Can You Get Married in Colorado Without Being a Resident?

You can marry in Colorado without living there. The state imposes no residency requirement for a marriage license, no waiting period, and no blood test, and it is one of the few states where couples can legally solemnize their own marriage without an officiant or witnesses. Getting married in Colorado without being a resident is straightforward: apply at any county clerk’s office, hold the ceremony anywhere in the state within 35 days, and return the signed certificate to the clerk.

No Residency Requirement

Colorado law does not require you to live in the state, hold a Colorado address, or show any tie to Colorado to obtain a marriage license. You can fly in, apply, marry, and fly home the same day. Non-U.S. citizens can also marry in Colorado; a valid passport is the standard ID, though other government-issued photo identification may be accepted depending on the county.¹

The residency rule reappears in only one narrow situation: proxy marriages, covered near the end of this article.

Who Is Eligible

Both people must be at least 18 to marry without court involvement. A 16- or 17-year-old needs judicial approval, and marriage under 16 is prohibited.²

Both parties must be unmarried. Any prior marriage must have ended by divorce, annulment, or death, and Colorado imposes no waiting period after a divorce before you can remarry.³

Marriage between ancestors and descendants, siblings (including half-siblings), and uncles/nieces or aunts/nephews is prohibited. First cousin marriages are not on the prohibited list and are permitted.⁴

How to Get the License

Apply at any County Clerk and Recorder’s office. The county you apply in does not have to be the county where you hold the ceremony, so long as both happen within Colorado. At least one party must appear in person. If the other person cannot make it, they can complete an absentee affidavit, sign it before a notary, and have their partner bring it in along with a copy of their ID.⁵

Bring the following:

A valid photo ID: driver’s license, passport, state-issued ID card, military ID, or green card. Some counties accept expired passports.
Your Social Security number, if you have one. Applicants without a number sign a short affidavit at the counter.
Date and place of birth for both applicants, plus parents’ names and birthplaces.
If either person was previously married, the date, location, and type of dissolution.

The license fee is $30. No blood test or medical exam is required.³

The 35-Day Window

A Colorado marriage license is valid for 35 days from the date of issue. If you don’t use it in that window, it becomes void and must be returned to the clerk for cancellation. You would then have to apply and pay again. There is no waiting period between issuance and the ceremony, so the license is usable immediately.⁶

Clerk offices keep business hours, so plan the trip accordingly. A couple flying in for a Saturday wedding will usually need to pick up the license earlier in the week or on a previous visit. Some counties take appointments; others accept walk-ins. Call the office before you travel.

Who Can Perform the Ceremony

Colorado law lets judges, retired judges, court magistrates, public officials with solemnization authority, and anyone authorized by a religious denomination or tribal nation solemnize a marriage. The list also includes the parties themselves.⁷

Self-Solemnization

Under C.R.S. 14-2-109, a couple can legally marry themselves. You and your partner sign the marriage certificate yourselves, at any location, at any time within the 35-day window. No officiant. No witnesses. No extra paperwork beyond the license. That can be on a mountain trail, in a hot-air balloon, or at a kitchen table.

For out-of-state couples, this removes most of the coordination that other states demand. You still complete the certificate and return it to the county clerk afterward.

Returning the Certificate

After the ceremony, the completed marriage certificate must reach the county clerk within 63 days. If you used an officiant, the officiant usually handles the filing. If you self-solemnized, it is on you and your partner.⁷

Missing the deadline triggers a late fee of at least $20, plus $5 per day up to a maximum of $50. The postmark counts as the date of forwarding, so mailing it in on the last day is fine. This is the detail most likely to slip past out-of-state couples once they are home. Set a reminder before you leave Colorado.

Once the certificate is recorded, certified copies are available for $1.25 each in most Colorado counties.⁵

Will Your Home State Recognize the Marriage?

Yes. A marriage that is valid where it was performed is recognized in every other U.S. state. Courts reach that result through choice-of-law doctrines rather than the Full Faith and Credit Clause alone, but the practical outcome is the same: your Colorado marriage has full legal weight at home. That includes self-solemnized marriages, even in states that do not permit self-solemnization for their own residents. What matters is that the marriage was lawful under Colorado law at the time and place it occurred.⁸

Two Situations Where Residency Still Matters

Proxy Marriage

A proxy marriage, in which a third person stands in for an absent party, is the one type of Colorado marriage that requires residency. At least one party must be a Colorado resident, and the absence must involve military deployment or military-related contractor separation. The absent party submits written authorization for the proxy along with a notarized absentee affidavit. If the officiant is not satisfied that the absent party genuinely consented, the couple can petition the court for an order authorizing the proxy marriage.⁹

Common Law Marriage

Colorado still recognizes common law marriage, which occasionally worries visitors traveling as a couple. A trip does not create one. Colorado requires mutual consent to being spouses, cohabitation at the same permanent address, holding out publicly as married, and a reputation in the community as a married couple. All of those elements have to be present. Sharing a hotel room, wearing rings, or introducing a partner as your spouse during a Colorado vacation does not meet the standard.¹⁰

1
Larimer County. Civil Union and Marriage Licenses
2
Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Section 14-2-106 – License to Marry
3
Washington County, Colorado. Marriage and Civil Union Licenses
4
Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Section 14-2-110 – Prohibited Marriages
5
Adams County, CO. Marriage and Civil Union License
6
Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Section 14-2-107 – When Licenses to Marry Issued, Validity
7
Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Section 14-2-109 – Solemnization and Registration of Marriages, Proxy Marriage
8
American Bar Association. Interstate Validation of Marriages and Civil Unions
9
Rio Blanco County, CO. Marriage Licenses
10
Department of Revenue – Taxation. Common-Law Marriage