Last Updated: July 25th, 2022
Clark County is the home to Las Vegas. You are required to register with the Clark County Clerk's office before you officiate a wedding in Vegas. This page covers the entire registration procedure for online ordained ministers to successfully register as wedding officiants with the Clark County Clerk.
The Nevada Revised Statutes NRS §122.066 dictates that all ministers are required to register with the Clark County Clerk's Office as a Marriage Officiant before officiating any weddings in Clark County.
As an AMM Ordained Minister, you are required to register with the Clark County Clerk by completing and submitting one of the following two applications:
Since there are two different ways to apply for permission to officiate a wedding in Las Vegas, it can be confusing knowing which one to choose. Below we have outlined the salient points for the two officiant registration applications offered by the Clark County Clerk.
(Local Ministers Only)
(In-State or Out-of-State Ministers)
We recommend that unless you are a Clark County resident you should apply with the "In-State or Out-of-State Ministers" application. From here onward we will refer to this as the Single Ceremony Application.
If you do plan on applying with the "Local Ministers Only" application you will also have to complete a background check that incurs an additional fee and extra processing time of about 2 - 3 weeks. From here onward we will refer to this as the Permanent Status Application.
When factoring in cost and time, the Single Ceremony application is preferable to everyone except officiants for hire. Regardless, we provide step-by-step instructions on how to register as a wedding officiant in Vegas for both the Permanent Status and Single Ceremony Applications.
The wedding officiant registration process in Las Vegas depends on which application you submit. Below we list the required documents and items you need for both the Permanent Status and Single Ceremony officiant applications.
If you have heard about needing to provide the Clark County Clerk with something called the "Affidavit of Authority to Solemnize Marriages" with your officiant application, that is because this document used to be required by the Clerk's office.
The Affidavit of Authority to Solemnize Marriages is a government form that is required in all counties in Nevada, except for Clark County. A few years ago, the Clark County Clerk's office made major changes to their officiant registration process, including requiring the new mandatory training courses, and no longer requiring the Affidavit of Authority to Solemnize Marriages.
This is actually good news for you as an AMM Ordained Minister because it means one less thing you need to do!
American Marriage Ministries is registered as a Foreign-Corporation in Nevada in order to be in compliance with State Law.
Clark County used to require that AMM Ministers submit a copy of AMM's Foreign Incorporation Certificate with their officiant application. This is a requirement in most other counties in Nevada. The Clark County Clerk no longer requires this document. Chances are they already have plenty of copies filed away already!
Just in case, a hard copy is included in your Nevada Minister Ordination Package. And you can also view, download, and print our Nevada Foreign Corporation Certificate from our website at any time.
The requirement that all wedding officiants in Las Vegas complete some form of officiant training is a relatively recent development. This new policy is consistent with the Clark County Clerk's goal in ensuring that all wedding officiants in Vegas adhere to a set standard of knowledge, protocol, and behavior.
The Clark County Clerk's office published a 2019 State of the Wedding Industry In Clark County report with great infographics showing how many marriage licenses they have issued each year for the last several years. In 2018 there were 74,534 weddings officiated in Las Vegas. That's over 200 weddings a day!
Las Vegas is by far the most popular wedding destination in the United States. As such, the wedding industry represents an important part of the economy for Clark County. It is then incumbent upon the Clerk's office to enforce universal standards for all wedding officiants in Las Vegas.
This means you will need to complete an official Clark County mandated marriage officiant education before you can officiate a wedding. The form of your training will depend on which application you choose.
Permanent Status applicants must attend an in-person course while Single Ceremony applicants must complete an online course. We will describe both in detail below starting with the in-person course.
If you are a Clark County resident and are applying to officiate weddings with the Permanent Status application, then you must attend a 2 Hour In-Person Officiant Training Course. According to the Permanent Status application instructions:
"In order to receive your Certificate of Permission to Perform Marriages and official Marriage Officiant ID card, you will be required to attend a training class to learn the roles, responsibilities and legal requirements for Marriage Officiants in the state of Nevada. Once your application has been processed and your background check passes, a notification will be sent to your email address with instructions on how to enroll for the in-person training course. At the completion of this course, your Certificate of Permission to Perform Marriages will be issued. Your Marriage Officiant ID card will be mailed to you in 2-3 weeks following the class. Failure to attend your scheduled class may result in the denial of your application. If you need to reschedule, you must contact our office as soon as possible."
Basically, you will be emailed instructions on how to take the in-person course after you submit your application. Your application will not be approved until after you complete the course. However they provide no timeline or estimate of availability to attend this course...
The Clark County Clerk's website does have a page with the In-Person Officiant Training Schedule listed. We noted that this schedule has not been updated since 2018. So it looks like the Clerk's office is relying on notifying you via email after they receive your application.
If you are committed to applying for a Permanent Status in Las Vegas and already have a wedding scheduled, we strongly recommend that you submit your application to the Clerk's office ASAP. Considering we are in the post COVID age, there may be complications in scheduling your in-person officiant training course.
If you plan on applying as a wedding officiant with the Single Ceremony application, you will have to take an Online Single Ceremony Marriage Officiant Training Course. You should anticipate that completing this course will take you about 1 - 2 hours. So block out the time and get it done.
