About $56 to $220 for the license and ceremony fee. Below: witnesses and certified copies at eight big-city courthouses, each read on the official page, then three all-in budgets that add a photographer, rings and dinner.
Quick answer
A courthouse wedding costs about $56 to $220 for the legal part at the eight big-city courts we checked in November 2026: the marriage license ($35 to $102) plus the ceremony fee ($0 to about $120). Certified copies add $7 to $20 each. A photographer, rings and dinner are optional and set the real total.
Each row comes from the official city, county or court page linked under it, checked November 3, 2026. The paperwork total is the license plus the ceremony fee, before copies. Courts we could not confirm on an official page are left out.
| Courthouse | License | Ceremony fee | Paperwork total | Booking and payment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York CityOffice of the City Clerk | $35 | $25 | $60 | Appointment only through Project Cupid (nyc.gov/cupid), no walk-ins. Pay by card, debit card or money order. Bring at least one witness over 18; no more than 6 attendees. Marry at least 24 hours after the license is issued; it stays valid for 60 days.Copies: Ordered separately from the City Clerk |
| Los Angeles CountyRegistrar-Recorder/County Clerk | $91 public, $85 confidential | $35 civil ceremony | $126 (public) or $120 (confidential) | No witness with you? The county provides one for $20. A friend can officiate with a $75 Deputy Commissioner for a Day appointment.Copies: $19 per certified copy |
| Cook County (Chicago)County Clerk for the license, Circuit Court for the ceremony | $60 | $10 administrative fee | $70 | Chicago (119 W. Randolph St., lower level): walk-in Tuesday to Friday, 9 a.m. to noon and 2 to 4 p.m.; Saturday mornings by appointment; Zoom ceremonies on Mondays, booked by phone. The license must be at least one day and at most 60 days old. Rolling Meadows and Bridgeview take the $10 in cash only.Copies: Ordered from the County Clerk |
| Clark County (Las Vegas)Marriage License Bureau and Office of Civil Marriages | $102 | $75 at the Office of Civil Marriages | $177 | The civil ceremony is paid by credit or debit card only, and card payments carry a 2% plus $1.25 processing fee per transaction.Copies: $20 per certified marriage certificate |
| Miami-Dade CountyClerk of the Court, Marriage License Bureau | $86, or $61 with a premarital course | $30 ceremony fee | $116, or $91 with the course | Florida residents wait three days after the license unless they took a premarital course of at least 4 hours; couples from outside Florida have no wait.Copies: $9 for the first copy, $7 for each additional |
| Maricopa County (Phoenix area)Clerk of Superior Court for the license, Justice Courts for the ceremony | $98 | Set by each judge, usually $100 to $120, cash only | About $198 to $218 | Walk-ins welcome and nearly all weddings take place after 5 p.m., but the doors lock at 5, so arrive before 4:30. Two witnesses aged 18 or over. The license can be used the same day and lasts one year.Copies: Ordered from the Clerk of Superior Court |
| BostonRegistry Division for the license, City Clerk for the ceremony | $50 | $75 at City Hall, cash only | $125 | Appointments open 60 days ahead and the room holds up to 12 guests. Massachusetts needs no witness. There is a 3-day wait after you file; a court waiver costs $195.Copies: $12 in person, $14 by mail |
| Gwinnett County, GeorgiaProbate Court, Lawrenceville | $56, or $16 with premarital education | Free | $56, or $16 with the course | A Gwinnett County courthouse marriage takes place on most Friday afternoons at 75 Langley Drive in Lawrenceville, by online reservation. Check in 10 minutes early with the license and a government photo ID for each partner. No guest limit is stated.Copies: $10 per certificate |
Your state's license fee if it is not listed here: marriage license cost in all 50 states. San Francisco, Travis County and other courts were left out because their current ceremony fee could not be read on an official page.
Even a courthouse wedding has guests with phones. With Pix Wedding they scan a QR code and upload from the phone browser, no app or account. The names below are an example.
SHARED GALLERY
Emma & James
Built on Boston's official fees, because every paperwork line there is posted: $50 license, $75 ceremony, $12 per certificate copy. The extras are example amounts, not averages, so the lines add up and you can swap in your own quotes.
Every line is an official Boston fee. Massachusetts needs no witness, so bring guests only if you want them.
Only the $149 is an official fee. Swap the example amounts for your own quotes.
Twelve guests is exactly what the Boston City Hall room holds. Again, only the $149 is an official fee.
