Office Of The City Clerk

We did it! Hooray!
Let’s get down to brass tax:
Do get there early for doors.
Do have your forms pre filled.
Do bring your own flowers.
Do bring a group of friends.
Do be nice the staff because they rock their jobs!
Thank you City Clerk!

Wedding in November 2^nd (on a Monday — lunch time). So once you have your Marriage License you can go and get married.
Good to know:
— there are no appointments. they have a queueing system (like DMV). checkin at the front desk, receive a number
— the waiting time between front desk and the other desk where you need to sign the papers was for apx. 30 minutes. (and we had apx 4 other people in front of us)
— the waiting time for the Chapel (there are 2 chapels and that day only one «working») was apx 30 minutes.
— try not to go Fridays … I guess in the autumn is not that crowded but still the total waiting time was for apx 1h.
— the ceremony takes apx. 3 minutes :) and after that you receive your Marriage Certificate without having to wait again at another line /​desk
— nice area, with couches and chairs… you can use the waiting time to take pictures
— chapel — I think it’s for a group of max. 30 (we were around 15)
— inside they have a flower shop — I already had a bouquet but if you don’t have one they had some pretty options
Nice to have:
— appointments :)
— open in weekends

Awesome and efficient place to get married…
The fluorescent lighting could be improved to a more flattering one. It made it challenging for the wedding photographer.

Omg I can’t describe you how much I was happy when I went there with my husband. Beautiful and friendly front desk. Except the lady who was registering us. She was so sleepy actually. But idc. It was good experience

Arrived at noon on the Friday before Labor Day weekend and we had our marriage license by 1:15pm. We had filled out the form online before going — highly recommend doing that. The woman behind the desk told us the fastest times to be there are Tues-​Thurs before 10:30am. Everything was well organized and it was fun to see all the couples there to get married. Everyone looked really happy — made me almost wish we were getting married there too (we just came to get our license). They also told us you can mail your license in once you’re married (you have to do so within 5 days) or you can go back in person with it and they’ll issue you your marriage certificate on the spot (but you have to get a number and wait in line again).

Do as I say, not as I do. Do not drive here regardless of time. We left an hour early and traffic was horrendous on a Wednesday morning. Parking was even worse. We ended up parking by canal street.
Application cost $ 35 and it’s best if you fill it out online the day before. I was not aware of this BUT YOU MUST WAIT A SOLID 24 HOURS BEFORE ACTUALLY GETTING MARRIED. Meaning that you have to show up, pay $ 35, wait 24 hours and come back the following day to get married.
I did not know this but I was still determined to get married on May 20^th (520 in Chinese means I LOVE YOU, chessy, i know). They sent me across the street to see a Judge and have him waive the time frame. Came back to city hall, pay another $ 50 and boom! We’re married!
Even though witness is required for every couple, no worries. There’s definitely a couple there who also doesnt have a witness and you guys can witness each other’s ceremony. That’s exactly what I did. Or ask the camera man standing outside and pay him $ 30. He’s always there for last resort.
By the front desk, avoid the Chinese lady. She will not allow couples to witness each other for whatever reason. I asked the gentleman afterwards, and he said that’s not a problem at all!

Four years later, I am still photographing beautiful wedding ceremonies at this location. Every ceremony I capture has a special place in my heart. The wait times varies by day and the routine stays the same. No wedding is too big or too small for me. I love them all. I look forward to photographing many more for many more years!

I got married here this past week on a Tuesday around noon. The wait was not that bad even though it was crowded, we were done in about half an hour. They also have a selection of flowers you can buy at the gift shop which is a nice additional touch.

I can’t believe how easy it is to get a marriage license. I was getting ready for a «DMV meets an Ironman contest» –type experience, but basically me and my fiancée walked in at 8:35 on a Tuesday morning. We checked in and immediately got our number called (we were #7). By 8:45 we got our license and were out. Bada-​bing-​bada-​boom.

Super super easy to get in and get out with your marriage license if you do your homework ahead of time (including reading the reviews!).
Went on a Tuesday because I read that Mon and Fri are the busiest days. Got there right at 8:30AM and we were the ninth couple in the queue for our license. I panicked a little when we first got there because it looked packed, but almost everyone there were guests of a couple getting married, so once their number was called, they cleared out right quick.
We were out of there before 9AM, it was glorious. The clerks were very friendly and straight-​forward. Neither of us had ever been married before and we both have NYS identification, so it might be more difficult if you need more paperwork. But if you do the e-​application before you get there, you really can get in and out in a breeze.

Very efficient and nice. We were in and out within 30 minutes.

Was impressed with the efficiency and overall pleasurable experience here.
My only advice would be to expand the bathrooms, as one-​stall is not a lot of space for day-​of shit jitters.

