Get a Marriage License in Elko County, NV
Fees for this service are set by state statute. Here's what to expect in Elko County.
Nevada marriage licenses are issued by the County Clerk, and NRS 122.040 lets you use any county in the State — the license is then good anywhere in Nevada. NRS 122.060 fixes a statutory minimum of $85.00: $21 to the clerk for issuing it, $10 to file the certificate, $4 to the State, and $50 to the Account for Aid for Victims of Domestic or Sexual Violence. Counties may add ordinance fees on top, and several bundle the first certified copy, so totals run from $85.00 to about $105.00. Elko County publishes $100.00. source ↗ There is no waiting period, no residency or citizenship requirement and no blood test, and the license expires one year after the date it is issued — the clock runs from issuance, not from when you applied. Call (775) 753-4600 before you go.
What Nevada law requires — the minimum
- Proof of your name and age. NRS 122.040(2) says the clerk "shall require" it and lists what counts: a driver's license, instruction permit or state ID card; a passport; a birth certificate plus a secondary document bearing your name and photograph; a military or military-dependent ID; or citizenship, naturalisation or resident-alien documents. An original or certified copy — not a photocopy.
- Both of you, in person, to answer the questions on the license form under oath (NRS 122.040(3)). Where extraordinary circumstances mean only one of you can appear, 122.040(4) lets the clerk waive that for the absent applicant.
- Your Social Security numbers for the affidavit — but the clerk "shall not require any evidence to verify a social security number", and "shall not deny a license" to someone who states they do not have one, or who does not know the requested information about their parents (NRS 122.040(3)).
- $85.00 at least. Payment methods are set by each county, not by statute, and they differ — some take cards with a surcharge, some take no personal checks at all.
A useful quirk: NRS 122.040(2) ends "If the applicant clearly appears over the age of 25 years, no documentation of proof of age is required" — though every Nevada county page we have read still asks for photo ID, so take it. The license is issued at the county seat, except that a board of county commissioners may designate branch offices — up to five in a county of 700,000 or more, one elsewhere (NRS 122.040(1)), so the nearest counter may not be the courthouse. This is the floor: a county may require more than the statute and can never require less.
One witness — at the ceremony, not at the counter. NRS 122.110 requires no particular form of solemnization “except that the parties shall declare, in the presence of the [officiant] and the attending witness, that they take each other as spouses”, and (2): “In every case, there shall be at least one witness present besides the person performing the ceremony.” One is the whole requirement — Nevada does not ask for two. No witness is needed to collect the license.
Contact info sourced from official county records. Always call ahead to confirm hours and payment methods before visiting.
Getting married somewhere else in Nevada? See the Nevada marriage license guide for statewide requirements and fees.