Getting Married in Nevada: Licenses, Ceremonies and Valid Marriages

Part of my Nevada Family Law Overview.

By Ronald W. Brilliant, Attorney at Law · Licensed in Idaho, Nevada & California · Last reviewed: September 2026 against Nevada Revised Statutes Title 11, chapters 121 through 130 (current through the 2025 legislative session and 2026 special session revisions)

In This TopicNevada Family LawTopic 1 of 15: Getting Married

In Nevada, marriage is a civil contract. The consent of two people who are legally capable of making that contract is essential, but consent alone does not create a marriage. It must be followed by solemnization, meaning a ceremony performed as chapter 122 of NRS authorizes (NRS 122.010(1)). Under this rule, an agreement to be married is not enough without a ceremony. The solemnization requirement does not invalidate a marriage contract in effect before March 29, 1943, that was based on consent alone (NRS 122.010(2)).

This page explains who may marry in Nevada, how to get a marriage license, who may perform the ceremony, how a marriage is recorded and proved, and which marriages are void or can be annulled. It matters to anyone planning a Nevada wedding and to anyone who needs to show that a Nevada marriage is valid.

Who May Marry in Nevada

Two persons, regardless of gender, may be joined in marriage if they meet all of these requirements (NRS 122.020(1)):

• Both are at least 18 years of age, except for the limited court-approved exception for 17-year-olds described below.
• They are not nearer of kin than second cousins or cousins of the half blood.
• Neither has a spouse living.

Two persons who are already married to each other may be rejoined in marriage if the record of their marriage has been lost or destroyed or is otherwise unobtainable (NRS 122.020(2)). In that case, the certificate of marriage must state that the persons were rejoined and that the certificate replaces the lost, destroyed or unobtainable record (NRS 122.120(2)).

Marriage of a 17-Year-Old

A minor who is 17 years of age may marry only with the consent of either parent or the minor’s legal guardian, and with authorization from a district court (NRS 122.025(1)).

The district court may authorize the marriage only in extraordinary circumstances. After an evidentiary hearing in which both parties to the prospective marriage give sworn testimony, the court must find by clear and convincing evidence that (NRS 122.025(2)):

• Both parties are residents of Nevada;
• The marriage will serve the best interests of the minor; and
• The minor has the required consent of a parent or legal guardian.

In deciding the minor’s best interests, the court must consider, among other things, the difference in age between the parties, the need for the marriage to occur before the minor turns 18, and the minor’s emotional and intellectual maturity (NRS 122.025(3)). Pregnancy alone does not establish that the marriage is in the minor’s best interests, and a court may not require pregnancy as a condition of authorizing the marriage (NRS 122.025(2)). When court authorization is required, the county clerk issues the license once that authorization is given to the clerk in writing (NRS 122.040(5)). For more on the legal status of minors, see Minors and Emancipation in Nevada.

Getting a Marriage License

Before two people may marry, they must obtain a marriage license from the county clerk of any county in Nevada (NRS 122.040(1)). The license must generally be issued at the county seat, although the board of county commissioners may designate certain branch offices of the county clerk to issue licenses (NRS 122.040(1)).

Proof of Name and Age

The county clerk must require each applicant to provide proof of name and age (NRS 122.040(2)). The clerk may accept an original or certified copy of a driver’s license, instruction permit or identification card issued by Nevada, another state, the District of Columbia or a U.S. territory; a passport; a birth certificate together with certain supporting documents; a military identification card; certain immigration documents issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; or any other document that provides the applicant’s name and age (NRS 122.040(2)(a)–(f)).

If an applicant clearly appears to be over 25 years of age, no documentation of proof of age is required (NRS 122.040(2)(f)). The license must show each applicant’s name as it appears in the documents presented (NRS 122.050).

Questions Under Oath

Each applicant must answer under oath each question on the license form (NRS 122.040(3)). The form asks about matters such as place and date of birth, the names and birthplaces of each applicant’s parents, the number of this marriage, and whether any former spouse is deceased or was divorced or annulled, and when and where (NRS 122.050). Each applicant must include his or her social security number on the affidavit of application or state that he or she does not have one (NRS 122.040(3)).

