How to Tell if Your Officiant Can Perform a Legal Wedding

Updated for 2026: "Is my wedding officiant legal?" Whether you're having a friend officiate your wedding or hiring a professional, here's what to do!

 

Updated November 17th, 2025

Who can legally officiate a wedding in your state? And what happens if your wedding officiant doesn't have the right licensing to marry you? State marriage laws are strictly enforced, and a questionable ceremony could cause complications or delays filing your marriage license. Luckily, there are a few easy steps you can take to check your officiant's credentials. We cover each step in detail below.

 

What is a wedding officiant's role?

 

Before we dive in, it's helpful to understand why a legal wedding officiant matters. A wedding officiant's role includes the ceremony and afterwards, when it's time to handle the marriage license: The officiant performs the wedding ceremony and reads the wedding script, making sure that any required wording is included; after the ceremony they complete and sign your marriage license. Often, it's your officiant who returns the marriage license to the clerk's office to record your marriage.

 

These important responsibilities highlight why it’s essential to choose someone that’s authorized to legally officiate weddings in your state, whether you're having a friend officiate or hiring a professional. If your officiant hasn’t completed the required steps to legally perform a ceremony in your state, your marriage might not be valid. At the very least, you might need to purchase and complete a new marriage license. 

 

Since every state creates its own legal requirements, how do you determine if your wedding officiant can legally marry people there? These 3 simple steps below can help ensure the legal standing of your officiant, whether you're having a friend officiate, or hiring a professional. We’ll cover each one in detail. 

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"Is my wedding officiant legal?" A nice outfit and a warm speaking voice are just the start - a great wedding officiant should also meet the legal requirements in your state! (Photo: oksix / iStock)

 

 

"How to make sure my wedding officiant is legal" : 3 Steps to Ensure Your Wedding Officiant is Qualified to Marry You

 

If you're having a friend officiate your wedding, these 3 steps can help you double-check that they're ready for the big day. If you're hiring a professional officiant, consider these steps to confirm they're qualified. Do this before you put down a monetary deposit for their services.

 

 

1. Ask to see your wedding officiant’s minister credentials

 

Ask to see your wedding officiant’s minister credentials and confirm they're ordained with a reputable organization. Ordination is the most common path by which modern officiants meet state requirements to legally perform weddings, so asking to see their clergy credentials is a simple way to ensure they're qualified.  

 

How wedding officiants get ordained: 

 

Clergy members can be ordained by a non-traditional internet church, like American Marriage Ministries (AMM), or a traditional organization, like a Catholic Church or rabbinical seminary. All of these pathways to minister ordination are valid if the church is legally recognized in the state where your wedding is held.

 

Wedding officiants ordained with AMM will be able to show you one or more of the following credentials, issued by our church: 

 

• Ordination Certificate 

• Letter of Good Standing

• Minister ID Card 

 

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2. Confirm that your wedding officiant’s ordination is recognized in the state where your wedding will take place

 

In the past, certain states challenged the validity of online ordinations. Despite this violating constitutional law, it put couples and ministers in a difficult position, so it’s important to confirm that your officiant’s ordination is recognized by your state. 

 

AMM Ministers are legally recognized in every state except VA.

 

Currently, ordinations through American Marriage Ministries are recognized in all U.S. states and territories, except for Virginia. While some of our ministers have successfully registered in VA and officiated weddings there, we cannot guarantee that this will always be the case. (Read about what’s happening in Virginia here.) We cannot speak to the standing of other organizations, and we recommend you contact the organization in question for clarification.

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3. Confirm that your wedding officiant is registered with the state where your wedding will take place

 

A few states require officiants to register locally with the clerk’s office after they've been ordained in order to officiate a wedding.

 

States that require officiant registration are listed here: 

 

+ Officiant Registration by State

 

If your wedding takes place in a state that requires registration, your officiant must be registered there before the ceremony, and should be able to show you confirmation of this.

 

Officiants who perform weddings in multiple states must be registered in every state that requires it. If your state isn’t on this list, then your officiant’s ordination is all that’s needed.

 

That’s it! 

 

If your wedding officiant meets the above criteria, they can legally perform your wedding. If you still have any questions, you can contact your local clerk’s office for more details.

 

More Common Questions About Choosing a Wedding Officiant

 

• Is it legal for a friend to officiate your wedding? 

 

Yes! As you can see from the steps above, it’s easy to have a friend or family member officiate your wedding. All they’ll need to is take these steps: 

 

• Get ordained with American Marriage Ministries
• Register with the state before the ceremony (if required)

 

For a detailed description of how to have a friend legally officiate, head here: 

 

• Can you legally perform a wedding ceremony for your friends and family? Yes!

 

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• Can a Notary officiate a wedding? 

 

Here's a note on Notary Publics serving as wedding officiants: Some states allow Notary Publics to officiate weddings without being ordained. At the time of writing, these states include Alabama, Florida, Montana, Maine, Nevada, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

 

Check with your local clerk’s office before choosing a Notary Public to officiate your wedding.

 

 

• What happens if my wedding officiant isn't legal?

 

Uh-oh… Wedding Officiant not legal? 

 

If you find out after your wedding ceremony that your officiant wasn’t authorized to marry you, contact your local clerk’s office to determine what steps to take to make your marriage legally binding. You may need to file a new marriage license or complete additional paperwork. 

 

If you feel that you were wrongfully deceived or scammed by any wedding professional, or that your officiant has committed fraud, contact your local law enforcement and ask about the appropriate steps to take.  

 

 

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