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Marriage Licenses
Note: If you obtain your marriage license in Rock Island County, you must be married in Rock Island County.
Requirements
The fee for the marriage license is $35 cash only. Personal checks will not be accepted.
Couples applying for a marriage license must be 18 years of age. If a minor, 16 or 17 years of age, he or she must present a certified copy of birth record and have both biological parents present with them at the time of applying for marriage license. Both parents must have a valid ID.
Information Required by Both Parties
- Both parties must be present when applying for the marriage license and must provide a valid Drivers License or State ID.
- Your dates of birth, state of birth, social security numbers and occupations.
- Your parents full names (including mother's full maiden name) addresses of both parents if living, and the states in which the parents were born.
- Your highest grade of education completed and your race origin (for statistical purposes)
- If either party has been previously married, that party will need to know the exact month, day, and year along with the county and state of the dissolution or death of the previous marriage.
- If either party does not speak or understand English, a separate interpreter must accompany them. The interpreter must be 16 years or older and must have a valid I.D.
Further Information
There is an overnight waiting period in the State of Illinois. You must obtain your marriage license no later than one day before you are married. The license itself is good for sixty days. To waive the one-day waiting period you must have a court order.
The County Clerk's Office is open from 8 am to 4:30 pm on Monday through Friday. If you have any further questions, you may call the County Clerk's Office at 309-558-3569.
Note: More than one officiant can perform the marriage and officiants do not have to reside in Illinois.
The person solemnizing the marriage must complete the marriage certificate form and forward it to the Rock Island County Clerk's Office (1504 Third Avenue, Rock Island, Illinois 61201) within 10 days after the marriage is solemnized. A newly married couple is required to file the marriage certificate if the officiant has not assumed the responsibility.
- Is a blood test or premarital exam by a physician required?
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No. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (750 ILCS 5/204) now only requires the county clerk to distribute free of charge, to all persons applying for a marriage license, a brochure "Getting Married, Know the Facts about Your Sexual Health" prepared by the Illinois Department of Public Health concerning sexually transmitted diseases and inherited metabolic diseases.
- Is a marriage ceremony required?
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No particular type of ceremony is required. The law simply requires the marriage to be performed by certain public or religious officials.
- What is a common law marriage?
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The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (750 ILCS 5/214) states that common law marriages contracted in Illinois after June 30, 1905 are invalid. A common law marriage was traditionally when a man and a woman lived together and held themselves out to the world as husband and wife for a certain period of time (such as seven or 14 years), and the law of the state in which they resided recognized them as husband and wife despite the lack of the formal legalities of marriage.