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New York Law requires all Marriage Officiants to register with the Government before Officiating Weddings. Keep reading to learn all about Wedding Officiant registration in New York. 63,748 New York AMM Ministers and counting!
Registration Office: New York City Clerk Marriage Bureau
Approximate Cost: $15
Registration Difficulty: Difficult
Processing Time: 2 - 6 Weeks
In New York each city and town determines its own officiant registration requirements. Most cities and towns do not require officiant registration before performing marriage. The one big exemption is New York City, which does require officiant registration.
That being said, you should always check with the local city or town clerk before performing marriage in that jurisdiction. Call the city or town clerk's office where the couple intends to get married. That office will inform you as to whether you need to register with their office and/or submit your ministry credentials.
If you plan on Officiating Weddings in New York City then you are required to register with the New York City Clerk Marriage Bureau.
The New York City Clerk Marriage Bureau has jurisdiction over the following boroughs that comprise New York City:
If you are planning on officiating weddings in any of these localities then you must first register with the New York City Clerk Marriage Bureau. Keep reading for step-by-step officiant registration instructions.
In order to successfully register with the NYC Marriage Bureau you will need to submit:
Below is a three step process to become a legal wedding officaint in NYC.
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Order your New York Minister Ordination Package for your Official Ordination Certificate and Letter of Consent. The Letter of Consent is addressed to the NYC Clerk, signed by a church officer, notarized, and formatted per their specifications.
Your package also includes a partially completed Marriage Officiant Registration Form for your convenience. In short, your package contains the following required documents:
While you wait for your package to arrive, you can begin your registration process with the NYC Clerk's office with their Online Marriage Officiant Registration Application.
It should take you no more than 15 minutes to complete this application.
Do not complete this online application more than 21 days before you finish your registration by mail. The application expires after 21 days, at which point you will have to re-submit the online application.
At this point you should have completed the online application and have all your required paperwork in hand. The last two items you need are:
Once you have everything you need, you need to mail your officiant registration to the City Clerk's office:
New York City Clerk Marriage Bureau
Marriage Officiant Registration Clerk
141 Worth Street
New York, NY 10013
For further questions you can contact the NYC Marriage Bureau at:
Phone: (212) 669-8090
Hours: M-F | 8:30am - 3:45pm
Providing there are no complications, your successful registration with the NYC Marriage Bureau should take about 30 days.
Once approved you will have the authority to perform marriage in all five boroughs of New York City.
If you plan on performing a marriage in New York State but outside of New York City, then you need to contact the office responsible for issuing the marriage license to the couple.
That office will be able to inform you if they require ministers to register with their office before performing marriage. That being said, most jurisdictions outside NYC do not have registration requirements for ministers.
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Whether registration is required of you or not, it is a good idea to keep personal records of your official Ministry Credentials. Proof of your ordination is essential in the event that the couple or government officials request to see proof of your status as an ordained minister.
We encourage you to order your New York Minister Ordination Package for your official ministry credentials. Your package includes your Ordination Certificate and Letter of Good Standing. Your Letter of Good Standing is signed by a church officer, dated, and notarized.
Your next step is to learn how to officiate a wedding ceremony. If you have no experience, you are in good hands. Our New York Wedding Officiant Preparation Guide covers all aspects of how to prepare for a wedding ceremony.
You will learn everything from the format for a wedding ceremony, the names of the ceremony parts, how to write a wedding ceremony, and more.
If the process of planning, scripting, and performing a wedding is daunting, then you need our Wedding Helper suite of tools.
We have distilled years of experience into an easy-to-use platform with training materials, quizzes, a personalized ceremony script generator, and tips to prepare you for performing marriage, all accessible through your minister profile.
That's only the beginning. After the wedding, you can share your wedding on the AMM Wedding Wall with our nationwide network of ministers.
