What Makes a Marriage Legal in Oklahoma?

Understanding what makes a marriage legal in Oklahoma is essential for couples planning to get married or wondering if their union meets the state’s requirements. At Persaud Law Office in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, we have received questions about age limits, marriage licenses, and common-law marriage. Here’s what Oklahoma law says.

Requirements for a Legal Marriage in Oklahoma

You May Not Be Married to Anyone Else

Marriage by someone who has a living spouse is bigamy. Bigamy renders a marriage void, and is punishable by up to five years in prison. Even if you have been separated from your spouse for many years, you are still legally married, and may not marry anyone else. Even if you are going through a divorce, you are still a married person until your divorce is final.

After your divorce is final, you may not marry anyone else in the state of Oklahoma for six months after the date of the divorce. (You may, however, remarry your former spouse within six months after the divorce).

Age Requirements for Marriage

18 and Older: You can marry without parental consent.

16–17 Years Old: You need consent from a parent or guardian, unless both parents are deceased or unfit.

• If you are over sixteen and under eighteen, the only circumstance under which you may be married without a parent or guardian’s consent is if three reputable persons sign an affidavit saying that both of your parents are deceased, mentally incompetent, or that your parents’ whereabouts are unknown, and that no guardian has been appointed for you. In such a case, the local district court judge has “discretion” to decide whether you may marry or not.

  
  

• If you are under eighteen and over sixteen, and you are in the custody of the Department of Human Services or the Office of Juvenile Affairs, you may not marry even with your parent or guardian’s consent.

  
  

• Generally, your parent or guardian must sign the consent in the presence of the court clerk issuing the marriage license. Your parent or guardian need not sign in the presence of the court clerk if:

• Your parent or guardian resides outside the state of Oklahoma. In such a case, your parent or guardian may sign the consent before a court clerk or judge in the parent/guardian’s home state. The consent must then be filed with the Oklahoma court clerk issuing the marriage license.

  
  

• Your parent or guardian is unable, due to health reasons, to appear before the court clerk. In this case, your parent or guardian may sign the consent outside the presence of the court clerk. Also, a licensed physician must sign an affidavit that your parent or guardian is unable to be present before the clerk for health reasons. The physician’s certificate must be filed with the court clerk.

  
  

• Your parent or guardian is on active duty with the U.S. Armed Forces. In this case, your parent or guardian may sign the consent before military personnel authorized to administer oaths. The consent must then be filed with the Oklahoma court clerk. In addition, you must file an affidavit signed by a commissioned officer in command of your parent or guardian; this affidavit must state that your parent or guardian is on active military duty.

Under 16: Marriage is only allowed with a judge’s approval under specific circumstances (for example, if the minor is pregnant or the marriage is in settlement of a paternity suit).

• If you are under sixteen you may not marry unless you have the consent of a judge. A judge may only give consent for a person under sixteen to marry if:

• The marriage is in settlement of a suit for seduction or paternity, or

  
  

• The unmarried female is pregnant or have given birth to a child out of wedlock, and at least one parent or guardian of each minor is present before the court, and the court gives the parent or guardian opportunity to present evidence if the parent or guardian objects to the marriage. If no parent or guardian is present, the court may direct that the parent or guardian be given notice of the hearing.

Waiting period for all spouses under 18. If either party to a marriage is under eighteen, the application for marriage license must be on file at least seventy-two hours before the court clerk may issue the marriage license.

Prohibited Marriages in Oklahoma

You may not marry:

• Your ancestor or descendant;

• Your stepchild or stepparent;

• Your uncle, niece, aunt, or nephew, unless your relationship to this person is only by marriage;

• Your sibling or half-sibling; or

• Your first cousin. (However, a marriage between first cousins performed in another state is legal in Oklahoma, if the marriage was legal in the state where performed.)

Same-Sex Marriage in Oklahoma

Since October 6, 2014, same-sex marriage has been legal in Oklahoma. However, if an official of any religious organization refuses to perform any marriage that violates the official’s religious beliefs, Oklahoma law says that you may not sue the religious official.

How to Apply for a Marriage License in Oklahoma

To apply for a marriage license in Oklahoma, you have to go to the court clerk’s office in any county in Oklahoma. You have to give the clerk both your name and age and your spouse’s name and age as it appears on your and your spouse’s birth certificate, driver’s license, passport, or any other document issued by a government authority.

You also have to prove to the clerk that you are legally allowed to marry (that is, prove that you are not married to anyone else, not underage, and not related to your spouse). The law does not say precisely how you have to prove this, or what type of proof is acceptable. The law does say, however, that if the court clerk has doubts as to your legal capacity to marry, then the clerk may require “additional evidence to that contained in the application” and that if the clerk is not satisfied that you are legally allowed to marry, then the clerk must deny your marriage license application. If the clerk “knowingly” issues you a marriage license, and you are not legally allowed to marry, the clerk may be fined at least $100 and up to $500, and be punished by 30 days to one year in the county jail.

