Blog · August 22, 2026
How to Fill In the Marriage License Application
Complete the application before your appointment, enter your country manually, and know what to do if you don't have a Social Security number.
The application itself is short, but a couple of fields trip up international applicants specifically. Handling them before your appointment saves time at the counter.
Fill it out before you arrive
Most counties let you complete the marriage license application online before your appointment. Do this in advance rather than at the counter: keep the confirmation number it gives you, since you’ll need it when you show up.
Enter your country manually
The application has a field for your country, and for international applicants this is a manual entry field, not something that auto-detects or defaults based on your address or ID. Make sure you fill it in correctly rather than assuming it’s inferred from your passport.
If you don’t have a Social Security number
US marriage license applications generally have a field for a Social Security number, which international applicants won’t have. In that situation, a notarized affidavit is required in its place: a standard, county-provided form, not something you draft yourself. See the SSN affidavit, explained for what it actually is, where to get it, and the two ways to handle the notarization (in advance, or on the spot with the deputy clerk at counties like El Paso that offer it).
This page is still thin and due for a deeper pass: screenshots walking through each county's actual online application system (they don't all look the same), a field-by-field walkthrough of the full form rather than just the two fields international applicants trip on, and a note that **some counties only offer a paper application**, not an online one, which changes the "fill it out before you arrive" advice above for those counties specifically. See where to print documents in Denver if you need to print a paper application (or anything else) without your own printer.
Quick recap
- Complete the application online before your appointment, if your county allows it.
- Save your confirmation number.
- Enter your country manually; don’t assume it’s auto-filled.
- No Social Security number? You’ll need a notarized affidavit; see the SSN affidavit, explained for the form itself and whether your county can notarize it on the spot.