Lake County Marriage License Essentials - What you Need to Know to Get Married in Lake County
Lake County Marriage License
One of the most important things that often also gets pushed to the side and forgotten about the most before getting married and having a wedding is actually your marriage license. To have a legal wedding, this is actually one of the only things that you absolutely need to have for your wedding to be valid, so it’s super important to get all of the information you need for your wedding in the Lake County area (or any county, actually). We want to make sure to run through the details that you need to know to receive, sign, and submit your Lake County marriage license so when it’s time to get ready for your wedding you have everything you need for a valid, approved marriage!
Photo: Kayla Dutcher pHotography
#1
Before Getting your Marriage License
What we tell all of our couples before their wedding is that you actually have to get your marriage license in the county that your wedding ceremony will be held, not necessarily where you live. For our out of town couples, this often means either having to fly into their wedding destination early, or holding a private ceremony in a courthouse where they are from to not have to deal with the logistics of that. If you are unsure which county your wedding ceremony location is, use this link and it will help you out.
To get your marriage license in Lake County, you need to apply for a marriage license in person together at their Lake County Clerk’s Office at 18 N. County St, Waukegan, IL 60085 from Monday to Friday between 8:30am-4pm. Before going to this office though, you need to fill out and complete the marriage application record request form, which you can bring with you to the clerk’s office. The license needs to be obtained within 60 days of the wedding, but it becomes valid the day after it is issued, which means you need to get it at least one day before the wedding. This of course would be more ideal to do with a little more extra time just in case you have to go again for whatever reason.
PHoto: Xome studio
#2
Getting your Lake County Marriage License
There is no place online to schedule an appointment for this, which means you will need to go within their business hours and it is first come, first serve. We usually recommend in this case to plan to take a half-day off of work because you never know how long it will take. When you do go to the office, you will need to bring the completed marriage license application with a valid proof of identification. This can be a driver’s license, state ID, passport, or military ID. If you don’t have any of those options, you can bring at least 2 of the following: certified copy of birth certificate, US original naturalization certificate, foreign passport, US resident alien card, or consulate ID card.
The marriage license will cost $35 which you can pay with a check, cash, money order, or a credit/debit card with additional service fees. Once you’ve paid, you will receive the marriage license! You will need to hold onto this and keep it to bring to the actual wedding day.
Photo: Krystal Richmond photography
#3
What to Do with your Marriage License At the Wedding
Once the wedding ceremony has finished (technically not any sooner), the officiant will need to sign the marriage license. The marriage license shouldn’t require witnesses but there should be an optional line to do so. The Lake County marriage licenses also should require the couple to sign the marriage license as well. Most people do this during the cocktail hour or right when dinner gets started so you don’t have to worry about it later. Most marriage licenses will have on there any requirements for types of pens and guidelines - we usually see that ball-point, black ink pens are most widely accepted in this area.
PHoto: the indi collective
#4
What to Do with your Marriage License After the Wedding
After the wedding, you will need to submit the marriage license within 5 days of the ceremony. This means that if you’re going on a honeymoon immediately after the wedding, you will definitely need someone else to send it in the mail or submit it in person for you. If you are planning on taking a honeymoon later or not at all where you will be in town after the wedding, we do usually recommend that you go in person to submit it just so you know for certain everything was accepted and filled out properly.
Photo: Tori phillips photography
#5
Getting your Marriage Certificate or Marriage Record
You have a few options to submit the license and obtain your marriage “record” - you can submit it in person at the county clerk’s office, get it online, or you can send it in the mail. If you plan to go back in person, you don’t need an appointment to exchange it onsite for your certified or non-certified records. You will need valid forms of ID again, you will want to fill out this marriage record request form, and you’ll need to pay with cash, check, money order, or credit/debit card with additional processing fees. The fee is $10 for a certified copy and $4 for each additional certified or non-certified copy. We do recommend you get at least 2 certified copies just in case and you can store them in two different places in your home.
If you are planning on requesting the marriage record by mail, you still will need to fill out the marriage record request form, and you will make sure to add a photocopy of both sides of your valid identification with a check or money order payable to “Lake County Clerk”. You will need to mail this to:
Lake County Clerk
Attn: Vital Records
18 N. County Street, Room 101
Waukegan, IL 60085
If you want to get it online after it was submitted, you can head to VitalChek which is a partner to provide vital record ordering services. The payment will be made online with a credit card and the marriage records will be sent to you through there.
Photo: native among you
That should be everything you need to know about the Lake County marriage license!
This is surely one of the most important parts about planning your wedding in Lake County that you definitely need to take care of in advance, so it’s important to have everything you need ready to go so you’re not having to scramble before the wedding to get this situated! We know there are so many details and pieces to juggle when it comes to wedding planning, but we are hoping that this makes things easier for you for your wedding planning journey. If you have any questions, you can call them at 847-377-2411 or email them at vitalrecords@lakecountyil.gov.
Need more help from a day-of wedding coordinator?
We would love to make sure you don’t have to worry about things like this and that you can actually enjoy your wedding day.