There is a fee for issuing a marriage license. If you go through a premarital counseling program by a health professional or an official representative of a religious institution, the fee is $5.00 (as of November 2025); if you do not go through such a premarital counseling program, the fee is $50.00 as of November 2025. If you go through premarital counseling, you must present documentation of the premarital counseling to the clerk, and the clerk must place this documentation in the court file.

After the clerk issues the marriage license, you may get married anywhere in Oklahoma. The license is valid for thirty days – that is, you must get married no more than thirty days after the clerk issued the license. You must return the license to the clerk within thirty days after the clerk issues the license. If, after the clerk issues the marriage license, you have second thoughts and decide not to get married, there’s nothing wrong with that. But, you will not be married, and if you marry later than thirty days after the clerk issues the license, the license will no longer be effective and the marriage may not be valid.

Who May Perform Marriages in Oklahoma?

The following persons may perform marriages in Oklahoma:

• Any judge or retired judge of any court in Oklahoma, or

  
  

• “An ordained or authorized preacher or minister of the Gospel, priest or other ecclesiastical dignitary of any denomination who has been duly ordained or authorized by the church to which he or she belongs to preach the Gospel, or a rabbi.” The minister or rabbi must be at least eighteen years old.

If a judge or retired judge performs the marriage, the judge must place his order of appointment on filed with the court clerk of the county in which the judge resides.

If a minister or rabbi performs the marriage, the minister must state, on the marriage certificate, that the minister holds credentials or authority from his religious organization that authorizes him to perform marriages. This is a significant, and recent change. From the time of Oklahoma statehood, until 2022, a minister had to file his ministerial credentials with the court clerk of the county in which he resided. But, in 2022, the legislature amended this law. Under the new law, a minister need not file his credentials with any court clerk; he merely needs to certify on the marriage certificate that he holds such credentials. Someone recently asked me whether her minister was allowed to perform marriages in Oklahoma. I assured her that this minister was authorized to perform such marriages; the minister only needed to state, on the marriage certificate, that he held authority from his denomination.

Further, the law says that marriages between Quakers, Baha’is, or Mormons (which have no ordained minister) may be solemnized “by the persons and in the manner prescribed by and practiced” in their religious groups. A “person chosen” by the Quakers, Baha’is, or Mormons, is responsible for completing the marriage certificate.

Any minister or other person who solemnizes an unlawful marriage may be punished by a fine of up to $500, and up to five years in prison.

Two “adult, competent” witnesses must also sign the marriage certificate.

What if You Didn’t Follow All the Rules?

If you have not complied with the statutory requirements, you may still be married in Oklahoma. This is because Oklahoma recognizes “common-law marriages” in which people are deemed legally married if:

• The spouses have a mutual agreement to be married

• The spouses have a permanent relationship, exclusive of all others

• The spouses cohabitate

• The spouses hold themselves out to the public as married, and

• The parties have legal capacity to marry (that is, are not under age, not married to anyone else, not related to each other, and not divorced less than six months previously)

The law of common-law marriage is beyond the scope of this post; in another post, I’ve covered common-law marriage in some detail.

If you have a common-law marriage, your marriage is still valid even if you haven’t complied with the ceremonial requirements. Say, for example, you apply for a marriage license, but get married later than thirty days after you apply for the license. Or suppose that only one witness (rather than the required two witnesses) signs the marriage license. In either case, your marriage isn’t valid under the Oklahoma law for issuance of marriage licenses. But, if the elements of common-law marriage are present, you are still legally married. 

Also, if a marriage was invalid when celebrated, the marriage may “ripen” into a valid common-law marriage. For example, if you marry when you are under age, your marriage may become valid after you turn eighteen. Or, if you are married to someone else and then marry bigamously, your marriage may become valid if you are divorced from your first spouse, or if your first spouse dies.

Consult a Bartlesville Family Law Attorney

Understanding Oklahoma marriage law is crucial, especially since the validity of a marriage can affect inheritance rights, insurance, and Social Security benefits.

At Persaud Law Office in Bartlesville, we’ve helped clients across Washington, Osage, and Nowata counties determine whether their marriage is legally recognized — including cases involving common-law marriages and bigamy questions.

If you have doubts about the legality of your marriage, , give us a call today to schedule a consultation. We can review your situation and help ensure your marriage complies with Oklahoma law.

Photo courtesy of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding#/media/File:Armenian_Wedding_at_Khor_Virap_(1).jpg. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.