How to get a Kentucky marriage license in Louisville (Jefferson County)
By the Venue Answers team · · 2 min read
For a ceremony anywhere in Kentucky, you need a Kentucky license. In Jefferson County it costs $60 for everyone, it is issued the same day, and it expires 30 days later, counting the day you get it. Kentucky also requires two witnesses.
Is a Kentucky license the right one?
Only if your ceremony is in Kentucky. A Kentucky license is good anywhere in the state and nowhere else. If your venue is in New Albany, Jeffersonville, Corydon or anywhere else across the river, you need an Indiana license instead. How to get one.
Where to go in Louisville
Kentucky has no residency requirement, so you can apply at any Kentucky county clerk. There is no online pre-application; both of you go in person.
What to bring
- Both of you, in person.
- A driver's license, a current state photo ID or a passport for each of you.
- The $60 fee. Call ahead for accepted payment types.
Watch the 30-day window
This is where Kentucky catches people. The license expires 30 days after it is issued, and the day you pick it up counts as day one. Pick it up within two to three weeks of the wedding, not earlier. If your wedding gets postponed past the window, you will need a new license.
Who can officiate
Kentucky allows ministers and priests of any denomination in regular communion with a religious society, judges and justices (including retired ones), county judge-executives, and justices of the peace or fiscal court commissioners when authorized. A religious society can also solemnize a marriage at its usual place of worship without an officiating minister.
If a friend is officiating, confirm with the clerk that their credentials will be accepted before the wedding day.
Two witnesses
Kentucky requires at least two witnesses in addition to the couple and the officiant. Pick them ahead of time, usually two people from the wedding party, and make sure they sign.
Age
Both of you must be 18 or older. A 17-year-old may marry only with a District Court order. No one under 17 can marry in Kentucky.
Alcohol at a Kentucky venue
Most private wedding bars in Kentucky run through a licensed caterer. What is possible depends on whether the venue sits in wet, moist or dry territory. Louisville Metro is wet. Every venue page on this site lists the venue's own alcohol rule. Kentucky and Indiana rules side by side.
Fees and hours as published by the Jefferson County Clerk when we checked. Call before you go.