Overview

Before you get married, you need a valid Ontario marriage licence issued by an authorized municipal office. A marriage licence is valid for 3 months from the date it was issued.

Only registered or civil marriage officiants can perform marriages in Ontario.

Find out if your officiant is registered to perform a marriage in Ontario.

You can also contact a local city hall, town hall or municipal office and ask if they offer civil marriage services.

The marriage officiant must have a valid Ontario marriage licence (or a banns form if applicable) before they can perform your ceremony.

In some limited and specific circumstances, the publication of banns may be used as an alternative to a marriage licence. Contact your marriage officiant for more details.

Note: You and your spouse, witnesses and the person who performed the marriage will need to sign the licence or banns immediately after the ceremony.

How to get a licence

You can complete a marriage licence application by applying:

Online through ServiceOntario

  1. Check the municipalities participating in online marriage application.
  2. Complete an online Marriage Licence Application.

In-person at a local municipality

You can choose to start your application either online or using a paper form.

  1. Find a local city hall, town hall or municipal office.
    • Check the municipality website as they may have their own online or in-person process.
  2. Download and fill out the Marriage Licence Application form.

Documents you need

Note: Documents that are not in English or French must be translated by a professional translator and include a written declaration from the translator.

Picking up your marriage licence

One of you will have to come in-person to the municipality with your photo ID to pick up your marriage licence. You will also need to pay the marriage licence fee which varies depending on the municipality.

Acceptable identity documents

Note: Health cards cannot be used for this online service.

  • Birth Certificate (Canadian or foreign)
  • Passport (Canadian or foreign)
  • Driver’s licence (Canadian or foreign)
  • Ontario Photo Card
    • Ontario Photo Card is a government-issued identification card for Ontarians who do not have a driver’s licence. Learn more about applying for an Ontario Photo Card at ServiceOntario.
  • Photo identity card (other Canadian province or territory or foreign)
  • Canadian Citizenship Card or Certificate
  • Canadian Permanent Resident Card
  • Canadian record of landing
  • Canadian Government Refugee Travel Document
  • Canadian Department of National Defence driver’s licence (Form DND 404)
  • Canadian Possession and Acquisition Licence
  • Secure Certificate of Indian Status or Certificate of Indian Status (Canadian Status Card)
  • Canadian Conditional Release Identification Card
  • Nexus card
  • United States Green card
  • Report Pursuant to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act with photo (Form IMM 1442)
  • Student Authorization or Study Permit (Form IMM 1442)
  • Employment Authorization or Work Permit (Form IMM 1442)
  • Visitor Record (Form IMM 1442)
  • Temporary Resident’s Permit (Form IMM 1442) — formally Minister’s Permit/Extension of Minister’s Permit

Before you start the online application

Make sure:

  • your wedding date is within 3 months from the day you apply
  • you have identified a participating municipality
  • there is at least 1 business day between your application and your wedding date
  • to save your documents in JPEG, PDF or PNG format before starting your application to speed up the process

Note: If you need a marriage licence in the next 24 hours, contact your local municipality.

The application takes approximately 25 to 30 minutes to complete.

Start Application

Participating municipalities

Select a municipality near your home or a convenient location to pick up your marriage licence in person using the online ServiceOntario application.

  • If you cannot find a suitable location or the options are too far, do not use the online service.
  • Check your local or surrounding municipality’s website to find out how to apply for a marriage licence as the process may vary by municipality.

After you submit your application, you will need to pick up your licence from the selected municipality.

Check the map below for municipalities participating in the online marriage licence services:

To find a marriage licence pick-up location, you can:

  • use the search bar
  • select the point icon to place a marker on the map

You can adjust the distance to narrow your results. The default is set to 50 km.

If none of the locations are nearby or within 30 minutes, consider contacting a closer municipality to ask about their process.

To draw a radius

  1. Select the point icon.
  2. Enter the distance first.
  3. Pick a spot on the map where you want the center of the circle.

Only one radius can be shown at a time.