In 63 of Louisiana's 64 parishes, the clerk of court issues marriage licenses and records the completed marriage, so a certified copy of a marriage record comes from the clerk of the parish that issued the license. Orleans Parish is the exception: licenses there are issued by the Louisiana Department of Health's Vital Records office (or a city court judge), LDH keeps Orleans marriage records for 50 years, and older Orleans records are at the Louisiana State Archives. The Louisiana Department of Health does not hold marriage records from any other parish.
Who issues marriage licenses in Louisiana
State law says a marriage license must be issued by the state registrar of vital records or a judge of the city court in Orleans Parish, by the clerk of court in every other parish, or by a district judge when the clerk of court is a party to the marriage (La. R.S. 9:221(A)). A license "may be issued in any parish, regardless of where the ceremony is to be performed or the parties reside" (R.S. 9:222).
That second rule explains a common search problem. The marriage record lives with the office that issued the license, which is not always the parish where the couple lived or where the wedding took place. If a couple from Pineville bought their license in Natchitoches and married in Alexandria, the record is with the Natchitoches Parish Clerk of Court, not the Rapides clerk.
What you need to apply for a license
State law sets the baseline, and each clerk adds its own procedures.
Documents. Each application must include a certified copy of each party's birth certificate (or a judge's order waiving it), any required consent or court authorization for a minor, the covenant marriage declaration if the couple chooses one, and a valid, unexpired driver's license, government identification card, or passport, or an unexpired visa with Form I-94 (R.S. 9:225(A)). For people born in Louisiana, "A short-form birth certification card shall be acceptable" (R.S. 9:226). People born elsewhere in the United States need a copy under the raised seal or stamp of the issuing vital records office, and people born abroad have added requirements, including a sworn English translation if needed.
Age. No license may be issued for a minor under sixteen, and none for a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old when the age difference between the parties is three years or more (R.S. 9:221(B)).
Timing. The license shows the exact date and time it was issued (R.S. 9:234). An officiant may not perform the ceremony until 24 hours have passed since issuance (R.S. 9:241). A judge, justice of the peace, or retired justice of the peace authorized to perform the marriage may waive that delay on application of the parties "giving serious and meritorious reasons" (R.S. 9:242). Some older pages online still describe a 72-hour wait; the current statute says 24 hours. The license is valid for thirty days, and no officiant may perform a marriage after it expires (R.S. 9:235).
Out-of-state weddings. LDH says marriage licenses purchased in Louisiana may not be used for a ceremony outside Louisiana.
Local procedures. Clerks differ on details that matter on the day you go:
- The Avoyelles clerk says only one applicant needs to be present if that person brings all required documents, requires birth certificates with a raised seal for both applicants, and asks that foreign-language birth certificates be translated by the country's consulate.
- The Vernon clerk says both applicants must be present and must arrive before 4:00 p.m.
- The Catahoula clerk asks applicants to come in no later than 4:00 p.m. to allow time for the application.
Applying online. eClerks LA, the clerks' statewide portal, offers an online marriage license application for participating parishes. Applicants still must bring their documents to the clerk's office within 30 days to finalize it, and eClerks LA notes that fees vary by parish.
What a license costs
There is no single statewide price. A statute allows district clerks to charge a fifteen-dollar fee for issuing a marriage license and five dollars for each copy, in addition to their other fees (R.S. 13:841(D)), but the total depends on the parish. Posted prices when viewed in October 2026:
| Office | License fee posted | Notes from the office |
|---|---|---|
| Rapides clerk | $27.50 cash or $28.05 by credit card | Non-refundable |
| Avoyelles clerk | $27.50 cash or money order | Card payments add a 4% fee |
| Catahoula clerk | $27.50 | $5.00 for a one-day waiver; certified copy $10.00 |
| Vernon clerk | $40.00 | Both applicants must appear |
| Orleans (LDH Marriage License Office) | $27.50 | Certified copies of the certificate $5.00 |
The Rapides Parish Clerk of Court, Avoyelles Parish Clerk of Court, and Vernon Parish Clerk of Court pages link those offices. For other parishes, use the Louisiana Clerks of Court directory and confirm the current fee with the clerk before you go.
