Getting married in Maine when you live somewhere else
You can apply for the licence at any town office in the state, there's no waiting period, and one piece of paperwork catches people out every year.
Facts checked August 2026 against www.maine.gov.
Maine is one of the easier states in the country to marry in as a non-resident. Most of what people worry about — residency requirements, waiting periods, blood tests — does not apply here. What does catch people out is a single document and a rule about who is allowed to perform the ceremony.
Everything below is from the state's own guidance, checked in August 2026.
You can apply anywhere in the state
If neither of you lives in Maine, you may apply at any Maine town or city office. It does not have to be the town where the wedding happens, and it does not have to be near it.
That is the single most useful fact for a destination wedding here. If you are marrying at a barn an hour up a back road, you do not need to find that town's clerk during their four open hours a week. You can file in Portland the morning you land, or in whichever town you happen to be driving through.
The licence is then valid anywhere in Maine for 90 days from the date your intentions are filed.
If one of you is a Maine resident, the rule changes: you both apply in the town where that person lives.
What you actually have to do
You both have to appear in person at the town office. There is no mail or online option.
Bring:
- Photo ID. A driver's licence may be required.
- If either of you has been married before — a certified copy with a raised seal of the divorce decree, or the death certificate of your last spouse.
That second one is the item that ruins trips. A photocopy will not do. A PDF you downloaded will not do. It must be the certified copy with the raised seal, and if it has to come from another state's records office it can take weeks to arrive. Order it the moment you set a date, not the month before.
No blood test is required. There is no waiting period — that rule was removed, so if you read an older guide telling you to wait three days, it is out of date. You can file in the morning and marry in the afternoon.
The fee
Fees are set by each municipality rather than by the state, so there is no single number anyone can honestly quote you. Call the clerk where you plan to file and ask.
While you have them on the phone, ask two more things: their hours, and whether they take cards. A lot of small Maine town offices are open part-time and are cash-or-check only, and finding a locked door on a Wednesday afternoon after a ninety-minute drive is a genuinely common way to lose a day.
The rule that catches destination couples
This is the one to check before anything else.
Maine does not have Justices of the Peace. If you are from a state where booking a JP is the normal way to get married, that option does not exist here.
An out-of-state Notary or Justice of the Peace cannot legally officiate a wedding in Maine. Neither can a friend whose authority comes from another state, unless you have specifically confirmed it is recognised here.
Every year, couples ask a friend or relative to officiate, that person gets ordained or commissioned at home, and everyone assumes it carries across the border. Confirm it before anyone books a flight. There is more detail in who can legally marry you in Maine.
After the ceremony
The person who performs the ceremony files the marriage certificate with the town office that issued your licence. Not you, and not the venue.
If your officiant is coming from away, make sure they know this is their job, and that they know which office issued the licence. It is a small thing that is easy to leave undone when everyone scatters the next morning.
A sensible order to do this in
- Confirm your officiant's authority is valid in Maine. Everything else is straightforward; this is not.
- If either of you was married before, order the certified raised-seal document now.
- Pick a town office, call to check hours and payment, and file within 90 days of the wedding.
- Remind your officiant that they file the certificate afterwards.
Where the ceremony happens is a separate question
The licence lets you marry anywhere in Maine. It does not give you the right to use a particular place.
If you are marrying in Acadia National Park you will need a park permit as well, and there is a fee and a group size limit per location. Town beaches and state parks have their own rules. Ask the landowner, whoever that is, well before you ask the clerk.
This is general information rather than legal advice, and municipal practice varies. Confirm the detail with the clerk where you file.
This is general information, not legal advice. Rules and fees are set by individual towns and can change — confirm with the municipal clerk where you're marrying.