the Marriage License Bureau, and you do not need a visa, a green card, or any particular immigration status to get a Nevada marriage license. Expired passports are not accepted. If your passport is not in English, call the bureau before your trip and ask what it wants. Clark County mentions translation help at the office but does not publish whether a translated copy has to be certified, and I would rather tell you that than guess.

Is the marriage license process different for same sex couples in Nevada?

No. Same sex couples apply at the same counter, with the same ID, the same fee, and the same forms as anyone else.

In 2020, Nevada voters amended the state constitution to require the state to recognize marriages and issue licenses regardless of gender. I photograph LGBTQ+ elopements in Las Vegas all the time, and the license step looks exactly the same.

Can I use a Las Vegas marriage license to get married in another state?

No. A Clark County license covers a ceremony performed in Nevada, anywhere in the state, and it cannot be used for a wedding in California or anywhere else.

That limit applies to the license, not to the marriage. Once you are legally married in Nevada, every other state recognizes that marriage.

Let’s talk about your wedding day

Once the license is handled, the fun part is deciding where you actually want to be standing when you say your vows.

You can elope almost anywhere in Las Vegas, from a chapel to the desert to the Strip at night. If you book our all inclusive elopement package, we take care of the officiant, the permit, and the photos. The license is the one piece you handle yourselves, because the county needs both of you standing at that counter. I’d love to hear what you two are planning. Send me an email at mckenzie@msweddingimage.com or reach out here, tell me your date and what you have in mind, and I’ll tell you honestly whether I’m the right fit for it. I am so excited for you.