As a marriage officiant in Iowa, it is your legal responsibility to fill out the marriage license in the presence of the couple and any required witnesses. Following the guidelines below will ensure that this process goes smoothly for all involved. 17,444 Iowa AMM Ministers and counting!
En EspañolAs the officiant, you have two main duties on the wedding day. You need to:
So far, we have gone over how to prepare for a wedding ceremony in Iowa. That is your important but non-legal duty as a wedding officiant. This page focuses on how to properly handle the Iowa marriage license.
Iowa Law prescribes clear guidelines on marriage license handling and return. When the couple receives their marriage license, it should be accompanied with further instructions as to how, where, when, and by whom the marriage license is to be returned.
Regardless, it is a good idea for you to familiarize yourself with this subject ahead of time.
As the wedding officiant, it is your responsibility to handle the marriage license on the wedding day. Though this is a serious responsibility, it is an easy task to fulfill.
Our page How an Officiant Should Handle a Marriage License outlines clear guidelines on how you should handle the marriage license as a wedding professional. These guidelines apply to weddings generally, not just in Iowa. They follow four simple steps:
Follow the links for more general info on each step. Continue reading for information specific to Iowa Marriage Licenses.
We recommend that you ask this of the couple before the wedding. It would not be ideal for you to officiate the wedding only to find out afterwards that the couple left their marriage license at home.
The couple will probably have a lot on their plates leading up to the wedding. We suggest that you contact the couple the day before the wedding just to remind them to bring the marriage license to the ceremony.
Before you put pen to paper you should confirm that the marriage license is still valid. The validity of a marriage license is governed by three laws that determine the marriage license waiting period, expiration, and return. For more information on what these terms mean, check out our page, Marriage License Waiting Period, Expiration, and Return.
In Iowa, the marriage license waiting period, expiration, and return are as follows:
In Iowa the couple must wait 3 days to receive their marriage license from when they file for their marriage license from the County Recorder's office.
In addition, there is no expiration date on a marriage license in Iowa. This means that the couple can file for their marriage license more than a year before their wedding and the marriage license will still be valid if returned within 15 days from the wedding date.
This makes your role as the wedding officiant easier because you do not have to calculate if the marriage license is currently valid based on the waiting period and expiration date . Since the couple has to wait 3 days to receive their marriage license and the marriage license does not expire, as long as the couple has their marriage license, you are all good to go.
Completing and signing the marriage license is your legal duty as the wedding officiant. Though this is a serious responsibiltiy, it is an easy task to fulfill.
Completing the marriage license simply involves filling out your portion of the license and signing it with the couple. In Iowa, One Adult is
required to sign the marriage license.
If you have not filled out a marriage license before, you may be unsure how to fill out certain fields. We understand that you want to do everything correctly. Our How To Fill Out a Marriage License covers all the fields that may appear on the marriage license you will be completing.
Below we cover the four most common questions we get from our ministers regarding completing a marriage license. Keep in mind that marriage licenses in Iowa may be formatted differently depending on which office issued the license. The license you will be completing may have any combination of these fields, or none at all.
After the marriage license is completed it must be returned to the County Recorder. This is usually the responsibility of the couple though some states require this to be done by the minister.
Specific instructions on how to return the marriage license should be included with the marriage license when it is issued to the couple. If these instructions are not included with the marriage license, you can call the issuance office for further clarification.
Regardless of who returns the marriage license or by what method, it is important to return the completed marriage license to its issuance office as soon as possible.
Iowa has a law specifying how soon the marriage license must be returned to the County Recorder after it is completed. In Iowa the completed marriage license must be returned within 15 days from the wedding to be in compliance with Iowa Law.
As long as the completed marriage license is returned within 15 days from the wedding the marriage license will be filed and recorded in Iowa.
If you have not done so already, you should record the wedding you just officiated with our AMM Wedding Helper and even share your wedding on the AMM Wedding Wall with our nationwide network of ministers.
IOWA OFFICIANT POST WEDDING DUTIES Learn more about the AMM Wedding Helper and post wedding officiating responsibilities by tapping the button above.
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