How Do I Get a Marriage License?

You can come  to the Wales Town Clerk, or go to any other city or town in Massachusetts, to get a license. Each office has their own hours and fees. Here the fee is $50.00 which includes the certified copy of the license after the marriage. The check or money order should be made payable to the Town of Wales.  You may ask for the forms to be emailed to you, or you can both come in person to complete the forms. If you choose to have the forms emailed, you can complete them, scan them and email them back to the clerk, or you can complete them and bring them in by appointment. The Intention of Marriage must be signed by each party in the presence of the clerk. 

There are three pages to complete, an Intention of Marriage, a Supplement which asks for your Social Security numbers, and a Worksheet that collects contact information for each party and the officiant, the person who will be performing the ceremony. For the intention you need to know the maiden name of the bride’s and groom’s mothers, for the Worksheet you need to know the date and location of the wedding, and the name and home address of the person who will perform the ceremony. If one of the parties does not have a Social Security number, please call ahead so that the Clerk can get instructions on how to complete the supplement form.

This office has a list of local Justice's of the Peace, if you don’t have anyone selected. Also, you can have any individual who is special to you get a “One Day Solemnization Certificate” from the office of the  Secretary of State, and then that person can perform the wedding. There is a fee and it takes about 6-7 weeks to complete that paperwork for the One Day Solemnization, so you would want to start that well before the date of the ceremony. The clerk cannot issue a license without the Solemnizer certificate. Both members have to be present to sign the paperwork.

After you fill out and sign the paperwork, the clerk completes the marriage license. By law, you can’t get the license until three days after you file the paperwork. Since this office is closed on Fridays, licenses applied for on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday cannot be picked up until the following week. When it's time to pick up the license, one person can come to get it. Please allow time to read over the license form and make sure there are no spelling errors. You will receive an envelope with instructions for the officiant and a return envelope for the completed license.

After the clerk receives the completed license form the officiant, the clerk will register the marriage, finish completing the form, and mail a certified copy back to you.