Marriage License Link to the Brevard County Clerk of Courts

http://199.241.8.125/index.cfm?FuseAction=MarriageLicenses.Home

This is the county we are in but as you will read, you can get it in any county and bring it here. There are more links further down.

The license is $93.50. When walking into one of our county courthouses, you NEED to walk in together have photo ID's (Sate ID's, drivers license, passports, I believe military ID is fine, any photo ID should work) you need to know your SS#, if you have been married before, you need to know the date the marriage ended.

You DO NOT need the following things: all the paper work of divorce papers etc, birth certificates, blood tests or witnesses in the state of Florida. Do not make this harder than it needs to be.

You also DO NOT have to have taken the pre-marital course. However when you do, you do get a discount on the marriage license. I believe the 3 day waiting period for Florida residents is also waived if you take the course. Though I have never taken this course (I am sure all states offer them) I would think it would be an enlightening course to take especially for the first time marriages or young people. I think courses are offered through most churches or just state offered courses can be found. OBVIOUSLY THEY ARE OFFERED FOR A REASON AND MIGHT BE SOMETHING EVERY ONE SHOULD LOOK IN TO.

FLORIDA RESIDENTS have a 3-day waiting period when not taking the course. OUT OF STATE residents do not. You can marry the same day you get it if it is M-F!

OUT OF STATE COUPLES ONLY

If you are not Florida residents you may do it by mail by first going to the link provided above. Once on the marriage license page, click on "forms" to the right of that page. Once you hit "forms" read the first PDF file for instructions and then fill out the Marriage License Application Form on the next PDF file you see. You first fill that out, fax, mail or e-mail it to them. The courts then send you the marriage license form and an affidavit; you then take this to a notary in your state, sign (both of you together) and send back to the courts here. You will then receive it back, keep it, bring it to us; we perform the ceremony, we then notarize and return it to the courts. It then comes back to you at the address you gave them originally; it will be recorded and done! You receive one copy.

My advice for this is to figure out when it will be 60 days before you plan to marry. A week before that date start the process by going to the site above and filling out the form. Though it can be a long process this should be plenty of time to get things going. If you fill the form out online much before that date they will more than likely put it aside and never look at it again, or just toss it in the trash. The reason being, you have 60 days to use the marriage license once it is ready to go. if you are filling the form out 5 months ahead of time it will be no good when you want to use it.

LOCAL AND OUT OF STATE COUPLES

You can get it while you are in the area as well. You can walk in to the Court House and get married the same day if you are not Florida residents. Florida residents have a 3-day waiting period. (One person can be out of state and the other a Florida resident and get married the same day) Out of state couples do not have a waiting period. The Merritt Island Courthouse is the closest to Cocoa Beach and easy to get to from the Cocoa Beach area. Directions are below. Please keep in mind, you may get your license in any county and use it anywhere in Florida. So if you are vacationing in Orlando, or any other Florida area if it is more convenient to get it there, you can use it here. Below are some links to some other county courthouses if you plan on walking into a courthouse. If you are doing it by mail I suggest using the link at the top of this page for Brevard County but you do not have to.

To get to the Merritt Island Marriage License Office, go north on State Road A1A through Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral.  State Road A1A becomes State Road 528 also known as the Beach Line or Bee Line. After several miles, take exit #49 for State Road 3, Merritt Island.

There are three lanes at the end of the exit ramp.  Get in the middle lane so you can turn left and stay in the outside lane.  Just after turning you will pass under State Road 528.  There will be a traffic light immediately in front of you and just beyond the light and on your right you'll see Mr. Ni's Chinese Restaurant.  Turn right Immediately on the other side of Mr. Ni's sign, and park behind the government center. The building is very plain looking. Enter the wing of the building that is closer to Mr. Ni's Restaurant. (This restaurant took a beating in hurricanes, I think it may be shut down but I think the sign is still there)

Stay on the first floor and go about two thirds of the way down the hall.  Room #129 will be on your right. That's the marriage license office (Clerk of the Court).  Take a number and wait your turn.  That's all there is to it.

Other Office Locations in Brevard County (the County Cocoa Beach is in): My suggestion is to map quest your starting destination to the addresses below for directions.

After you have either applied by mail or walked into the courthouse to get the marriage license (I cannot stress this enough) look at the spelling of your names. Look at your birth dates, birth place, everything. Also, look at the date of issue box 18, the date license effective 18a and the expiration date box 19. These need to be right. If you are out of state the first two boxes 18 and 18a will be the same because you have no waiting period. Nobody can get married before the date in the date license is effective box 18a or after the expiration date box 19. If any of these things are not right and you leave there, it is a hassle to get things changed later. This will be your responsibility and they will charge you to make a new one if you leave with it wrong or if doing it by mail you do not catch it before your wedding date.

Once your wedding day is here.

Unless you have your own officiant, you will give the marriage license to me or one of the Beach Wedding by Joanie Officiants with your photo ID's. The ID's will be given back IMMEDIATELY, we are only matching names to the marriage license and we will then file the marriage license with the right county Clerk of Courts after the wedding. It will be mailed to you at the address you provide the courts with from the courthouse. I am not mailing the recorded license to you, the court will after I get it to them. If you moved after you applied it is your responsibility to get the address change to the courthouse. The amount of time it takes to receive your recorded marriage license in the mail varies depending on the volume of marriage licenses coming in to them. I would suspect 10 to 14 business days would be a normal amount of time to wait though I am sure it can be much less as well or could be a little longer. DO NOT WAIT MONTHS TO CONTACT ME IF YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED IT FROM THE COURTS. IT DOES NOT TAKE MONTHS TO GET IT. NEVER HAS A MARRIAGE LICENSE NOT MADE IT TO THE COURTS FROM ME BUT THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES WHEN THE MARRIAGE LICENSE DID NOT MAKE IT TO THE COUPLE FROM THE COURTS. SO AGAIN, IF YOU DO NOT HAVE IT IN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME PLEASE CONTACT THEM DIRECTLY OR CONTACT ME.

You can have 2 witnesses sign the license but witnesses are not needed to be legal. It can be just your officiant and the two of you if you wish!

You may also take the marriage license to the courthouse yourself to be recorded. The marriage license HAS to be at the courts within 10 days of the ceremony. If this is something you want to do and can do I HAVE to know ahead of time. If you are having your wedding anywhere but here at my office beach and want to take the marriage license with you to the court house for recording, you MUST make a copy for me to have for my records before you give it to me. If you do not do this I cannot let you take it. If you have your wedding here, I have my own copy machine.

Taking the marriage license back yourself assures you it will not be lost in the mail etc when it is sent from the courts. Also, many people need the marriage license faster than what it takes to mail for insurance, military reasons, etc. You will be walking out with the recorded marriage license in hand and do not need to wait for it in the mail. You can also purchase as many certified copies at that time that you wish.

COUPLES LIVING OUT OF THE USA... if you are able to take the marriage license back to the courthouse yourself, this will avoid any delays going overseas to you by mail and we do not have to worry about mail being lost. The courts have sent many overseas that arrived just fine, a little longer than I like but arrived. I have had a few never make it from the courts. The couple, of course, had to get a duplicate sent. As I said, if it fits into your travel/vacation schedule and you are able, it is recommended, but not absolutely necessary.

Florida residents, do not forget you have a 3 day waiting period!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Doing it by mail: do not start too soon, but at least 60 days before is recommended. 30 days before is probably do-able. Anything less than that, keep your fingers crossed, and plan on doing some over-nighting of the mail!