Denton County Marriage License: Fees, Waiting Period, and Officiants

A Denton County marriage license costs $81, or $21 if you bring a Twogether in Texas premarital education certificate. Both applicants must appear together at one of six County Clerk branch offices with a qualifying photo ID. Texas law then requires a 72-hour wait between issuance and the ceremony, and the license expires if you have not married within 90 days.¹

Who Can Apply

Both applicants must be at least 18. A minor can marry in Texas only if a court has issued an order removing the disabilities of minority; parental consent by itself does not qualify.²

Both applicants must also be currently unmarried. If either of you was recently divorced, Texas prohibits remarriage before the 31st day after the divorce decree is signed. The one exception: former spouses remarrying each other can do so immediately.³

What to Bring

Each applicant needs one form of ID that establishes both identity and age. A Texas driver’s license, a U.S. passport, or a certified birth certificate all work. The clerk also accepts a current military ID, a foreign passport, federal immigration documents with a photo, a U.S. citizenship certificate, or school records in some cases. A Texas driver’s license or state ID that expired within the past two years is still accepted.²

You do not need to bring a physical Social Security card, but you will need to provide your Social Security number on the application if you have one. The form also asks for the full names and birthplaces of both sets of parents, so have that information handy.

Fees and the Twogether in Texas Discount

The standard fee is $81. Couples who complete the state’s Twogether in Texas premarital education course pay $21 instead, a $60 savings.⁴ The same certificate also waives the 72-hour waiting period.⁵

Bring the completion certificate to the clerk’s office when you apply. It must have been issued within one year of your application date.

How to Apply

Denton County offers an optional online portal that lets you pre-fill the application before your visit. It speeds things up, but there is a catch: after submitting online, both applicants must appear at the clerk’s office within three days, or the application is deleted and you start over.¹

You can finalize the license at any of six Denton County Clerk branch offices:

Denton — 1450 E. McKinney Street, Suite 1103
Lewisville — 400 North Valley Parkway, Suite 2094
Carrollton — 1029 West Rosemeade Parkway
Flower Mound — 6200 Canyon Falls Drive, Suite 700
Frisco — 5533 FM 423, Suite 301
Cross Roads — 1400 FM 424

Both applicants must appear together. At the counter you will review the printed application, take a verbal oath that the information is true and that no legal barriers exist, and sign in front of the deputy clerk. Once payment is processed, the license is printed and handed to you on the spot. Keep it safe. Your officiant needs it before the ceremony.¹

The 72-Hour Waiting Period

Texas requires a 72-hour wait between issuance and the ceremony. The clock starts when the clerk issues the license, not when you submit the online application.⁶

Four groups can skip the wait:

Active-duty members of the U.S. armed forces
Department of Defense civilian employees or contractors
Applicants with a written judicial waiver signed by a judge with family law jurisdiction, a justice of the peace, or certain other judicial officers on a finding of good cause
Couples who present a Twogether in Texas completion certificate

The premarital course is the most accessible route, and it saves $60 on the license fee as well.

The 90-Day Expiration

A Denton County marriage license is valid anywhere in Texas, but it expires if the ceremony has not taken place before the 90th day after issuance.¹ There is no extension and no renewal. Miss the deadline and you must reapply and pay again, so time your application if the wedding is months away.

Who Can Officiate

Texas law authorizes four categories of officiant:

Licensed or ordained Christian ministers and priests
Jewish rabbis
Officers of a religious organization authorized by that organization to conduct marriages
Any current, former, or retired federal or state judge

⁷

Texas does not register officiants. The person performing your ceremony is expected to confirm their own eligibility under the statute. The officiant must also verify that your license has not expired before conducting the ceremony.

After the Ceremony

Your officiant fills in the ceremony date, the county where it took place, and their information on the license, signs it, and returns it to the Denton County Clerk within 30 days. Failing to return the license on time is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $200 to $500.⁸ The responsibility is the officiant’s, not yours, but if the license is never returned your marriage will not appear in the county’s vital records. Following up is worth the two minutes, especially if the officiant is a friend or relative.

Once the license is on file, you can order certified copies from the Denton County Clerk online through the Vital Statistics portal or by mail. A certified copy costs $16 plus $1 per page; a non-certified copy is $1 plus $1 per page. Mail requests should include both names as they appear on the license, the marriage date, and a cashier’s check or money order payable to Juli Luke, Denton County Clerk.⁹ Ordering a few extras is smart, since name changes, insurance updates, and other post-wedding paperwork usually require certified copies.

If One Applicant Cannot Appear

If one applicant is 18 or older but physically unable to visit the clerk’s office, the other applicant or any other adult can apply on their behalf. The absent applicant must provide a notarized affidavit and a copy of their qualifying ID, both submitted by the person appearing at the counter.¹⁰

If both applicants are absent, the clerk can issue a license only when both are members of the armed forces stationed in another country in support of combat or another military operation. In that case, the person applying on each absent applicant’s behalf must submit an affidavit declaring the military status.

Proxy Marriage Is Military-Only

Texas allows marriage by proxy only when the absent person is an active-duty service member stationed in another country in support of combat or a military operation and cannot attend the ceremony. A civilian proxy physically stands in during the ceremony itself. No other applicant qualifies for proxy marriage in Texas.¹¹

Name Changes Are Separate

Getting married does not automatically change your name anywhere. A certified copy of your recorded license is the proof most agencies require, and you update each one individually.

The Texas Department of Public Safety will change the name on your driver’s license using your marriage license, with no court order needed, for three specific patterns:

Taking your spouse’s last name
Taking your spouse’s last name and moving your birth surname to your middle name
Hyphenating your birth surname with your spouse’s last name

Any other name change requires a separate court order. Most people start with the Social Security Administration, since other agencies often want your updated Social Security card before they will process their own change.

Informal (Common-Law) Marriage

Texas recognizes informal marriage. A couple can establish one without a license if they agree to be married, live together in Texas as spouses, and represent to others that they are married. Registration is not required, but you can file a Declaration of Informal Marriage with the county clerk to create an official record, which makes the marriage easier to prove later for insurance, benefits, or other legal purposes.

1
Denton County, TX. Denton County Marriage Licenses
2
State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code Chapter 2 – The Marriage Relationship
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State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 6.801 – Remarriage
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Denton County, TX. Vital Records Fee Schedule
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Texas Health and Human Services. Twogether in Texas Marriage Education with Benefits
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State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 2.204 – 72-Hour Waiting Period
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State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 2-202 – Persons Authorized to Conduct Marriage Ceremony
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State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 2-206 – Return of License Penalty
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Denton County, TX. Copies of Marriage Records
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State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 2-006 – Absent Applicant
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State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 2-203 – Marriage by Proxy