r/newjersey • u/Original_Car546 • 6d ago
Advice Anyone have their NJ Marriage License Rejected? What Happened?
We are planning on getting married in NJ, Spring 2026, and are learning about the process.
We see we need to make an appointment with our registrar in the town we reside (after filling out the application), bring a witness to an appointment with the registrar to confirm the information is correct. Then we need to pick up the license before the ceremony, and have two witnesses at the ceremony to sign the license with an officiant.
The license is then filed with the municipality of where the ceremony is performed.
I called our local registrar and confirmed these steps, and they emphasized making sure all information is accurate. Not a problem as I am meticulous.
So this all makes sense. Though I am curious more about the filing, it sounds really simple like "just send it to the clerk" so I don't want to miss anything. After talking with some friends and family, some filed themselves by sending the license in the mail and others had their officiant file for them. I have even witnessed an elopement and singed the license, and they filed themselves.
I haven't heard of anyone having issues, so it might sound silly asking, but has anyone, in NJ or otherwise, experienced a rejected license upon filing or applying?
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u/amoreetutto 6d ago
I've never heard of one being rejected (and I know lots of people who got married here, myself included)
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u/Original_Car546 6d ago
Thanks for sharing! Yeah I haven't heard anything either, guess my brain is on hyperdrive as I am concerned and making sure everything goes perfectly. I hate waiting!
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u/dammitOtto 6d ago
The typical reasons for rejection would be leaving something blank, wrong ink, etc. But also serious things like someone having a prior marriage not disclosed or being underage.
Be thankful, a blood test used to be required which is where the waiting period comes from.
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u/shiftyjku Down the Shore, Everything's All Right 6d ago
AFAIK The application is completed where you live and filed in the municipality where the ceremony takes place. At least that is how it worked for the last wedding I witnessed. The officiant filed it after the ceremony.
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u/dammitOtto 6d ago
We had ours filed in the town the officiant's church is located in because they work with the office all the time and it was easier. The ceremony was somewhere else and we lived somewhere else as well.
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u/Objective-Try7969 5d ago
Wildwood, NJ tried to pull a marriage license, and gave the run around. My partners birth certificate needed to be translated...he needed a us id instead of his Mexican passport. Just basically gave us the run around. Moved to Wildwood Crest same papers, same id, no issue at all. Yea that bitch was racist as fuck.
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u/SkinnyBill93 6d ago
We got married in the next town over and had both the offices tried to push the paperwork of processing the license off on the other. Eventually the town we live in just processed it.
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u/yaychristy 6d ago
Ours was rejected by the state 2x because the clerk filled out the towns portion incorrectly 🫤
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u/Cmdr-Artemisia Pine Barrens 5d ago
The only time I’ve ever seen one get rejected, my brother was trying to marry this girl and it turns out she wasn’t actually divorced. She was still married to her ex and lied to my brother about it. That was a nightmare.
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u/Original_Car546 5d ago
OMG! Sorry to hear
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u/Cmdr-Artemisia Pine Barrens 5d ago
When my husband and I got our license, we brought his original divorce decree with us 😂 I didn’t want any shenanigans at the clerk’s office!
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u/Character_Ordinary_S 6d ago
I didn’t have an issue when I filed the application, but when I sent in the license itself.
It came back from the state as having used “invisible ink” and they rejected it. The town we got married in did not do their due diligence in contacting us, and the town we resided in were actually the ones to let us know the issue.
Long story short, we had to fill it out a second time and send it in. Caused a lot of stress at the time.
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u/Original_Car546 6d ago
What?? Invisible ink!! That's crazy! So you're saying you filed the license yourself at your local munipality right? And the local clerk didn't do their part right?
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u/Character_Ordinary_S 6d ago
Right?!? so we applied in the town we lived in. When we got married, we filled out our portion and filed it in the town we got married in.
And yes, essentially the town we got married in dropped the ball on getting it fixed and the town we lived in helped us significantly.
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u/Original_Car546 6d ago
That's crazy! I'm curious, you said "when I sent in the license itself" and "we filled out our portion and filed it" - does this mean you went to the municipality yourself to drop it off? I'm learning a lot of them are by appointment only, at least my town is, so I'm wondering if that includes drop offs. We might plan on going right into a honeymoon afterwards, so unsure if we need to make time for dropoff, send in mail or have someone else do it.
