How to Get Married Online

Before you begin

What you need for an online Utah marriage

The process

How to get married online, step by step

1. 01

   Confirm that online marriage fits your intended use

   Before paying for a license or ceremony, decide where the marriage certificate will be used. For most ordinary U.S. purposes, the relevant question is generally whether the marriage was valid where celebrated. International recognition, immigration, military benefits, licensing, and religious recognition may apply different rules.

   If either partner lives outside the United States or the marriage is connected to an immigration filing, ask the receiving government authority or a qualified lawyer whether a Utah remote-appearance marriage will meet its requirements.

2. 02

   Apply together for a Utah County marriage license

   Complete one application as a couple through the official Utah County application. Each applicant completes and digitally signs their section. The county uses a smartphone-based process to scan each applicant’s government-issued photo ID and face for identity verification.

   Applicants who will not physically be in Utah during the ceremony must accept the county’s additional remote-appearance affidavits. Provide accurate legal, address, identity, and family information. The application becomes part of the county’s official marriage record.

3. 03

   Receive and send the digital license

   After the application is approved and paid, Utah County emails instructions for accessing the digital license. Use the county workflow to send the unique license link to your officiant. Do not share the private license link publicly.

   Check every name and date carefully before the ceremony. Corrections after filing may require a separate county process and fee.

4. 04

   Choose an authorized officiant and ceremony time

   Simply Married Online offers one ceremony option where the couple provides both adult witnesses and another where we arrange both witnesses. Review current pricing and availability before booking. Ceremony charges are separate from all county and document fees.

   Your assigned officiant’s full name and authority title are provided privately in the booking confirmation.

5. 05

   Arrange two adult witnesses and working video

   Choose two witnesses who are at least 18, or select the option in which Simply Married Online provides both witnesses. Witnesses do not need to be with the couple or with each other. Confirm that every required participant has a working camera, microphone, speaker, and reliable internet connection. Everyone must participate live; a recording or audio-only call does not replace real-time appearance.

   Have identification available if requested by the officiant. Join from a quiet, well-lit place where faces can be seen and declarations can be heard.

6. 06

   Attend the live ceremony

   The officiant confirms the participants, states Utah’s required remote-appearance warning, obtains each partner’s willing declaration of intent, and pronounces the couple married in the presence of the two witnesses. The legal ceremony is brief and uses a fixed script. Personal vows and a ring exchange are not included. A celebration can take place separately afterward.

7. 07

   Officiant submits the marriage electronically

   After the declarations, the officiant enters the ceremony information and witness names, digitally signs, and submits the certificate through Utah County’s system. Utah law requires the officiant submission within 30 days, although prompt submission is the normal practice.

8. 08

   Receive and order the documents you need

   Utah County says couples generally receive the digital certificate shortly after the officiant submits the record, and paper delivery then begins according to the options selected in the application. Certified copies, expedited shipping, apostilles, authentications, translations, and foreign registration are separate document processes.

Budget & timing

How much does it cost, and how long does it take?

County fees are nonrefundable and can change. Verify the exact amount during the official application. The live ceremony itself is approximately five minutes, but the full process also includes application, identity verification, approval, scheduling, preparation, filing, and document delivery.

Utah legal requirements

What makes the ceremony valid under Utah law?

According to Utah County’s officiant guidance, the essential conditions include:

• A valid Utah marriage license used before its 32-day expiration.
• An officiant with legal authority to solemnize marriages in Utah.
• The officiant physically located in Utah, with that city and county recorded as the ceremony location.
• Each partner willingly declaring an intent to enter the marriage.
• The officiant pronouncing the couple married.
• Two witnesses age 18 or older observing the declarations and pronouncement.
• For remote appearance, all required people seeing and hearing one another live.
• The officiant stating Utah’s required international-validity warning immediately before the ceremony.
• The officiant accurately completing and signing the electronic submission.

Is Simply Married Online part of Utah County?

No. Simply Married Online is an independent ceremony service. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Utah County. Utah County issues the license and maintains the marriage record; the independent officiant conducts the scheduled ceremony and submits the ceremony information.

Does an online ceremony change the legal marriage date?

The marriage date is the date the valid ceremony occurs—not the application date, booking date, or date a paper copy arrives.

Outside the United States

Will another country recognize an online Utah marriage?

Do not assume that it will. Utah law requires officiants to warn that an online remote-appearance marriage may be invalid in the country where the parties reside. Recognition is controlled by the law and policy of the country or authority where the marriage will be used, not by Utah County or Simply Married Online.

Before booking, ask the relevant civil-registry office, embassy or consulate, benefits administrator, or qualified family-law attorney:

• Does the jurisdiction recognize a marriage conducted by live remote appearance?
• Must one or both partners have been physically present together?
• Must the marriage be registered locally after the ceremony?
• Is a certified paper copy required?
• Is an apostille or Utah authentication required?
• Is a certified translation required?

What does an apostille do?

An apostille or authentication verifies the official origin of a public document. The Utah Lieutenant Governor’s Authentications Office expressly explains that authentication verifies origin, not the document’s contents. It does not force a foreign government to recognize the marriage or cure an underlying recognition problem.

Immigration caution

Can an online marriage be used for U.S. immigration?

This requires individualized legal advice. USCIS materials explain that a ceremony where the spouses were not physically present together may be analyzed under federal proxy-marriage rules. Federal immigration law can require post-ceremony consummation before such a marriage qualifies for certain spousal immigration purposes—even when the marriage is valid under the law of the place of celebration.

Do not treat a Utah certificate alone as proof that every immigration requirement is satisfied. Before using an online marriage for a petition, visa, adjustment, derivative status, or other immigration benefit, consult a qualified U.S. immigration attorney and the current USCIS Policy Manual. Simply Married Online and Utah County do not determine federal immigration eligibility.

Clear answers

Frequently asked questions