Get a Marriage License in Gladwin County, MI
Here's what to expect at the County Clerk — fees, what to bring, and where to go.
Michigan marriage licenses are issued by the County Clerk. MCL § 551.103(2) sets the fee at $20.00, and adds $10.00 — $30.00 in total — only when BOTH parties named in the application are nonresidents of Michigan; if either party is a Michigan resident the fee is $20.00. That is a statewide rule, not a county-by-county price. The one exception is Wayne County, which sets its own amount by ordinance under MCL § 551.103(3): $30.00 if one or both applicants is a Wayne County resident, $40.00 if both are out of state. Wayne is the only Michigan county eligible to do so — it is the only one above the statute's 1,500,000 population threshold (Census 2024 estimate 1,771,063; Oakland is next at 1,296,888). A 3-day waiting period applies: MCL 551.103a says a license "shall not be delivered within a period of 3 days including the date of application". The county clerk issuing the license — not a judge — may waive that wait "for good and sufficient cause shown", and the applicant then pays a waiver fee set by the county board of commissioners, so the amount differs from county to county, and the spread is wide: Presque Isle publishes $10.00 while Huron, Monroe, Roscommon and Manistee each publish $50.00 — a fivefold difference for the same statutory favor. Monroe waives the waiver fee itself on proof of military deployment. A separate and different waiver exists for the fee itself, which a probate court may waive under MCL 551.103(2) where paying it "would result in undue hardship". The license also has a deadline, and it runs from the day you apply rather than the day you collect: MCL 551.103a voids a license “unless a marriage is solemnized under the license within 33 days after the application”. Because you can collect from the third day, a county describing the license as valid for 30 days is counting those 30 from collection — 3 days waiting plus 30 equals the statute’s 33. The two descriptions land on the same date when you collect as soon as it is ready. If you collect later, they part company, and it is the 33 days from your application that decides whether the license is still good.
What Michigan law requires — the minimum
- One of you in person. The clerk has to watch a party named in the application sign the affidavit, so one of you must appear, though both of you are named on it (MCL 551.102(1)).
- Social Security numbers for both of you. The application form is required to carry them, though the number is not printed on the license itself (MCL 551.102(1)).
- Proof of age — a birth certificate or other proof — but only “when requested by the county clerk”. MCL 551.103(1) leaves that to the clerk, which is exactly why some Michigan counties demand an original certified birth certificate and others never mention one.
- The fee. Payment methods are set locally, not by statute — call before you go.
This is the floor, not the whole list. A Michigan county may require more than the statute and it can never require less — and several do require more: Ottawa and Isabella both insist on a certified birth certificate that MCL ch. 551 does not. Michigan law itself requires no photo identification at all; chapter 551 asks for a sworn affidavit, a Social Security number, and proof of age on request, and no section names a driver's license or state ID. Most clerks ask for one anyway, and several expect the address on it to match the county you are applying in. Where this page shows a list published by this county, that list is the one to pack for — it sits above this one. Where it does not, call this office before you go and ask what to bring.
Two witnesses — at the ceremony, not at the counter. MCL § 551.9 requires no particular form of words, but the parties must declare themselves married in the presence of the officiant and the attending witnesses — and “in every case, there shall be at least 2 witnesses, besides the person solemnizing the marriage, present at the ceremony”. Nothing asks for a witness when you collect the license from the County Clerk. The requirement lands on the day you marry.
This page shows the best information we have for Gladwin County. Fees and hours may vary — call ahead to confirm before visiting.
Getting married somewhere else in Michigan? See the Michigan marriage license guide for statewide requirements and fees.