To obtain it, you apply in person jointly (file intentions to marry) with any city or town clerk in the state. If one person is in the military, either person may file the intentions, provided one of them is a resident.

If a person is incarcerated in a county house of correction or state correctional institute, either party may file the intentions.
Licenses are valid for 60 days from date intentions are filed (NOT the day the license is issued), and may be used in any Massachusetts city or town.

There is a 3 day waiting period from application date to issue
date.Sundays and holidays are included in the three days, but the
application day is not. (ie, if you apply Friday, license is issued
Monday. If you have good reason, you can apply for a waiver to marry before the 3 days are up, by filling out an application for waiver (together) at a probate or district court. After a hearing, the court may issue a certificate to allow the marriage license to be issued and the marriage to be performed without delay.

Mass residents may marry at 18 years or older. A birth certificate may be required to show proof of age. If either or both are under 18, court order from probate or district court must be obtained before intentions can be filed.

A medical certificate for each of you is required before license can be issued UNLESS you obtain a request in writing from a member of the clergy or attending physician stating that the woman is near the termination of her pregnancy, or the death of either party is imminent.

Any Massachusetts licensed physician can provide the medical certificate, and blank certificates can be obtained from Bureau of Communicable Disease Control, Dept of Public Health, 305 South Street, Boston MA 01230 (617)727-2686. (for out of state residents planning on marrying in Massachusetts.)

Medical certs from other states are valid for both the man and the woman. Physican must offer the woman a voluntary test for susceptibility to rubella, and to discuss with each applicant, AIDS educational material, facts now noted on the certificate by the physician. If the out of state certificate doesn't contain these notes the doctor must put a separate letter in with it, or the couple must see a Massachusetts doctor and have a Mass form filed WITH the out of state form.

The purpose of the medical certificate is state that the individual has been examined and found free of communicable syphilis. Dr may require a complete exam if the possibility of syphilis is present. A person with communicable syphilis cannot get a marriage license, until they have undergone sufficient treatment to be non infectious.

You may file your intentions before getting the medical certificate, but the clerkk can't issue the license until you bring the certificate in. Certificates obtained prior to filing intentions require that you file intentions within 30 days. The license itself is valid for 60 days.

Massachusetts does not require the presence of witnesses, simply accepting the signature of the officiant on the license and returning it to the city or town where issued.

If your officiant is from out of state, they need a Certificate of Authorization from the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth. To obtain that contact "Division of Public Records, Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1 Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston MA 02108 (617) 727-2836. (this certification goes WITH the license back to the town where issued)

That information was provided by our Justice of the Peace, in a brochure available from 1-800-392-6090 (Citizen Information Service).

Hope it helps you Massachusetts folks out!

Paula Mader

"The opinions expressed here are my own. If you like them, they can be had for a small fee."

Massachusetts Marriage Requirements

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