WEDDING OFFICIANT

Requirements vary from state to state, and sometimes county to county.  It is the  couple’s responsibility to consult with their local court/city clerk to find the exact requirements for their area. The following information may change at any time.  

• You do not need witnesses for a wedding ceremony.  
• You must obtain your marriage license from the Circuit Clerk’s office. The officiant cannot provide it to you. Both parties must be present.  
• Both parties must be 21 years of age to get married in Mississippi.  It is the wedding couple’s responsibility to acquire a valid marriage license in the state where the wedding ceremony will take place and that the marriage license must be on the premises when the ceremony is performed.  
• There is no waiting period in Mississippi once you buy your license. Licenses must be used within 30 days or they are void.  
• You do not have to be a resident in the county or state where you plan to have your ceremony. 
• No blood test or other tests are required. 

•  A marriage license may be issued in any parish in Louisiana, regardless of where the nuptial is to be performed, or where the applicants reside.
• Louisiana Marriage Licenses are issued by the office of the Clerk of Court in each parish.
• The marriage license fee in Louisiana varies by parish and is required at the time of application.
• The marriage will be recorded in the parish where the marriage license was purchased.
• Minimum age to marry is 16.
• There is a 24-hour waiting period between the time of issuance of the license and the ceremony.
• An unused marriage license expires 30 days from the date of issue.
• Blood tests are no longer required to purchase a marriage license in Louisiana.
• You do not have to be a resident of Louisiana.
• Two (2) witnesses are required to sign the marriage license at the time of the ceremony.