Covenant marriage
Louisiana couples can choose a covenant marriage, which state law describes as a marriage entered into by one male and one female who understand and agree that the marriage "is a lifelong relationship," after premarital counseling. The couple chooses it on the license application and signs a declaration of intent that is filed with the official who issues the license. A covenant marriage ends only for the causes listed in Civil Code article 101, divorce is available "only upon one of the exclusive grounds enumerated in R.S. 9:307," and it cannot be ended by mutual consent (R.S. 9:272). LDH explains that the declaration and the counselor's attestation are presented with the application, and that couples who are already married may later designate their marriage a covenant marriage. The Vernon clerk posts a Louisiana Covenant Marriage Act document among the forms on its marriage license page.
After the wedding: how the record is made
The officiant gives one copy of the marriage certificate to the couple and, within ten days, files the other two copies with the clerk of court who issued the license. That clerk forwards a copy to the state registrar of vital records by the fifteenth of each month (R.S. 9:253). Each issuing office also keeps a bound duplicate record of the licenses it issued, open to public inspection during office hours (R.S. 9:252).
Some clerks add a step for the couple. The Rapides clerk says to wait at least 10 days after the wedding, then have one party bring in their white copy to be recorded and sealed, and notes that this copy can be used for name changes on Social Security and driver's license records.
Getting a copy of a marriage record
Outside Orleans, request a certified copy from the clerk of court in the parish that issued the license. LDH puts it directly: "If you need a certified copy of a marriage record from another parish, you must contact the Clerk of Court in that parish." In October 2026 the Rapides clerk listed certified copies of a previously recorded license at $6.00 each and regular copies at $1.00, and the Catahoula clerk listed certified copies at $10.00.
Indexes help you find the right parish first:
- eClerks LA. The free Statewide Portal (account required) indexes marriage licenses across parishes. Images usually require a parish subscription.
- Rapides. RAPID E-Search includes a marriage license index from January 1865, without images.
- Natchitoches. The clerk's Clerk Connect records include marriages from June 4, 2011.
For family history, older records are often researched in person. Vernon's genealogy page says most of that parish's records begin in 1871, lists marriages among the records researchers can use, and says the research is done at the clerk's office. The Natchitoches clerk's recording department page points researchers to its Genealogy Office in the Old Natchitoches Parish Courthouse, reachable by phone from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Orleans Parish marriage records
Orleans runs on a different system. LDH says "The Orleans Parish Marriage License Office is located at Benson Tower, 1450 Poydras Street, Suite 407," and issues licenses from 8:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding state holidays. Its licenses are valid in any Louisiana parish. LDH says licenses can only be purchased there and that no officiants perform marriages at the office. Judges of the First or Second City Court may waive the 24-hour period for Louisiana residents during their weekday hours, and a registered Orleans officiant may waive it when both parties live outside Louisiana and the ceremony is in Orleans.
For copies of Orleans marriage records:
- Up to 50 years old. LDH's Vital Records Registry keeps marriage records only for licenses bought in Orleans, and it keeps them for 50 years. You can order certified copies in person at the Vital Records Central Office (walk-in hours 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.), by mail (LDH says to allow about 8 to 10 weeks), or through VitalChek for an extra fee.
- Older than 50 years. These are at the Louisiana State Archives, which searches and certifies Orleans marriages more than 50 years from the end of the current calendar year. It listed photocopies at $5 and certified copies at $10 each by mail in October 2026.
The Orleans Parish Clerk of Court does not issue marriage licenses, and the First and Second City Courts mentioned above are described on the Louisiana courts overview. For a record of how a marriage ended, see Louisiana divorce records; the Louisiana court records page explains how clerks' records work more generally.