If any requested information is unknown, the applicant must say so. The clerk may not deny a license because an applicant has no social security number or does not know information about his or her parents, and the clerk may not require evidence to verify a social security number (NRS 122.040(3)). Making a false statement under oath to get a marriage license is a gross misdemeanor (NRS 122.200).

Public Records and Expiration

All records pertaining to marriage licenses are public records open to inspection (NRS 122.040(6)). A marriage license issued on or after July 1, 1987, expires 1 year after the date it is issued (NRS 122.040(7)).

Who May Perform the Ceremony

Once the couple has a marriage license, the following public officials may marry them, within the limits the statute sets (NRS 122.080(1)):

• Justices of the Nevada Supreme Court, judges of the Court of Appeals and district judges;
• A justice of the peace in his or her own township, if it is not a “commissioner township”; in a commissioner township, a justice of the peace may perform no more than 20 ceremonies per calendar year and may not accept any fee or anything of value other than a nonmonetary gift of nominal value (NRS 122.080(1), (3));
• Municipal judges (up to 20 ceremonies per calendar year, on the same no-fee terms) (NRS 122.080(4));
• A commissioner of civil marriages or deputy commissioner, within a commissioner township (NRS 122.080(1)); and
• A mayor of a city organized under general law, or a mayor authorized by the governing body of a city organized under a special charter, who may not accept any fee or anything of value other than a nonmonetary gift of nominal value (NRS 122.080(5)–(6)).

A “commissioner township” is a township with a population of 15,500 or more located in a county with a population of 100,000 or more (NRS 122.002). In a county whose population is 700,000 or more and that contains a commissioner township, the county clerk serves as commissioner of civil marriages (NRS 122.173(1)).

Ministers, Religious Officials, Notaries and Marriage Officiants

A licensed, ordained or appointed minister, another church or religious official authorized to solemnize a marriage, a notary public, or a marriage officiant may marry people who present a Nevada marriage license, but only after first obtaining or renewing a certificate of permission to perform marriages (NRS 122.062(1)). A “marriage officiant” is a person, other than a minister, other church or religious official or notary public, who obtains such a certificate (NRS 122.004). The certificate is obtained from the county clerk of the county where the applicant resides (NRS 122.064(1)).

Other routes also exist. A temporary replacement for a certified minister or religious official may solemnize marriages for up to 90 days with written authorization (NRS 122.062(2)). A chaplain assigned to duty in Nevada by the U.S. Armed Forces may solemnize marriages after obtaining a certificate from the county clerk where the duty station is located (NRS 122.062(3)). A qualifying person may also apply to the county clerk in the county where a marriage is to be performed for permission to perform one specific marriage, but no one may obtain more than five such authorizations in a calendar year (NRS 122.062(4)–(5)).

Marriages among “Friends” or “Quakers” in the forms used in their meetings are valid (NRS 122.150). Marriages between Indians consummated according to tribal custom have the same validity as marriages performed in any other manner provided by Nevada law (NRS 122.170(1)).

The Ceremony

No particular form of ceremony is required. The only requirement is that the parties declare, in the presence of the person performing the marriage and the attending witness, that they take each other as spouses (NRS 122.110(1)). At least one witness must be present in addition to the person performing the ceremony (NRS 122.110(2)).

It is a misdemeanor for any judge, justice, minister, religious official, notary public, commissioner, deputy commissioner, marriage officiant or mayor to marry people until they show a license from the county clerk (NRS 122.220). A person who marries others without lawful authority, or who knows of a legal impediment to the marriage, is subject to a civil penalty of up to $1,500 (NRS 122.260).

When the Officiant Lacked Authority

A marriage performed by a person professing to be a judge, justice, minister, religious official, notary public, marriage officiant with a certificate of permission, commissioner or deputy commissioner of civil marriages, or mayor is not void because that person lacked jurisdiction or authority. This protection applies if the marriage was consummated with a full belief by the persons married, or either of them, that they had been lawfully joined in marriage (NRS 122.090).

