You’ll have more time to use an Oklahoma marriage license beginning November 2022

Published Tuesday, May. 17th, 2022

Learn about changes to the expiration and return periods for marriage licenses / certificates in Oklahoma, and updates to the minister registration process for wedding officiants in the state. (House Bill 3075 / HB 3075 )

Couples will have more time to use and return a marriage license in Oklahoma this fall, but fewer options for legal name changes, plus updates to the wedding officiant registration process

Wedding officiants and couples will have more time to use and return a marriage license in Oklahoma beginning later this year, but fewer options for making a legal name change with the form.

Legislators in Oklahoma passed House Bill 3075 last week, making several important changes to the state’s marriage laws. In addition to changing the registration requirements for marriage officiants in the state, the bill:

Extends the marriage license expiration period from 10 days to 30 days

(This is the amount of time a marriage license is valid after being issued.)

Extends the return period from 5 days after the ceremony to 30 days from issuance

(This is the amount of time an officiant or couple has to return their signed marriage license / certificate to the county clerk following the wedding ceremony.)

Limits the type of legal name changes that can be made on the license

(Name changes are updates to the full name by which a party will be known after the marriage)

Beginning in November, acceptable name changes made on a marriage license will be limited to a “combination of the legal first, middle, and last names, given names and surnames, of either party, including segments of names or initials, with or without hyphens.” The new law further clarifies that “the marriage certificate shall not be used to change the name of a party to an entirely different name which is not derived from the legal name of either party.”

See the full text for HB3075 here.

These changes to the marriage license expiration and return period may alleviate stress for busy couples planning a wedding during the country’s current ‘wedding boom’ by giving them more time to use and return their marriage license.

An estimated 2.6 million couples are expected to marry this year, more than any other year during the past four decades. (via Brides and Bloomberg)

Read about the updated registration requirements for wedding officiants in Oklahoma here.

Learn more about marriage license Expiration Periods, Return Periods, and Waiting Periods here.

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This article was updated May 12th, 2023

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