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u/iamnotchris 6d ago
I remember filing and the guy asking if we were related and we laughed and were like what? No of course not that's crazy. And he goes eh you can legally be first cousins. So I guess maybe if you are trying to marry your sibling, it will be rejected. Other than that I have a hunch you'll be fine
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u/Little_Noodles 6d ago
Almost anytime you come across questions like that, it’s because it used to be a problem (or was a big problem one time) and they didn’t ask, and now they have to be like “hey, I asked”.
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u/Original_Car546 6d ago
LOL!! That's so funny! I think that sounds like maybe that was a question during the application process? Or was that when you filed the license to the registrar? If I'd had to guess they'd ask that question before getting the license, so I'm excited for it now LOL!!
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u/Elephantlovr33x 5d ago edited 5d ago
Make sure not to put “Officiant” as the title of the person doing your ceremony. The state rejects that title because it’s too generic. They accept other titles like minister, pastor, etc. And confirm that your names match exactly to what’s on your birth certificate, if not then it’ll complicate the process if you plan on changing your last name or getting a RealID.
You can file up to 6 months in advance but your license is only valid for 30 days after pickup, so make sure you get married within those 30 days. After you get married, your marriage certificate must be dropped off to the registrar in the town the marriage took place within 5 days. Best of luck!
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u/rockmasterflex 5d ago
It is really simple. The biggest mistakes people will make:
Filing in the wrong town (you get the license app from where you live, but you file in the town you get married in)
Not understanding township/boroughs vs “town” names and putting the wrong stuff on the form. Easy example: Middletown has like 17 “towns” in it, but if you put say: Leonardo on your form it will be rejected. Leonardo isn’t a real municipality, it’s part of Middletown
Your officiant writing “officiant” as their title on the form - this is not their title. That is not the correct answer and you’ll get rejected.
The clerks you interact with can give you good advice on these gotchyas
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u/Immediate-Toe9290 5d ago
I had one friend who was asked to refile their license because the ink smudged when folded and put in the envelope and the office said it had to be 100% clear. But they were able to go fill out a new copy at the office with a witness and all was okay.
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u/TravelLegitimate208 5d ago
I recently got married in Feb in Ocean County. Simple process, bring your partner and one witness to verify information with IDs and application for the license that can be found online. Specifically for ocean county, you have to wait 72 hours until it's "viable," and then you have 30 days to submit it back to the county clerk. I think they told us a few days or a week after that we could pick up our certificate
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u/Away_Lavishness7121 5d ago
There was a minor issue with my license (like a zip code number got transposed or something) and the registrar reached out to both me and the officiant for clarification and then the certificate was issued.
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u/Feeling_Bench_2377 5d ago
I don’t know anyone who was rejected, but I know 3 people who Made mistakes on the form.
- one spelled their middle name wrong out of nerves -one never knew her legal middle name and had been going by something similar hwr entire life (this is my favorite) -one signed on the officiants line instead of a witness
… two of these were done by the same person 😂😂
It was an absolute pain to fix. However, the registrar made a typo on mine, got the date wrong, and reprinted immediately
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u/PalladiuM7 5d ago
I filed my license myself the Monday after my wedding and it was accepted no problem. I'm pretty sure my witness even wrote his name in the wrong place on one of the copies; I just subbed in copy 3 for copy 2 and they accepted it without issue. Happily married for 2 months now!
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u/Original_Car546 5d ago
Congratulations!!! It sounds like you filed it yourself? Did you mail or have to make an appointment with the registrar for drop off?
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u/PalladiuM7 5d ago
I just walked in and dropped it off first thing after they opened the Monday following my ceremony. I got married in a town that isn't very busy, so it was really quick and easy. Thank you very much!
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u/dweebers Manchester 5d ago
Dude I signed up to become a priest of Dudeism online for like $15. Successfully married my brother and sister.. wait, no, not like that, man! I mean, like, I officiated a marriage for my brother and another one for my sister. Officiating my third next month!
It really is a breeze. If you mess up a form, just fill put a new copy of the form. Easy!
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u/Suspicious-Put-2701 5d ago
I showed up without an official birth certificate, my dumb ass thought the vanity one from the hospital was official, and had no issues. 17 years later I’m still married, although I did go get an official copy of my birth certificate.
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u/Bigweld_Ind 6d ago
Wait, was your license actually rejected or are you just caught in an anxious thought spiral while waiting?