Same budgets in another city: swap the $149 for your court's paperwork total from the table. In Chicago it is $70 plus copies, in Las Vegas $177 plus $20 per certified copy. To plan the rest line by line, try the free wedding budget allocator.
The license and the ceremony fee are the two you always meet. These are the others that turn up on the official pages, with the amounts we found.
| Fee | Range found | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage license | $35 to $102 | New York City $35, Boston $50, Cook County $60, Miami-Dade $86, Los Angeles County $91 public, Maricopa $98, Clark County $102 |
| Ceremony fee | $0 to about $120 | Gwinnett free, Cook County $10, New York City $25, Miami-Dade $30, Los Angeles County $35, Boston and Las Vegas $75, Maricopa judges usually $100 to $120 |
| Witness | $0 to $20 | Los Angeles County supplies a witness for $20; Maricopa requires two adults, New York City at least one; Massachusetts requires none |
| Certified copies | $7 to $20 each | Miami-Dade $9 first and $7 each additional, Gwinnett $10, Boston $12 in person, Clark County $20, Philadelphia $15 when you apply or $40 later |
| Premarital course discount | $25 to $40 off | Miami-Dade $86 down to $61, Gwinnett $56 down to $16 |
| Card or cash rules | Small fees | Clark County adds 2% plus $1.25 per card payment; Boston, Maricopa, Rolling Meadows and Bridgeview take the ceremony fee in cash only |
| Skipping the wait | Up to $195 | A Massachusetts court waiver of the 3-day wait costs $195 |
| A friend officiates | $75 | Los Angeles County Deputy Commissioner for a Day |
Philadelphia copy prices from the City of Philadelphia; every other amount comes from the courthouse table above.
A QR code on a small card lets courthouse guests add their photos of the vows and the steps outside to one shared album from their phone browser, no app needed.
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By a wide margin. The average US wedding cost $34,200 in The Knot 2026 Real Weddings Study. Even the illustrative courthouse-plus-dinner budget above, at $2,649, is under a tenth of that, and the paperwork alone is a few hundred dollars at most.
Watch
CBS Los Angeles reports on couples who choose a courthouse ceremony as the cost of hosting a wedding keeps climbing, in under three minutes.
Video: CBS LA, "Couples opt for courthouse ceremonies as wedding costs rise". Average: The Knot 2026 Real Weddings Study.
An elopement can happen at a courthouse, so the two overlap. Zola puts eloping anywhere from a few hundred dollars for a simple courthouse ceremony to several thousand for a destination, and most couples spend $2,500 to $8,000. The gap comes from what you add: a photographer, travel and a scenic location instead of a courtroom.
License plus ceremony fee at the eight courts in the table above, checked November 2026.
What most couples spend to elope, per Zola (updated February 2026). Photography is usually the biggest line.
Average US wedding in The Knot 2026 Real Weddings Study.
Sources: Zola: How much does it cost to elope?, The Knot 2026 Real Weddings Study and the court pages in the fee table.
The fee is the easy part. These are the rules that decide whether the day runs smoothly, taken from the same court pages.
New York City and Boston work by appointment (Boston opens slots 60 days ahead), Gwinnett by online reservation, and Chicago and Maricopa take walk-ins. Maricopa names Valentine's Day, Halloween and New Year's Eve as its busiest dates.
Rules differ by state. Maricopa asks for two witnesses aged 18 or over, New York City at least one over 18, Massachusetts needs none, and Los Angeles County supplies one for $20.
Do you need a witness to get married?The ceremony itself takes about 15 to 20 minutes: Joy times a simple civil ceremony at 15 to 20 minutes, and the Sugar Land, Texas municipal court says its courthouse ceremonies typically last around 20. The security line, check-in and waiting room take longer. Cook County asks you to arrive at least 30 minutes before closing, Gwinnett 10 minutes before your slot, and Maricopa before 4:30 p.m.
How long a wedding ceremony lasts, by typeCheck the method before you go. The Las Vegas ceremony is card only, while Boston, Maricopa, Rolling Meadows and Bridgeview take the ceremony fee in cash only. New York City takes cards, debit cards or a money order.
The marriage license, your witnesses where the court needs them (two adults in Maricopa, one in New York City) and the ceremony fee in the form the court takes: cash in Boston, Maricopa, Rolling Meadows and Bridgeview, a card in Las Vegas.
Documents you need to get marriedThe New York City Clerk allows no more than 6 attendees, Boston City Hall holds up to 12 guests and the Skokie courthouse near Chicago up to 15. Gwinnett states no limit. Ask your court before you invite a crowd.
