Do You Need A Marriage License To Be Legally Married in Missouri?

There are hundreds of things to do when getting married, but one thing you do not want to forget is the marriage license.

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In the State of Missouri, you must have a marriage license in order for the state to legally see the couple as a married couple. Sometimes in getting married people forget the most important paper you have to have to get legally married in Missouri. Couples might be to focus on planning the wedding and forget the license.

You must apply for a marriage license before getting married in the State of Missouri. Once issued, you can contact a marriage officiant to perform the wedding ceremony.

Most states have this as a law, but there are some that recognize common law marriages as legal, however, Missouri is not one of these states. It's also important to file the license soon after the wedding. If a license is not turned in there are several steps that need to be taken for the marriage to be recognized legally.

If your license was never filed and cannot be found, more steps must be taken for the marriage to be recognized legally. You can request a duplicate license, which then needs to be signed again by both spouses and the officiant.

So no matter what happens, never under any circumstances forget to get the marriage license, get the license signed, and have it turned in. You might be having another small ceremony just to get the license signed and make sure everything is legit with the state.