Marriage Ceremony Formalities in Connecticut

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Authorized solemnizers

Connecticut's list includes judges and retired judges, family support magistrates and referees, state referees, Connecticut-appointed justices of the peace, and ordained or licensed clergy from Connecticut or another state (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-22(a)). The same section recognizes marriages solemnized under a religious denomination's forms and usages, including those witnessed by a duly constituted Baha'i Spiritual Assembly.

License and ceremony

The couple needs a certified license from the registrar of the town where the marriage will be celebrated (§ 46b-24(a), as amended). The person conducting the ceremony must be physically present as the authorized solemnizer (§ 46b-24(d)). The amended timing rule places the ceremony no sooner than 48 hours after license application and no later than 65 days after license issuance (§ 46b-24(b)). Under § 46b-25, as amended, the registrar also cannot issue the license sooner than 48 hours after application.

Certificate and return

The person who joins the couple certifies the fact, time, and place on the license certificate and returns it to the registrar of the town where the ceremony occurred before or during the first week of the next month (§ 46b-34(a)).

What trips people up

The license timing changed on October 1, 2026 under P.A. 26-141 § 6 and § 7. Earlier chapter text measures 65 days from application; the enacted amendment measures that outside limit from license issuance and adds the 48-hour minimum. In the act's quoted redline, bracketed words are deleted words. If the solemnizer does not return the certificate, the spouses may instead submit the notarized affidavit described in § 46b-34(b), which the registrar records.

For justices of the peace, P.A. 26-141 § 1(b) and § 1(c) call for a state manual by July 1, 2027. A justice appointed on or before that date must certify having read it by August 1, 2027; one appointed later has 30 days after appointment.

Common questions

Does the marriage certificate go back to the town that issued the license? Section 46b-34(a) directs its return to the registrar of the town where the marriage occurred.

Must two witnesses attend? The ceremony provision in § 46b-24(d) specifies the authorized solemnizer's physical presence, but gives no count of other attending witnesses. A religious denomination's own form may involve witnesses under § 46b-22(a).

Statutes and sources

The quoted Connecticut General Statutes §§ 46b-22 and 46b-34 come from the official 2025 chapter; current changes to §§ 46b-24 and 46b-25 and the future justice qualification deadlines come from official 2026 Public Act 26-141, all checked October 4, 2026. The source URLs and statutory passages appear above.