Did you know that you can get married virtually in Utah?
Thanks to COVID-era changes, remote weddings in Utah are completely legal, and thousands of couples located around the world have taken advantage of this, getting married online without setting foot in Utah – or even the United States.
Here’s how you can get legally married online with Utah County’s remote wedding service.
Utah Online Marriage Explodes
Utah County had no idea they were going to become a popular international wedding “destination” when they changed their marriage laws in 2020.
In an effort to streamline the marriage licensing process and bring it into the digital era, they updated their marriage laws to allow couples to complete the marriage process from end to end completely online. That means everything from filling out the marriage license to the ceremony itself can be done over the internet.
Other states and counties allow couples to get married online, but couples must be residents of the state or county to do so. Utah County took things one step further: They allow couples not only from other states but even other countries to marry virtually, only the officiant has to be located in Utah.
With international quarantine restrictions, the service quickly exploded in popularity. “We have become an international marriage venue completely by accident,” explains Burt Harvey, overseer of marriage licenses at the county clerk’s office. “But we’re leaning into it.”
Since 2020, they’ve performed thousands of legal marriages for couples around the globe. And they’ve made it as easy as possible for couples to acquire their Utah wedding license and get married.
How to Get Married Online in Utah
The first step to getting married virtually in Utah County is to acquire the marriage license. This can be done on their website.
There is no residency or citizenship requirement, but both parties will be required to submit basic information like their name, address, and place of birth. The couple do not need to be in the same location when filling out the form, but they will need to submit some form of government issued I.D. like a passport or driver’s license (international IDs can be verified by Utah County).
Once both parties have submitted their application, they can pay the application fee with a debit or credit card. Keep in mind that marriage licenses are only valid for 32 days after purchase, so make sure you do not apply too early!
On the wedding day, the couple and the officiant can connect via video conference software like Zoom. Although the couple can be located anywhere in the world, the officiant must be located in Utah during the ceremony, and Utah will serve as the ‘host location’ on the license.
If you don’t know any ordained ministers in Utah, consider using our Find a Minister tool.
Utah Online Marriage Requirements
Utah law also requires two witnesses, so be sure to have two witnesses join in-person or remotely.
During the ceremony, the officiant must say the declaration of intent (the “do you, I do” exchange) and pronounce the couple married, but all other specifics, including any religious rites, can be sorted out between the couple and officiant.
After the ceremony, the couple, officiant, and witnesses will digitally sign the marriage license, and once submitted, the couple will be officially and legally married! Utah County will virtually file a copy, and mail a copy of the certificate to the address provided by the couple.
And that’s it! With this tool, Utah County created an incredible resource for couples in different countries and from all walks of life to get legally married.
To learn more about the Utah online wedding officiant's responsibilities when officiating a ceremony, please visit our Utah wedding guide.
6 comments
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Virgil D. Marsh
Good for Utah! There will always be people who will do anything they think they can get away with. They will eventually be found out. You're only responsible for your own actions, do the right thing! Help people any way you can.
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Douglas Robert Spindler
There's more to this story. Remember Utah is Mormon territory... First this is a money maker for Utah, the Mormons and the Mormon church even when non-Mormons get married. The other is TikTok and YouTube is blowing up with ex-Mormon videos exposing the lies and the terrible experiences ex-Mormons had growing up Mormon. Sexual abuse, the pressure for missionaries to get people to covert the the Mormon religion, the quotas they need to hit and most recently exposing Joseph Smith and Bingham Young as slave holders and promoted slavery of anyone who didn't have white skin. Church documents show the Mormon Church actually owned slaves and sold them. And more recently Mormon historians are showing from the Church archives that the entire religion is based on fraud and lies committed by Joseph Smith. And then in 2022 a $200 Billion Dollar fraud was uncovered. Turns out for the past 25 years the Mormon Elders have been secretly hiding all of the tithing money in a secret account for the past 27 years. This money was to help those in need and Mormons were going on public assistance to pay their tithings. There's a class action lawsuit against the church where Mormons are demanding they get their tithing monies returned. Ever hear of a church being sued by it members?
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Douglas Robert Spindler
Think Mormons and Money. The church is losing young members and this is a way to get them married as young as possible and have an many Mormon babies as quick as possible.
But there's even more to this story than money and Mormons.....
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Rev. Dr. Father JJ
everyone getting married is probably being converted to mooomorism without even knowing it
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Kenneth Eagle Spirit
How cool is this! 😊
Good for forward thinkers in Utah! Helping people unite in matrimony is a good thing. There will always be people, churches, businesses who want to take advantage of people and money. They will eventually be found out, be wise with what you do in any situation. Helping others along their journey can be a blessing for all involved!