Access Marion County Marriage Records

Apply for a Marriage License

Marion County marriage licenses are issued by the Marion County Clerk & Recorder at 555 Court St NE, Suite 2130, Salem, OR 97301. The office phone is 503-588-5225, and hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Applicants may complete the marriage license application online to save time, use the marriage worksheet, or complete a worksheet at the office. Both parties must appear in person to finish the application.

The marriage license fee is $60.00. Marion County accepts cash, check, or credit/debit card, and the research notes a $2.50 card payment fee. Certified copies are $4.00 each and can be pre-ordered when getting the license or bought after the completed license is returned. The County Clerk, not the Circuit Court Records Department, handles marriage licensing and certified marriage copies.

The County Clerk's licensing and recording office is separate from the Circuit Court Records Department. That split is central to Marion County marriage and divorce searches. Marriage license issuance, certified marriage copies, archive marriage indexes, and recorded-document searches belong with the County Clerk. Divorce cases, divorce judgments, and family court filings belong with Marion County Circuit Court. Starting with the wrong office can delay a copy request even when the record is public.

The Marion County marriage license page is the source for application, fee, waiting period, waiver, and ceremony rules.

Use that county page before applying because it includes local instructions that are not part of the Circuit Court divorce record process.

Marriage License Application Steps

The application process is practical but exact. Both parties must appear, identification rules apply, prior divorce information may be needed, and the license is not valid until the waiting period has passed unless a waiver is approved before issuance.

Applicants should complete as much of the worksheet or online application as possible before visiting, but the online step does not replace the in-person appearance. Parent information is part of the form, and birth names are preferred. If either party was previously divorced or had a dissolution, the final divorce or dissolution date is required. Certified copies can be pre-ordered at the same time, which can reduce a later copy request after the completed license is returned.

1. Complete the online application or marriage worksheet before visiting, if possible.
2. Both parties appear in person at the County Clerk & Recorder office.
3. Bring photo ID and required personal information for the application.
4. Provide the final divorce or dissolution date if either party was previously divorced or dissolved a domestic partnership.
5. Pay the license fee and any card fee if paying by card.
6. Request a waiting period waiver before issuance if needed.
7. Have the ceremony in Oregon within the valid license period, then return the completed license.

Waiting Period and Age Rules

Oregon marriage licenses have a three-day waiting period after payment and issuance before the license is valid. Once valid, the ceremony must occur within 60 days anywhere in Oregon. A Marion County license is not valid outside Oregon, and the county notes there are no time extensions or refunds after issuance. A waiting period waiver must be requested before issuance, and Marion County charges no local fee for the waiver.

Photo ID is required for both parties. The legal age is 18. As of January 1, 2026, 17-year-olds may no longer marry in Oregon, even with parental consent. Oregon does not allow marriage of first cousins or nearer kin. Marion County interprets the ORS 106.150 phrase "in the presence of" to mean both parties, the officiant, and two witnesses are physically in the same room or space throughout the ceremony.

Marriage Copy Fees

County Clerk fees are separate from Circuit Court divorce copy fees. The County Clerk fee schedule includes marriage licenses, certified marriage or domestic partnership copies, duplicate licenses, courthouse ceremonies, and veterans discharge copy rules. Certified marriage copy requests by mail require names on the record, number of copies, payment by check or money order to Marion County Clerk, and mailing instructions.

The certified marriage copy request form inventory in the research includes the request date, both names on the marriage record, number of certified copies, amount enclosed, and mailing instructions. Mailed requests go to the Marion County Clerk's Office, PO Box 14500, Salem, OR 97309-5036. The form notes a 10-day allowance if mailing to the Clerk's Office. Payment should be by check or money order payable to Marion County Clerk.

The County Clerk recording fee page provides the marriage and copy fee source used for Marion County marriage records.

Check the fee page before ordering because payment and copy fees are handled by the County Clerk office.

Historical Marriage Search

The County Clerk and Records and Archives side is useful for older Marion County marriage records. The research lists Search Marriage Licenses from 1849 to 1977, Search Recorded Documents from 1974 to present, Search Deeds from 1855 to 1976, Search Commissioners Court Journal from 1851 to 1984, and Board of Commissioners Archives from 2013 to present. These archive tools are county record tools, not divorce case searches.

Historical searches often need a different mindset than a current certified-copy order. The older marriage index can help identify a record for genealogy or archive research, while a certified copy request needs the names and copy count for the Clerk's current process. The Secretary of State and county archive context also explains why older Marion County records may appear in index, microfilm, or archive systems instead of a modern case search. The County Records Management contact uses the same 555 Court Street NE county office address and the 503-588-5225 phone line.

The Marion County recorded documents and marriage application portal supports county-record searches and online marriage application access.

Historical marriage searches may require archive indexes, while recent certified copies are ordered through the Clerk's current licensing and recording process.

Find Marion County Divorce Records

Divorce records are Circuit Court family records, not County Clerk marriage-license records. Public divorce case information may be found through OJD free records search or OJCIN when the case is public. Copies of filed divorce judgments and case documents go through the Marion Circuit Court Records Department. Certified divorce judgments should be requested by case number and exact document name.

Oregon Vital Records may have divorce certificates or statistical records, but the court file and judgment are with Circuit Court. Marion Circuit Court's records process asks requesters to identify the case number and exact documents or hearing dates. If a divorce case is sealed or contains protected family information, public access may be limited or redacted.

For a divorce copy request, the strongest path is to search the public case information first, then contact the Records Department with the case number. OJCIN can be useful when the free search does not show enough Register of Actions detail. The Marion Circuit Court Records Department handles copies at the courthouse records office and through records requests. Requesters should ask for the specific judgment, order, or hearing audio needed rather than asking for a general divorce file, because family cases may contain confidential or redacted material.

Certified and exemplified Circuit Court copies follow the court-copy fee schedule, not the County Clerk marriage fee table. Research for Marion Circuit Court lists standard, certified, and exemplified paper copy fees, electronic certified-copy fees, audio hearing recordings, mailed delivery at actual cost, CDs, and emailed delivery with no extra delivery charge. Certified divorce judgments are usually needed for legal proof of the divorce, name restoration, benefits, or later marriage documentation.

Oregon Marriage and Divorce Law

ORS Chapter 106 governs Oregon marriage licenses and ceremonies. It is the statutory context for age, license, ceremony, and solemnization rules. Marion County's physical-presence interpretation for the ceremony is a local application detail that should be checked before planning a remote or hybrid ceremony.

State law and local procedure work together. ORS Chapter 106 supplies the Oregon marriage framework, while Marion County sets the office process for applications, copy preorders, waivers, and return of the completed license. ORS Chapter 107 supplies the dissolution framework, while the Circuit Court record supplies the actual Marion County divorce judgment and case history.

ORS Chapter 106 supplies the statewide marriage framework, while Marion County gives the office-level procedure.

ORS Chapter 107 governs dissolution, separation, and annulment. It is the legal context for divorce cases, but actual Marion County divorce records are searched and copied through Circuit Court channels.

For a certified divorce judgment, use the case number and exact judgment title when contacting the Circuit Court Records Department.