Get a Marriage License in Berkeley County, WV

WV Code § 59-1-10(c) sets the fee at $55.00 (and $35.00 with the certificate). Of the 21 county clerks whose own pages we have read giving a figure, 19 publish $57.00; Berkeley County's says $56.00 and Ohio County's says $62.00. A probable source of the $2 difference is WV Code § 5A-8-15(h), which has the clerk collect, on top of the § 59-1-10 fees, “an additional $2 fee for every document containing less than 20 pages filed for recording”; and § 59-1-10(c) lists “registering and recording the license” among the duties the license fee pays for. Nothing we have read applies § 5A-8-15(h) to a marriage license in so many words, so we do not treat it as settled — and Berkeley County's $56.00 is $1 below what it would predict. We publish what most counties ask for. Confirm with your clerk before you go.

The Berkeley County Clerk FAQs on the county’s site say: “Fifty-six dollars ($56.00) cash, credit/debit card or money order is required on the day you apply for the license if you did not attend premarital counseling. If you did complete at least 4 hours of premarital counseling and have valid proof of certificate/letter, the price is reduced to Thirty-six dollars ($36.00) cash, credit/debit card or money order.” That is less than the $57.00 that 19 of the 21 county clerks we have read publish, and more than the $55.00 WV Code § 59-1-10(c) sets; neither § 59-1-10 nor § 48-2-701 lets a county add to the license fee. We show the statewide figure and the county's own rather than choose between them. Read the county's page ↗ Call (304) 264-1927 to confirm what you will be charged.