None of the court pages we read sets a dress code. Think about the room: a long train or a big skirt is awkward in a small courtroom and a security line.
The ceremony itself
About 15 to 20 minutes. The security line, check-in and waiting room take longer.
Many courthouse couples skip the photographer, or book one for an hour. The rest of the pictures come from the guests: twelve people in a small room means twelve phones, each holding a different angle of the vows, the steps outside and the dinner after.
Print it on a small card or show it on a phone. Guests scan it and upload from the phone browser, with no app and no account.
Pix Wedding collects the photos and videos in one shared album in full resolution, so nobody has to chase a group chat.
The free tier takes up to 20 guest uploads. Paid plans are one-time payments of $44, $54 or $84, not a subscription.
This guide covers the courthouse day. Sibling guides go deeper on the single fees and steps inside it.
This page covers the courthouse day; the license fee in every state, with discounts and waiting periods, lives there.
If you would rather hire a justice of the peace or a private officiant than use the court, their fees are compared there.
The steps from applying to returning the signed license.
Age, ID, residency and witness rules state by state.
Getting guest photos from a Vegas courthouse or chapel wedding.
How to bring the people who could not come into the album.
Just married
City Hall, 11 a.m.
Guests scan a QR code after the vows and upload from their phone browser, no app needed. 20 guest uploads free, no card.
From Mom
Scan to join the album
No app, no account
UPLOADING
THE ALBUM
June 21, 2026
647 photos · 95 guests
SCAN TO TRY
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your-wedding
The thing that sold me was no app download. I knew half my guests wouldnt download an app but every single person can scan a QR code and upload from their browser. That design decision alone made this work for us. 87 of 100 guests uploaded something 😭
Puerto Rico wedding, half the family flew in from the mainland. The album has the rehearsal dinner at the old fort, the beach ceremony, the reception in Old San Juan. My abuela left three voice messages in the audio guestbook and hearing her say bendiciones in there makes me cry every time 🫶
Oldest city in America vibes. Our guests uploaded photos of the venue architecture, the courtyard, the Spanish moss. The album is half wedding half historic tour and i am so here for it
Each state sets its license rules and each county or city sets what its own clerk or court charges to perform the ceremony. That is why the same short ceremony is free in Gwinnett County, $10 in Chicago, $35 in Los Angeles and $75 in Boston and Las Vegas, and why Maricopa County leaves the fee to each judge.
The license is the one fixed cost everywhere. The full state list, with premarital course discounts and waiting periods, is on the marriage license cost page; this page adds the ceremony fee, copies and the day itself.
Most of the money in a courthouse wedding goes to what you add after the fees. Decide early which extras matter to you.
Everything you need to make your wedding day stress-free and unforgettable.
Compare wedding costs by city.
Turn your total into a category-by-category plan.
The best way to collect guest photos.
Month-by-month planning checklist.
Write "banger" vows in seconds.
Banger toasts for Best Man & more.
Straight answers to the questions people ask most about this topic.
A courthouse wedding is about $56 to $220 for the legal part at the eight big-city courts we checked in November 2026: the license ($35 to $102) plus the ceremony fee ($0 to about $120). Gwinnett County, Georgia is the lowest at $56 with a free ceremony, New York City comes to $60, Chicago $70, Boston $125, Las Vegas $177 and Maricopa County about $198 to $218.
Yes. A courthouse wedding is a civil ceremony, and with a valid license it is as legal as any other wedding. In Cook County a judge marries you, in Boston the City Clerk. It becomes official once the signed license is recorded: Boston mails you a certified copy after its Registry processes the license, and Cook County's Maywood courthouse has copies 10 to 14 business days after the ceremony.
It depends on the state. Maricopa County, Arizona asks for two witnesses aged 18 or over, Massachusetts requires none, and Los Angeles County supplies a witness for $20 if you come without one. Check your county page before the day.
In some places. A Maricopa County license can be used the day it is issued. New York City needs 24 hours, Cook County at least one day, and Boston three days unless a court waives the wait for $195. Florida residents in Miami-Dade wait three days unless they took a premarital course.
Yes, within the room size. Boston City Hall holds up to 12 guests and the Skokie courthouse in Cook County up to 15. Gwinnett states no limit. Small rooms still fill with phones, so a shared album with a QR code collects every guest photo in one place.
Pick a court with a low or free ceremony fee and take a premarital course where it lowers the license. In Gwinnett County, Georgia the ceremony is free and the license drops from $56 to $16 with premarital education. In Miami-Dade the course cuts the license from $86 to $61.
