Florida Marriage

Getting married in Florida involves more than picking an officiant and filing paperwork. State law also shapes how your property is handled if the marriage ends, who can make medical decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated, and what financial responsibilities both spouses take on together.

This article explains Florida‘s marriage requirements and the legal rights and responsibilities that accompany them. For questions about your situation, contact a Florida family law attorney for guidance.

Requirements To Get Married in Florida

Florida statutes require both parties to meet specific conditions for a valid marriage. These include age, license eligibility, and restrictions on who may legally marry.

Age Requirements

Florida law sets minimum age requirements for marriage. If you are 18 years of age or older, you can marry without parental consent. If you are 17, you may marry with parental consent in writing, but the other party must be no more than two (2) years older. These stricter age-gap rules took effect July 1, 2018, as part of Florida‘s reform of its child marriage laws. Florida sets 17 years old as the minimum age for marriage. No exceptions exist for anyone younger than 17.

Marriage License Requirements

You and your partner must both appear in person before a county court judge or clerk of the court. You can apply for a marriage license at any Florida county clerk‘s office. It’s valid in ceremonies held anywhere in the state, regardless of which county handled its issuance.

When you apply, plan to bring:

• A valid photo ID issued by the government, such as a driver’s license, passport, or military ID
• Your Social Security number or alien registration number
• If you were previously married, the date your last marriage legally ended

The standard marriage license fee is $86, though it varies slightly by county. Florida residents who complete a state-approved four-hour premarital preparation course within one year before applying and provide a certificate of completion receive a reduction in the marriage license fee of $32.50. Completing the course also waives the standard three-day waiting period, which does not apply to non-Florida residents. Florida residents may also seek a waiver by asserting hardship to the court, which may require an affidavit.

Residency Requirements

Florida imposes no residency requirement for marriage. Couples from other states and other countries may marry in Florida as long as they meet all other requirements.

Blood Tests

Florida does not require blood tests to obtain a marriage license.

Void and Voidable Marriages

Certain unions are not permitted in the state of Florida. The following are considered void or voidable.

• Marriage Between Close Blood Relatives: Under Florida law, marriage between siblings, parents, children, and close blood relatives is prohibited
• Bigamous Marriages: Marrying while still legally married to someone else constitutes bigamy, a third-degree felony, and carries penalties that include up to five years in prison and fines up to $5,000
• Party Lacks Mental Capacity: A person who lacks the mental capacity to understand marriage and its obligations cannot enter into a valid marriage in Florida, including cases of severe intoxication or incapacity during the ceremony

Other instances may also qualify as a voidable marriage.

The Marriage Ceremony

Florida law also sets rules for conducting the marriage ceremony. This includes who can legally perform it and who must be present.

Who Can Perform Marriages

Under Florida law, the following individuals may perform a legal marriage ceremony in Florida:

• Regularly ordained ministers of the gospel, elders in communion with a church, or other ordained clergy
• Judicial officers, including retired judicial officers
• Clerks of the circuit courts
• Notaries public authorized by the state

Members of the Society of Friends, known as Quakers, may marry according to their own rites and ceremonies. Florida recognizes those marriages as valid. Florida law also allows notaries public to perform marriages, a unique feature not recognized in most other states.

Witness Requirements

Florida does not require witnesses to be present at the wedding ceremony. Only the couple and an officiant must be present and sign the Florida marriage license.

Solemnization and Recording

The ceremony must occur after the license’s effective date and during the 60-day expiration window. Within 10 days after the ceremony, the officiant must sign and return the license to the issuing clerk for official recording as a marriage certificate.

Legal Rights and Responsibilities

Getting married in Florida creates legal rights and responsibilities that take effect immediately. These cover everything from how your property is handled to who can make medical decisions on your behalf.

Property Rights

Florida is not a community property state. Instead, it follows equitable distribution. In a divorce, marital assets and liabilities are divided fairly, starting with a presumption of equal split. Property is not automatically shared 50/50 upon marriage.

Marital property includes assets and debts acquired during marriage. Property owned before marriage or received as a gift or inheritance is usually non-marital. Mixing non-marital assets with marital funds can complicate this distinction.

