City Hall doesn't have our marriage license, advice?!

Did you ask the people at city hall?

Here in Oklahoma if the license is not returned and filed 30 days after the ceremony the marriage is not legal.

At least in VA, I think the officiant keeps the other copy in case something like this happens. But I would check with the City Hall one more time next week. It's possible the coordinator didn't really mail it when she said she did.

I doubt the reverend made a copy of the license, and I definitely didn't think to! I took a photo of it with my phone :-/

The people at City Hall didn't seem concerned, they were like, "well, maybe its just taking a while, try again next week"... We hit 30 days married tomorrow, so I REALLY hope Massachusetts doesn't have a 30 days law... I can't find anything about it online. I emailed the coordinator again yesterday and she replied that she indeed sent it on Jan 10th.

I couldn't swear, but I'm pretty sure our paperwork said it's the officiant's obligation to return the license to the courthouse. In other words, it sounded like something they would have to figure out, even if there's a 30 day law. I also think our officiant didn't make a copy, but I think she had two copies with her.

Also, try PM-ing Celia. I bet she knows the answer to this, although she's not in MA.

Good idea Mrs. S, thanks! I hope Cecilia knows something about it!

I just hope I'm married!!

Any news?

Did you sign more than one copy? At my MOH's ceremony, we had to sign the marriage license 3 times, one for the church records, one for the gov't and I believe the other one is for the bride and groom to put in their safe deposit box or something... I don't know if that helps or not. But as Mrs S said, this shouldn't fall on you.

Hi!

Sorry it took me so long to find this thread. I"m sure you're worried sick about this, and I'm glad you posted here because the whole license thing seems confusing and crazy.

First, I obviously cannot give you legal advice: every state is different. In NJ, the licese has four copies and you leave with one of them. In NY, it's only once copy but I always make copies for me and the couple before I mail it in....

My first thought is why the heck was the postage incorrect and why didn't they send the damn thing certified mail so it could be traced? And if it was returned for postage due, why did they wait to send it out again? This probably wasn't their first wedding license.....

I would call the clerk tomorrow and see if it's there. If it's not there, ask them how to proceed because you want to settle this thing and start changing your SS status, etc.

I can contact some of my colleagues in MA for their input, if you'd like. Just email me at *****@***********.***

Thank you Celia!! I realized quickly that I didn't know how to find you on here without a recent post! I called the city clerk today and they don't have it yet. MA, it turns out, only requires you to file within the first year of marriage... So that's good news, we're still married! Thats what I was most concerned about. I asked what to do if it's lost in the mail and they said they can issue a duplicate copy for us to get signed again and file (and you better believe I'll do it in person). But they also suggested I wait a few more weeks to see if it shows up. The only reason I'm ok with that is because I decided to wait to change my name until after our international honeymoon in April (thank goodness I did! Imagine if I was trying to rush to get it changed and this happened!!)

So, now we just wait, and call the city clerk weekly... I'll keep you posted!

Thanks for your help everyone!!

Also, fun fact: in MA you don't need any witnesses, just an officiant.

@Anne Marie B.: Yeah, Massachusetts is pretty flexible on a lot of its requirements. You don't need witnesses. You can get a one-day license to use anyone as your officiant. If you've previously been divorced, you merely need to know the date of the divorce, not supply any proof. And although there is theoretically a three-day waiting period for a license, it is really simple to get the waiting period waived.

Which City Hall did you get your license from? Ours (Worcester) had a place online that you could check to see whether it had been filed.

Sorry that all this mess is happening Anne Marie.

2d Bride - just wanted to say that it's kinda cool to see someone for Worcester. I am from Springfield even though I live in Fl. I have been in FL for 14 years or so. You don't see too many people from the small cities up there. =)

@Rhea H.: We're not actually from Worcester, and we didn't even get married there. We live in Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC. However, at the time, none of our local jurisdictions had same-sex marriage, so we went to Massachusetts. The only problem was that we weren't getting to Massachusetts three days before the wedding, so we had to go to court to get a waiver of the three-day waiting period. So we looked for somewhere that a) was on our way from DC to Winchester (where the ceremony took place), and b) had the courthouse and the marriage license bureau close together. Worcester met both criteria.

Oh. Well, shoot. LOL

Go to your county website. Marriage laws vary by county even within the same state, hence the very minimal requirements and longer hours available for Clark County Nevada. Call and ask your county clerk what you need to do. You may end up having to do a new license, and are not considered legally married for the last 30 days(worst case scenario). Good luck. Sending you good vibes and crossing my fingers for you.