Marriage licenses in Illinois are handled locally, and the details that matter — the fee, the wait, how long the license lasts — are set by state law. This page collects the statewide rules from Illinois’s own official sources, then links every county guide we have verified so far.
The statewide rules
- Who issues the license: County Clerk (750 ILCS 5/203)
- License fee: Not uniform – fee is paid to the county clerk and amounts are set at county level (statute states a fee is paid; no Statewide amount)
- Waiting period: License effective 1 day after issuance; a court may order it effective when issued (750 ILCS 5/207)
- License validity: Expires 60 days after becoming effective (750 ILCS 5/207)
- Witnesses: None required under state statute
- Minimum age: 18; 16-17 with consent of both parents/guardian or judicial approval
- Residency / where to apply: No residency requirement; license is effective in the county where issued and ceremony should be in the issuing county (an inadvertent other-county solemnization does not invalidate the marriage)
- Who can officiate: Judge of a court of record, retired judge, Court of Claims judge, county clerk in counties of 2,000,000+ inhabitants (Cook County only), public official whose powers include solemnizing marriages, mayor or village president in office, or a minister/religious denomination or Indian Nation or Tribe (750 ILCS 5/209)
- Courthouse ceremonies: Judges can solemnize; the county clerk may solemnize only in Cook County (2,000,000+ inhabitants)
Illinois counties in this directory
We have published 28 verified county guides for Illinois so far. License fees on the verified county pages currently run from $30 to $90. 9 of them publish a separate ceremony fee. Browse them all: Browse all Illinois county guides — and use the search on the homepage to jump straight to your county.
Source for the statewide rules: https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ILCS/details?MajorTopic&Chapter&ActName=Illinois+Marriage+and+Dissolution+of+Marriage+Act&ActID=2086&ChapterID=59&ChapAct=750+ILCS+5%2F&SeqStart=900000&SeqEnd=3137500&Print=True (checked 2026-11-09). County figures are checked separately against each county’s own official page and carry their own verified dates. Always confirm with your county clerk before you go — this is not a government site.