You need to score 100% to pass this course. You can take the course as many times as you need to properly internalize the information. Once you pass the course with a 100% score, you will have met this requirement.
The Clark County Clerk's office will be able to verify your results online. You do not need to print or provide them with physical proof of completing the online Marriage Officiant Training.
The officiant registration process in Clark County can take a few weeks. So plan ahead and start your application process well before the scheduled wedding date.
The Clark County Clerk's office can take up to 30 business days to process your application.
IMPORTANT - SINGLE CEREMONY APPLICANTS
If you register with the Single Ceremony application, your Temporary Permission Certificate to Officiate a Wedding will be valid for 90 days from the approval date of the Clark County Clerk. We recommended that you submit your application at least 4 - 6 weeks before the wedding. This will give you plenty of time to register while still being within the 90 day window of the wedding date.
Follow our step-by-step instructions below for guidance on how to register as a wedding officiant with the Clark County Clerk's office.
The fastest way to successfully register as a wedding officiant in Las Vegas is to order your Nevada Minister Ordination Package. Make sure to select "Clark County" when requesting your package. Your package contains:
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Please allow a few days to receive your package, as each one has to be reviewed before being sent out the door. With standard shipping, you should receive your package within 3 - 5 business days unless you request expedited shipping.
Regarding the Affidavit of Authority To Solemnize Marriages, Clark County is the only county in Nevada that does not require this document. As such, it is not included in your Minister Ordination Package for Clark County, Nevada.
This means you do not need to wait for your package to arrive to register with the Clark County Clerk's office. As long as you are already an AMM Minister, you can begin your officiant application process.
Regardless, we do recommend that you keep personal physical copies of your AMM Ministry Credentials on hand for your own records. Also, the applications in your package come partially pre-filled to help with the registration process.
Your Nevada Minister Ordination Package for Clark County will contain both the "Permanent Status" and "Single Ceremony" applications. Below are point-by-point instructions on how to fill out both applications. Similar instructions are also included in your package.
For your convenience, the applications included in your package are partially pre-filled. The following instructions assume these fields on the application are already completed (as included in your package).
You will still have to verify that your information is correct and you can always start with a fresh form by downloading linked PDFs.
The official instruction sheet for the application. You should read this page carefully.
Section A - This is the Application for a Certificate of Permission to Perform Marriages in the State of Nevada.
Sections B, C, and D. Background Check, Training Requirement, and Notarized Verification.
Important - Do not sign this document until you are in the presence of a notary. Many banks offer free notarial services to account holders, or you can find a nearby notary public with a quick internet search.
The official instruction sheet for the application. You should read this page carefully.
Section A - This is the Application for a Certificate of Permission to Perform a Single Marriage.
Section B - This is the Ceremony Information section.
Section C - This is the Notarized Verification section.
Do not sign this document until you are in the presence of a notary. Many banks offer free notarial services to account holders, or you can find a nearby notary public with a quick internet search.
This is the "Affidavit of Marriage Officiant Character Reference".
The couple you will be marrying must complete this page and they must sign it in the presence of a notary public.
Before submitting your application to the Clerk's office, do one final check to make sure you have everything you need. What you need depends on which application you chose. We listed the required items for both application at the top of this page, but let's review them once more:
Important - Your filing fee is only payable by money order or cashier's check only. Personal and business checks are not accepted. For that matter, neither are any major credit cards, apple pay, venmo, Bitcoin, or good old hard cash. Go figure.
Anyways, you can make your money order or cashier's check out to the "Clark County Clerk". Please print legibly, they are probably sticklers for that.
With everything in hand, you can now submit your completed application in person or by mail to the address below.
Clark County Clerk's Office
Attn: Marriage Officiant Processing
201 E. Clark Avenue, Box 551604
Las Vegas, NV 89155-1604
Processing your application can take up to 30 business days. You will be notified by the Clark County Clerk's office once your application has been approved.
They will mail you a Certificate that authorizes you to perform marriage, along with information on how to complete a marriage license. With Certificate in hand, you will now be able to officiate a wedding in Clark County, Nevada. Wooo!!
If you have further questions about the status of your application, you can call the Clark County Clerk's office at 702-671-0600.
The Nevada Secretary of State's website does have a Marriage Officiant Public Database where you can search an officiant by name, church affiliation or county.
However, the tool only searches "Military" and "Permanent" officiants with an "ACTIVE" status. This database is intended primarily for professional wedding officiants that perform marriage for a living and thus need to report their income.
If your name does not show up in this database, do not worry. This is probably because the application you submitted was not for a "Permanent" status to perform marriage. As long as you were certified by the Clerk's office, you are good to go.
Your next step is to learn how to prepare for the wedding ceremony. If you have no experience, you are in good hands. Our Nevada Wedding Officiant Preparation Guide covers all aspects of preparing for all of the ceremonial aspects of the wedding. You will learn everything from the format for a wedding ceremony, the names of the ceremony parts, how to write a wedding ceremony, and more.
Nevada Officiant Ceremony PreparationLearn from the Pros to Officiate with Confidence!
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