How to get married in Texas

Texas makes you wait 72 hours between picking up the licence and holding the ceremony, and that single rule ruins more destination weddings than weather does. Couples fly in on a Thursday for a Saturday beach wedding and discover on arrival that the clock does not fit. There are four legitimate ways around it, and one of them also takes $60 off the fee. Here is the whole thing, before you book flights.

What is the 72-hour waiting period?

Texas law generally requires 72 hours to pass between the county clerk issuing your marriage licence and the ceremony taking place. Not 72 hours from applying. Seventy-two hours from issue.

The licence itself is then valid for ninety days, so there is no pressure at the other end. All of the pressure sits in that first window, which is exactly where a travelling couple has the least slack.

How do you skip the 72-hour wait?

Four ways, and the first is the one most couples should use.

1. Take the Twogether in Texas course

Complete an approved premarital education course, present the certificate at the clerk's office, and the 72-hour waiting period is waived. The same certificate also gives you a $60 discount on the licence fee, which in most counties brings the cost close to nothing.

So the course removes the trap and pays for itself. If you are travelling to Texas to get married and you do only one piece of admin in advance, make it this one.

2. Active-duty military

If one of you is an active-duty member of the US armed forces, the waiting period does not apply. Bring identification.

3. Remarrying each other

If you are remarrying the same person, the waiting period does not apply.

4. A judicial waiver

The waiting period does not apply if you obtain a 72-hour waiver signed by a District Judge. This is the backstop rather than the plan, but it exists.

What does a Texas marriage licence cost?

The fee is set at county level and typically runs somewhere in the region of $70 to $85. Take $60 off that with the Twogether in Texas certificate.

Because it varies by county, ring the specific clerk rather than trusting any single number you read online, this page included. For a Coastal Bend wedding that usually means Nueces County for Corpus Christi and Port Aransas, or Aransas County for Rockport and Fulton.

What do you need to bring?

• Both of you, in person, at a county clerk's office.
• Government photo ID.
• Your Social Security numbers.
• The Twogether in Texas certificate if you have one, which is the difference between waiting three days and not.
• No residency requirement. Out-of-state couples apply at whichever clerk is convenient to the ceremony.

How this compares to West Virginia

Worth knowing if you are choosing between coasts, because I photograph in both. West Virginia has no waiting period at all for applicants over eighteen, the licence is $56 or $36 with a premarital course, and it is valid for sixty days. You can collect it and marry the same afternoon.

Texas is the stricter of the two, and the gap is almost entirely that 72 hours. Neither has a residency requirement. The full version is in how to elope in West Virginia.

Planning it around a Gulf coast wedding

The practical sequence for a couple travelling in:

Weeks before: take the Twogether in Texas course online. This is the whole solution and it costs you an evening.

On arrival: both of you go to the county clerk with ID, Social Security numbers and the certificate. Without the certificate, do this at least three full days before the ceremony and confirm the clerk's opening hours, because a Friday afternoon pickup for a Sunday wedding does not work.

Separately: sort the beach permit, which is a completely different process run by a completely different authority, and which one depends on which stretch of sand you have picked. Six jurisdictions cover about forty miles of that coast and they all charge differently.

Where I fit

My family lives on the Texas Gulf coast, so my calendar moves down every winter and I take a limited number of dates December through March, travel included. Austin, San Antonio and the Hill Country work as stops on the same trip. Windows are announced each September.

Elopement coverage starts at $2,500. The pricing page has the detail, the Texas hub carries current dates, and there are guides for Corpus Christi, Port Aransas and Austin. When you have a date, send it over.

Common questions

Is there a waiting period to get married in Texas?

Yes. Texas law generally requires a 72-hour waiting period between the county clerk issuing your marriage licence and the ceremony taking place. It is waived for active-duty military, for couples remarrying each other, for couples who complete an approved premarital course, and by judicial waiver signed by a District Judge.

How much is a marriage licence in Texas?

The fee is set by county and typically runs somewhere around $70 to $85. Completing the Twogether in Texas premarital course takes $60 off, which in most counties brings it close to nothing.

How do you skip the 72-hour wait in Texas?

Four ways. Complete an approved Twogether in Texas premarital course and present the certificate. Be an active-duty member of the armed forces. Be remarrying the same person. Or obtain a 72-hour waiver signed by a District Judge.

Do you need to be a Texas resident to get married there?

No. Out-of-state couples apply at whichever county clerk is convenient, which for a Coastal Bend wedding usually means Nueces or Aransas County. Plan the 72-hour wait into your trip, or take the course before you travel.

How long is a Texas marriage licence valid?

Ninety days from issue, so there is no rush at the far end. The pressure is all at the front, in that 72-hour window between collecting it and being allowed to use it.