Getting Married in Ontario

Legal Stuff - What You Should Know

MARRIAGE IN A NUT-SHELL - 8 easy steps

1. Find the love of your life.

2. Ensure that you and your partner can marry.

3. Figure out when and where you want to get married.

4. Select an authorized religious marriage officiant.

5. Get a marriage licence (less than 90 days before ceremony).

6. Tie the knot.

7. Honeymoon optional but recommended.

8. Obtain marriage certificate (6-8 weeks after ceremony).

HOW TO GET MARRIED IN ONTARIO

To get married in Ontario, you usually must first apply for a marriage licence from the Ontario government. To do this, you must:

• fill out a Marriage Licence Application form. You can get a PDF copy here.

• and bring it to the municipal office of any city or town in Ontario, and

• pay a fee.

List of Municipal Offices where you can get your marriage licence: Click here.

Once you get a marriage licence, you and your partner must have a marriage ceremony within 90 days. This can be a religious or civil ceremony.

Your ceremony must also be performed by someone with the legal power to marry people, such as a judge, justice of the peace, or religious official (Rev. Lidia Claudia Berestecki).

Ensure that the religious official you have chosen is authorized to perform marriages in Ontario: List of religious officials.

Both you and your partner must attend the marriage ceremony. You cannot get married over the phone or Internet. You can’t have someone else go to the ceremony for you.

After you get married, you can apply for a marriage certificate (about 6 to 8 weeks after the wedding) to prove that you are married. It is a good idea to keep your marriage certificate in a safe place.

You might need it to do things like:

• apply for certain social benefits

• settle an estate after someone dies

• change your last name

• get divorced

You can get a copy of your Marriage Certificate on-line HERE

Marriage Licence Requirements

Application:

• At least one party to the proposed marriage must apply in person with the completed marriage application form signed by both parties. However, two pieces of original valid identification are required for each applicant, and the application must be signed by both applicants (please see below for identification requirements) .

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

• If one or both parties are divorced, additional documentation is required. Documentation for widowed parties is not required.

Fee:

• Licence Fee varies from township or community. Recent licence costs in Norfolk County was $116 while Haldimand is $153 (subject to change) so it is worth a little drive

• Accepted payments for a marriage licence: Cash - (Canadian funds only), debit or credit card (Mastercard and Visa)

Identification Required:

• Bring two (2) original pieces of valid government issued identification from the list below for each applicant. One piece of identification MUST include your photo.

▪ Passport

▪ Driver's Licence/Enhance Driver's Licence

▪ Photo I.D. Card

▪ Citizenship Card

▪ Permanent Resident Card

▪ Nexus Card

▪ Armed Forces I.D. Card

▪ Native Status Card

▪ Record of Immigration Landing

▪ United States Green Card o WITHOUT PHOTO

▪ Birth Certificate

▪ Change of Name Certificate

▪ Immigration Status Papers (i.e. Record of Landing, Work Visa)

Photocopies of photocopies are not accepted.

Documents not in English must be translated by a certified translator.