FAQs about Getting Married in Ontario

Both parties must be at least 16 years of age to marry in Ontario.  

• Any person who is 16 or 17 years of age may marry with the written consent of his/her legal guardian (consent not required if previously married and divorced).  
• No person under 16 years of age may marry. 

Nope!  In fact, you do not have to be a resident of Canada to marry in Canada.   

There are no requirements respecting pre-marital blood tests or medical certificates. 

You need to obtain a marriage license or a religious Banns in order to be legal married in Ontario.  Though I am registered to perform marriages as a religious clergy member, I ask that all my couples obtain their marriage licence as opposed to providing a Banns.

At least one party to the proposed marriage will need to apply in person at your local City Hall, but if you would like to access the application before going, click here.  

•  If only one party applies, please note that two pieces of government-issued identification  are required for each applicant, and the application must be signed by both applicants (photocopies are not acceptable).  

 Acceptable forms of government-issued identification: 

(At least one piece of identification must have a picture) 

• Birth certificate (along with any change of name certificates)   
• Current valid passport   
• Records of immigrant landing 
• Canadian citizenship card (Certificates of Naturalization are NOT accepted.) 
• Valid Driver's License  
• Valid Photo Health Card 
• Valid Ontario Photo Card

There will be fees associated with obtaining this marriage license.  Please check with your local municipality to confirm what these fees are.  

• You will pay for the marriage licence directly to the municipality when you apply, I do not handle these charges.
• Always check the municipality’s website to ensure you have all of the information required to purchase a marriage licence (just in case!).
• If you didn't catch the previous links, you can find your local municipality by clicking here!

There is no waiting period in Ontario between obtaining a license and holding the ceremony.  

In most cases, you will fill out an application and receive a marriage license right away.  Your marriage license is valid for 90 days.   The pandemic has made way for certain extensions.  You can see the most up to date extensions here.  

No, you do not need to have a marriage license to schedule a date with us.  We do, however, require you to have the licence by the time we meet to start preparing for your ceremony.  This requirement is not to rush the process, but so I can complete the paperwork and to ensure we have it the day of the ceremony.  You will have enough on your plate getting ready, and if you forget it, we can't have the wedding!!  

If you are still married, we can not have a ceremony until your divorce is finalized.  

If you were divorced in Canada, you will need to bring the original or court-certified copy of the final decree, final judgment or certificate of divorce to your local municipal office when you are purchasing the marriage license. You can contact your local municipal office for further information. 



If you were divorced outside of Canada, you will need to obtain authorization from the minister of Government Services before you can be issued a marriage license.  To obtain this authorization you will need:

• A completed & signed Marriage License Application. 
• A Statement of Sole Responsibility for each divorce (signed by both parties of this marriage and a witness). You can access the statement here. 
• A Legal Opinion Letter from an Ontario lawyer, addressed to both applicants, giving reasons why the divorce or annulment should be recognized in the Province of Ontario.  To obtain a sample legal opinion letter to your lawyer, you can click here.
• An original or court-certified copy (certified by the proper court officer in the jurisdiction the divorce or annulment was granted) of the Divorce Decree or Annulment. If the decree is in a language other than English or French, include a translated copy together with an affidavit sworn by the translator. 

For authorization, send the above mentioned documents to:

 

Service Ontario 
Marriage Office
 

P.O. Box 4600 


189 Red River Rd.
 

Thunder Bay, ON P7B 6L8 

If you have more questions or need help getting this all sorted out, here are the numbers to call:

Toll-free: 1-800-461-2156 if you’re outside of Toronto but within North America 

416-325-8305 if you’re within the Greater Toronto Area or outside of North America 

TTY: 416-325-3408

 A marriage license application form, Statement of Sole Responsibility form and a suggested format for a lawyer’s opinion letter are also available from most municipal offices.

At the end of the ceremony you will receive a Record of Solemnization.  A Record of Solemnization of Marriage is not the same thing as a marriage certificate.   A marriage certificate is a legal record of a marriage. It lists the date and place of the marriage, and names of the people who were married.  You may need this document to:  

• show legal proof you are married 
• apply for certain social benefits 
• settle an estate 
• change a last name 

Before you can get a marriage certificate, a marriage needs to be registered (that's my job!).  I do this by sending a complete and signed marriage licence to ServiceOntario to register the marriage (that's why we need the licence!!).  

About 12 weeks after the wedding, you can apply for your marriage certificate by clicking here. 

When you get married, you don’t have to legally change your last name (surname). But if you choose to legally change your last name, you can do so through ServiceOntario.

Fair question!  You can see if any officiant is registered to perform weddings by searching our names here.  Also, if you want to verify any of the info i provided, you can do that here.

Yup!  Click here for the "Before you get Married Checklist"