Florida‘s Constitution also provides strong homestead protections for a married couple‘s primary residence. A spouse generally cannot sell or mortgage the family homestead without the other spouse’s joinder.

Financial Obligations

Marriage creates mutual financial obligations between spouses. Under Florida law, a spouse who can contribute to the other’s support but fails to do so can be compelled by a court to pay, even outside divorce proceedings.

Getting married also changes your federal tax filing status. Depending on your situation, you may benefit from filing jointly or separately. Many employers also extend health insurance and retirement benefits to legally married spouses, so notifying your employer of your new marital status is one of the more practical early steps to take.

Healthcare and Medical Decisions

Marriage gives your spouse next-of-kin status, and that carries real weight in medical settings. If you become incapacitated and have not created an advance directive or formally designated a healthcare surrogate, your spouse is first in the statutory priority order to serve as your healthcare proxy and make medical decisions on your behalf. Spouses also have hospital visitation rights. This protection does not automatically extend to unmarried partners.

Parental Rights

Florida law presumes that a child born during a valid marriage is the legal child of both spouses. The husband’s name is entered on the birth certificate as the father. It establishes both spouses as legal parents, forming the basis for each parent’s rights and obligations toward the child, including the duty of support.

Name Change

Marriage gives you the option to change your surname, but it is not required. If you decide to do so, you will need to update your Social Security card, Florida driver’s license, passport, and other official records. For step-by-step guidance, see FindLaw’s guide on How To Change Your Name in Florida.

Common Law Marriage

Florida does not recognize common law marriages formed within the state after January 1, 1968. No matter how long two people have lived together, cohabitation alone does not create a legal marriage in Florida. A narrow exception holds that a marriage that would otherwise be defective may still be valid if the parties entered into it in good faith and in substantial compliance with Florida law.

Same-Sex Marriage

Florida has recognized same-sex marriage since January 6, 2015. That followed a U.S. District Court ruling in Brenner v. Scott, which held that Florida‘s ban on same-sex marriage violated the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court later extended that right nationwide in Obergefell v. Hodges, decided June 26, 2015. Under both Florida and federal law, same-sex couples face the same marriage requirements and hold the same legal rights and responsibilities as opposite-sex couples.

Estate Planning Considerations

After getting married, one of the first things to do is update your beneficiary designations for life insurance policies, retirement accounts, and investment accounts. If you do not update them, a former beneficiary or no named beneficiary at all could receive those assets regardless of your wishes.

Having a will is important. If you pass away without a will, a probate court distributes your property according to Florida‘s intestate succession laws, which may not reflect what you would have wanted.

A will also lets you nominate a guardian for your minor children. A court must still approve the appointment and is not bound by your nomination, but naming someone creates a rebuttable presumption in their favor. Without a nomination, the court makes that decision without the benefit of your stated wishes. A Florida estate planning attorney can help you get both documents in order.

Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements

If you want to define property rights and financial expectations before or during your marriage, consider having a premarital or postnuptial agreement. For the agreement to be valid in court, both parties must have entered the agreement voluntarily and free from fraud, duress, coercion, or overreaching.

A court may refuse to enforce an agreement that was unconscionable at the time of signing. This applies in particular if one party was not given fair and reasonable disclosure of the other’s financial obligations and did not waive that right in writing. For a more detailed discussion on how these agreements work, see FindLaw’s page on Florida Prenuptial Agreements.

Ending a Marriage in Florida

Not every marriage lasts. Florida is a no-fault divorce state, which means a court can grant a dissolution of marriage without either spouse proving wrongdoing. Showing that a marriage is irretrievably broken is enough for a divorce.

Annulment is available only in narrow circumstances, such as when a marriage was legally void from the start due to fraud, incapacity, or another legal impediment. 

Getting Legal Help With Florida Marriage Law

Whether you are preparing for a wedding, reviewing a prenuptial agreement, or working through questions about property rights and financial obligations, a Florida family law attorney can help you understand your rights and plan accordingly. FindLaw’s attorney directory lets you search by location, and many attorneys offer free initial consultations.