Marriage Intentions, Licenses, and Certificates
Intentions of Marriage
Massachusetts General Laws require that the two parties must appear together in person at the Town Clerk's Office to obtain a marriage license, except in special circumstances as detailed below. You must also be at least eighteen years old, not related to the other party, and not currently married. If you would like to file your intentions to be married in the Town of Hanover, you and/or your fiancé need to live in Hanover, or have previously lived in Hanover and no longer live in Massachusetts. Once you file your intentions in Hanover, you can be married anywhere in the Commonwealth. An appointment is required because the initial process takes 20-30 minutes; please call ahead (leave a message if no one answers). The two parties to the marriage will be asked to complete and sign under oath a Notice of Intention of Marriage. Among other details in the Intention of Marriage, information that is essential to completing the forms includes your social security number, place of birth, and your parents' complete birth names. Blood tests are no longer required in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Massachusetts does, however, require a mandatory three-day waiting period from the time the intention is filed before a license can be issued; Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays are included in this period. So, if you are getting married on a Saturday, the Tuesday prior is the last day to file your intentions. A waiver from this waiting period may be obtained from the courts if you are applying for a license after the three-day period prior to the wedding.
Exceptions to both parties appearing in person exist due to special circumstances: If a person is in the military, intentions may be filed by either party, provided one is a Massachusetts resident. If a person is incarcerated in a state or a county house of correction facility, hospitalized, or otherwise unable to come to town hall due to medical reasons attested to by a physician, intentions may be filed by either party.
Marriage Licenses
After the three-day waiting period, one of the parties to the marriage must pick up the license from the Town Clerk’s Office. It is important that it is checked for spelling, typos, etc., at this stage. A marriage license must be used for a ceremony in Massachusetts within sixty days from the date of filing the Intention of Marriage. The solemnizer (member of the clergy, Justice of the Peace, etc.) who performs the ceremony must sign the license after the ceremony and return it to the Town Clerk's Office. If the solemnizer is a "One Day Solemnizer", the original certificate from the Secretary of the Commonwealth must also be submitted to the Town Clerk's Office after the ceremony.
Marriage Certificates 1925 to Present
After a couple has been married and the license is returned to the Town Clerk’s Office by the solemnizer, the Town Clerk records and registers the marriage. The couple receives a certified copy of the marriage certificate in the mail from the Town Clerk’s Office, and a certified copy is also kept on file in the Hanover Town Hall. The original copy is sent to the Registry of Vital Records.
Marriage Certificate Request
If you previously filed your intentions to be married in the Hanover Town Clerk's Office and would like a certified copy of your marriage license/certificate, please submit a Marriage Certificate Request. We strive for a same-day turnaround of your request, but please note that it may take up to 10 days to process in some cases. If you need immediate access to your marriage record, the Registry of Vital Records can provide you with a certified copy if you order online and pay an additional fee. The Registry of Vital Records office also offers in-person services at 150 Mt. Vernon Street, Dorchester, MA 02125.
Copies of individual vital records are exempt from disclosure as public records pursuant to M.G.L. c. 4, § 7(26)(a), which applies to records "specifically or by necessary implication exempt from disclosure by statute." Specifically, M.G.L. c. 46, § 19C (use of the seal of the Department/Town Clerk) and Chapter 327 of the Acts of 2010 (State Registrar/Town Clerk required to take reasonable action to prevent and control identity theft, fraud and improper use) require the seal of the Department of Public Health/Town Clerk and security measures on paper copies to minimize the risk of fraudulent or improper use of such records. Certified copies of vital records, which include security features as required by law, are available upon payment of applicable fees at the State Registry or at the Town Clerk’s Office in the city/town where the vital record was recorded.
Records Prior to 1925
Please refer to our Genealogical Research for records prior to 1925.
Fees
- Marriage Intention, License, and Certificate: $40
- Marriage Certificate for Previously Recorded and Registered Marriage: $10