We ascended the stairs and stumbled into the turnstile with a marriage license application in hand, impervious to the disapproval of our families. Less than 24 hours left in New York left us less than 24 hours to elope in a state that would allow us to do it before embarking on the schlep back to our pro-​Prop 8 state (at the time). An ambitious undertaking to say the least, considering: 1) We had no marriage license, just the online application that my other half completed on an iPhone the night prior after knocking back several pints, 2) We had no witness, just each other and a fantastical idea that everything would just fall into place, 3) We were limited on time – three hours to be exact – since we had someone else’s wedding and reception to celebrate in Midtown, and 4) New York mandates that you wait a full 24 hours before your marriage ceremony can be performed following the issuance of a marriage license, unless you have a judicial waiver.
In spite of our precarious predicament, we strolled into the city clerk’s office with the intent of descending those city clerk stairs as two married women. Thanks to the efficiency and patience of the city agents we encountered in a span of three hours, we did just that. Thank you, New York for marrying us!
To those time-​constrained elopers or marriage-​on-​a-​whim readers disheartened by the negative reviews posted herein, let me inject a bit of encouragement into your day. It’s possible! If your intent is to log off Unilocal and head down to the city clerk’s office right now or tomorrow morning, here are some tips.
1) Try to wait until tomorrow morning if you can help it, provided that it’s a weekday. As previously mentioned, we began the process online the night prior and printed out our license app confirmation. We also headed down to the clerk’s office when they opened at 8:30am. Both decisions resulted in little wait. Surprisingly little, considering this is Manhattan.
2) Don’t forget your government-​issued ID. And $ 35 in credit card or money order. And a witness. We didn’t have a witness, but we were told that we could have asked a random stranger there to be one, who would most likely be there to get married, too. People will help each other out. In our case, we got lucky. A judge who had finished up a trial early (and who has an affinity for marrying people) heard we didn’t have a witness and said he would marry us. His clerk was our witness.
3) Make sure you know what your last name (s) will be. This needs to be decided before you complete the final portion of your marriage license app at the clerk’s office.
4) The 24-​hour judicial waiver is not as difficult to get as you may think. We just told them we were flying out the following morning, which was true, but they didn’t ask for proof. they granted the waiver and we were married within two hours after that. If you don’t try, you need to wait 24 hours after you receive your license, which means returning to the clerk’s office the following day or within the following 60 days for a ceremony.
5) Maybe have something sweet to say if you end up in front of a judge like we did. We stood there holding each other’s hands and right after we said I do, the judge kind of put us on the spot to say something. We were a little tongue-​tied and brain farty from the feels.
6) Totally optional, but maybe bring rings. We didn’t think we needed them but on a whim while in a cab on the way to the clerk’s office, we decided to pop into the JCPenny in Manhattan Mall and scored two cheap white gold rings for $ 100. They were too big, but it felt good to have them when the judge went through our ceremony. We still wear them along with our more conventional rings, except we wear them on our thumbs.
7) Bring flats if you decide to wear heels. Especially if it’s going to rain. Eloping is cute. Descending those stairs in heels is not so cute.

Yup, it’s like the DMV over here! You can’t get a ticket until you, your future spouse and a witness are all checked in though, FYI. I think Mondays and Fridays are the busiest, so try to come mid-​week.
The workers here really don’t care that you’re getting married. When you come in for the «ceremony,» the guy just starts saying his lines, whether you’re ready or not, then walks on out when he’s done talking.

I have been meaning to write this review for ages! I got married here in October 2013, the process was easy and pretty painless. We got married the day after Columbus day so it was extremely busy .
I would definitely start the process online before you go, i had to get a waiver from the judge so we could marry the same day, we were leaving the next day to go to England.
A great place to get married and happy memories!
Tips:
Have ID and credit card for payment
For people from other countries be prepared afterwards to get some more paperwork completed
have a witness!

It’s like the DMV but everyone is dressed nicely. And the people working here are slightly nicer and more efficient than at the DMV.
Make sure to start your application online and bring your IDs with you along with form of payment.
Even if you end up having to wait a long time, it passes pretty quickly as you can spend that time peoplewatching.

Fast and efficient. Could use some improvements like more accessories and gifts from the gift shop, a photograph, some music, a bar (!), a fake crowd attending people wedding in case you want to, …

Overall not a bad experience at all! The staff was pretty friendly too!
We arrived at 8:20 on a Monday and got on line (there were maybe 30 couples ahead of us), got our ticket at 8:42 and were taken at 9:02! Then we were out the door pretty quickly with marriage license in hand!
Don’t forget to complete the application online beforehand and bring the confirmation number with you.

This was a surprisingly painless trip through city bureaucracy.
Perhaps working in this office is far less soul-​crushing than the DMV, if only because dealing with so many happy people must be uplifting on some level. All I know is the two people I had to deal with here were both friendly, efficient-​ish, and even offered smiles.
In terms of process, it’s simple:
You walk in, one of the folks in front will ask you what you need and give you a number. Then you wait.
Since the vast majority of folks are getting married, the people-​watching is excellent. There were weddings of all kinds,* and people were dressed in suits, tuxes, dresses, kilts, gowns, jeans, t-shirts…I even know a couple that did it in banana costumes, but regrettably I didn’t see any of those.
Once your number comes up, you head to the appropriate window and take care of business. All in all, it could be much, much worse.
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*I guess you could just break them down into gay weddings, and breeder weddings. Two kinds, at least.

My cousin wanted to get married on Valentine’s Day. I actually flew 3,000 miles to witness her special day. Why people want to get married on Vday boggles me. It’s such a lame holiday.
When we arrived at the courthouse, the place was a zoo. Apparently, my cousin wasn’t the only one that wanted to get married on Vday. There were simple brides and full on glammed up brides. I’ve never been to a courthouse wedding, so this was all new to me. You grab a number, sit and wait to pay the dues. Then you get another number to enter the ‘chapel’ where they have an officiant that does the ceremony. It was as romantic as getting a driver’s license at DMV.
Nonetheless, they just wanted to get married without all the glitz and glam. It was definitely no frills. Hey, as long as they are happy, that’s all that matters! Congrats!!!