Weddings by Dan          Rev. F Daniel Latour

A Marriage in Louisiana requires a Louisiana License available from any Louisiana Parish Clerk of Court.

Some Parishes requires two witnesses for the wedding ceremony, while others require three. When obtained, check your wedding certificate to see how many are needed for your wedding.

 If you are currently residing outside the State and time will be short before the wedding, you may need to make a special trip to obtain your license. See the item in bold print below.

See section at bottom regarding the Covenant Marriage option. 

The Marriage Clerk at a Louisiana Parish Clerk of Court's office is responsible for issuing Marriage Licenses. According to Louisiana Law, applicants for Marriage Licenses must provide:

• A certified copy of their birth certificate or birth card, or valid Passport and copy of Birth Certificate if not a US citizen.
• In addition, a photocopy of the birth certificate/card must be retained by the Clerk of Court. You may provide your own copy. If one is not provided by the couple, the Marriage Clerk will copy each record for about $1.00.
• Social Security numbers must be provided by law (for US citizens).
• If either party was previously married, you must show proof of how the marriage ended. This will be either a divorce judgment or death certificate. These documents must be certified.
• To purchase a marriage license without parental or court intervention you must be of majority age, which is 18 years old. If either party to the marriage is 16 or 17 years of age, the signatures of both parents are required along with their identification. If either party is under the age of 16, a court order signed by a Judge is required, along with the signatures of both parents and their identification.
• A license generally must be purchased at least 72 hours (3 days) in advance of the ceremony. In cases where Bride and Groom reside outside the State, the waiting period can be waived by a Judge.
• A marriage license expires 30 days from the date of issue.
• The cost of a license is usually U.S. $25.00-$30.00, payable in cash only.
• A certified copy of the marriage license can be obtained for an additional fee from $5.00-7.00, and pre-paid at time of application or at a later date.
• Medical tests are not currently required to purchase a marriage license.
• A Louisiana marriage license is valid only for ceremonies performed in the state of Louisiana.

Many Clerk of Court's office have access to birth certificates for Louisiana only.  They can retrieve birth certificates dating back to 1983.  The cost to receive a birth certificate from the Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court is aroung $25 cash. This is a walk-in service.

They can also retrieve birth cards from approximately 1930 until near current date.  The cost to receive a certified birth card is around $15.00 cash. This is a walk-in service.  

       Should you decide on the Covenant Marriage option, you agree to waive your right to a no-fault divorce. Should serious problems arise, only adultery, abuse, abandonment, conviction of a felony with jail time or two-year legal separation, usually with mandatory marriage counseling, will allow divorce proceedings to be heard by the Court.  Premarital counseling must be obtained from some one qualified to provide it and with the ability to explain all the conditions and ramifications of a covenant marriage. Additional legal papers are required attesting to the covenant marriage option and completion of premarital with covenant law counseling. 
       Rev. Dan agrees that ideally marriage is a life long commitment. He is qualified for both Premarital and Premarital Covenant counseling either in a single session or as a series workshop. However, he feels that the "ideal" and the "law" do not support each other as currently written and couples are warned to be extremely cautious when considering a Covenant CONTRACT.

For more information, here is a link to the Covenant Marriage Act.