The Marriage Certificate and Proof of Marriage

After the ceremony, the person who performed it must give the couple an uncertified copy of a certificate of marriage (NRS 122.120(1)). That person must also make a record of the marriage and, within 10 days after the marriage, deliver the original certificate to the county clerk or county recorder (depending on county ordinance) of the county where the license was issued (NRS 122.130(1)). Failing to do so is a misdemeanor (NRS 122.230).

The copy given to the couple is not a certified copy. A notice printed on the back of the form explains that a certified copy may be obtained after the certificate is recorded or filed, and that a certified copy is needed for name changes and other legal matters (NRS 122.055(2)).

For a marriage solemnized on or after January 1, 1971, the original certificate and records of marriage, the county’s record of them, or a certified copy or abstract of that record must be received in all courts and places as presumptive evidence that the marriage took place (NRS 122.030(2)). A similar rule applies to earlier marriages (NRS 122.030(1)).

Amended Certificate After a Name Change

If a marriage was solemnized in Nevada and a party later receives a court order from any state, the District of Columbia or a U.S. territory changing his or her name, the county clerk of the county that issued the original license must issue an amended certificate of marriage showing the new name. The clerk needs a certified copy of the original certificate, a certified copy of the court order, a notarized affidavit of amendment executed by the parties, and the required fees (NRS 122.137(1)). Both the original and amended certificates are kept as public records (NRS 122.137(4)).

Void and Voidable Marriages

Some marriages are void, meaning they are invalid without any court decree. Others are voidable, meaning they remain in place until a court annuls them. The rules appear in the annulment provisions of chapter 125 of NRS.

Situation	Effect	NRS
Marriage prohibited because the parties are related by blood (consanguinity)	Void without any decree of divorce or annulment or other legal proceedings	125.290(1)
Either party had a former spouse then living, if the marriage was solemnized in Nevada	Void without any decree or proceeding; does not bar prosecution for bigamy	125.290(2)
Required parent or guardian consent and district court authorization for a 17-year-old were not obtained	Void from the time a court declares it null; may be annulled on application by or for the person who lacked consent, unless that person freely cohabits with the other party as a married couple after turning 18; must be brought within 1 year after that person turns 18	125.320
A party lacked the understanding needed to consent	Void from the time a court declares it null	125.330(1)
A party’s consent was obtained by fraud, and the fraud is proved	Void from the time a court declares it null; no annulment for fraud if the parties voluntarily cohabit as a married couple after learning of the fraud	125.340
Any cause that would let a court of equity annul or void a contract	May be annulled	125.350

Children of a marriage that is deemed null in law are legitimate (NRS 125.410(2)). Separately, children born before their parents’ marriage become legitimatized when their parents later marry each other (NRS 122.140). For how annulment cases are brought, see Annulment and Separate Maintenance in Nevada, and for questions about establishing a child’s parents, see Parentage in Nevada.

Before and After the Wedding

Property rights of a married couple are governed by chapter 123 of NRS unless an enforceable premarital agreement or a marriage contract or settlement provides otherwise (NRS 123.010(1)). A premarital agreement becomes effective upon marriage (NRS 123A.060). To learn more, see Marital Property Rights in Nevada and Premarital Agreements in Nevada. Couples who wish to formalize their relationship without marrying can read about Nevada Domestic Partnerships.

How I Can Help

I help clients with questions about whether a marriage is valid in Nevada, what documents prove a marriage, and whether a marriage may be void or subject to annulment. I can also help couples plan ahead with a premarital agreement or review how marriage will affect their property. Request a consultation to discuss your situation.

This page provides general information about Nevada family law, based on the Nevada Revised Statutes as currently revised, and is not legal advice. Court rules, regulations (including the child support guidelines), and case law also affect family law matters. Every family is different; consult an attorney about your situation. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.