WEDDING AND CIVIL UNIONS

A Guide to Notary Marriage: Can a Notary Public Marry a Couple?

Getting married is a big step in a person’s life. Naturally, you want the right person to perform your marriage ceremony. You can choose between religious figures, such as priests, ministers, rabbis, and others, or public figures, such as judges, court clerks, and justices of the peace.
But there is also a third choice that many don’t know about.
A notary public can also perform a wedding ceremony, legally marry a couple, and act as a wedding officiant.
However, a notary public is not allowed to marry couples in all states. Only a few states recognize a marriage certificate from a notary, and there are specific requirements that all parties should adhere to for the wedding ceremony to be legally accepted.

In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about getting married through a public notary and how a current notary can apply to become a wedding officiant.

How Can Notaries Perform Wedding Ceremonies?

For a notary, marriage is not a ceremony that they usually perform. Most states don’t allow notary publics to marry couples. However, there are a few exceptions:

• Florida
• Maine
• Nevada
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Montana

These six states are the only ones that currently allow a notary to act as a wedding officiant. Even if the notary isn’t licensed as an officiant, the state recognizes the marriage as legal.

Until recently, you could only request a notary to officiate a marriage ceremony in Florida, Maine, Nevada, and South Carolina. In 2021, Tennessee and Montana added performing marriages to the list of possible notarial duties for state notaries.

In these states, notaries can perform the traditional aspects of the ceremony, including the marriage vows and completing the related matrimonial documentation, such as signing the marriage license and delivering it to the county clerk’s office to get the marriage certificate.