Florida Keys Marriage License: What Out of State Couples Need

No waiting period for out of state couples, $86, valid 60 days. The Monroe County requirements for a Florida Keys wedding, in plain terms.

By Michael Willis · Last reviewed 2026-09-10.

The one thing most couples get wrong

You have probably read that Florida has a three day waiting period. For you, it almost certainly does not.

Monroe County applies the three day wait only when both applicants are Florida residents. If both of you live out of state, there is no waiting period at all. You can collect the license and marry the same day.

If one of you is a Florida resident, completing a Florida premarital preparation course removes the wait.

Source: Monroe County Clerk of Courts.

What it costs

$86.00.

$61.00 if both applicants are Florida residents and have completed a registered Florida premarital preparation course. Out of state couples pay the full $86.00 and, in exchange, skip the wait entirely.

How long it lasts

Sixty days from the effective date. That is the window most destination couples plan around: collect it when you arrive, or on an earlier scouting trip, as long as the wedding falls inside sixty days.

If the license expires unused, you buy another one.

What to bring

A valid photo ID showing your date of birth. A driver's license, passport, student ID, military ID or alien registration card all qualify.

Both applicants must be eighteen or older.

If either of you has been married before, you need the exact date the last marriage ended, whether by death, divorce or annulment. Not the month, the date. You do not generally need to produce the decree itself, but you do need the date, and guessing at the counter is how couples end up making a second trip.

There is no blood test requirement in Florida.

Where to go

Three Monroe County Clerk offices issue licenses:

Key West · Marathon · Plantation Key

Walk-ins are accepted, but appointments are preferred. If you are arriving the day before your wedding, book one. A Tuesday in February at the Key West office is not the same experience as a Tuesday in September.

Planning around it

The sixty day window and the absence of a waiting period together mean the license is rarely the thing that constrains a Keys wedding. It is one errand on arrival day, not a reason to arrive early.

What does catch couples out is the office being closed. County offices keep county hours, which means no evenings and no weekends. If you land Friday evening for a Saturday wedding, the license needed to have been collected earlier.

Who performs the ceremony

Florida requires the ceremony be solemnized by an authorised person: a notary public, a judicial officer, or an ordained minister of a recognized denomination.

Last reviewed and sourced against Monroe County Clerk of Courts published requirements. Requirements change. Confirm with the Clerk before traveling.

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