MARRIAGE

The Town of Ulysses is a welcoming, inclusive, and beautiful place to get married.

The first step in a legal marriage is getting a license. Marriage licenses are issued by Town and City Clerks in New York State and are valid to use anywhere in New York State. (You do not need to get a license in the same place that you plan to get married).

APPOINTMENTS ARE RECOMMENDED so that we can best serve you in this process. The Ulysses Clerk's office is open to the public from 10am-3pm Monday through Friday, or by appointment for hours outside of that. 

Please plan about 20 minutes for this process.
 

STEPS & TIPS FOR GETTING A MARRIAGE LICENSE:

1. You and your partner must apply in person together.
2. Please decide before you arrive if either party will change his or her middle or last name after marriage, as this will be need to be entered at the time of licensing. 
3. Required Documents:
   • birth certificate
   • driver’s license, state ID card (preferred) or passport
   • proof of dissolution of any former marriages- (annulment papers, divorce decree or death certificate)
4. Fee:
   • FREE for Active Duty Military Personnel  with proof of status
   • $40.00 for all others
5. You must wait 24 hours from the time the license is issued before you can get married.
6. The license will expire 60 days after being issued. (180 days for active duty military members). If you do not get married within 60 days, you will need to repeat the licensing process and pay another .
7. After your marriage ceremony, the officiant (the person who marries you) must complete the bottom half of the license and return it to the clerk's office. The clerk will then submit the information to New York state and issue a marriage certificate to the new couple.

For more information, visit the NYS Dept. of Health.

MARRIAGE OFFICIANTS:

To be valid, a marriage ceremony must be performed by any of the individuals specified in Section 11 of the New York State Domestic Relations Law.
These include:

• the current or a former governor;
• the mayor of a city or village;
• the former mayor, the city clerk or one of the deputy city clerks of a city of more than one million inhabitants;
• a marriage officer appointed by the town or village board or the city common council;
• a member of the New York state legislature;
• a justice or judge of the following courts: the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern or Western Districts of New York, the New York State Court of Appeals, the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court, the New York State Supreme Court, the Court of Claims, the Family Court, a Surrogates Court, the Civil and Criminal Courts of New York City (including Housing judges of the Civil Court) and other courts of record;
• a village, town or county justice;
• a member of the clergy or minister who has been officially ordained and granted authority to perform marriage ceremonies from a governing church body in accordance with the rules and regulations of the church body;
• a member of the clergy or minister who is not authorized by a governing church body but who has been chosen by a spiritual group to preside over their spiritual affairs;
• someone who has gotten their NYS One-Day Officiant License from any town or city office (must be obtained from the same office as those that they will marry).
• other officiants as specified by Section 11 of the Domestic Relations Law.

MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE COPIES:

Copies of your marriage certificate are available from either NYS or the Town or City Clerk's office where you received your original marriage license. The fee is $10.00. If you do not remember where your license was issued, you can apply to New York State Dept. of Health.

Who is eligible order a certified marriage record?

• Spouses or parties to the marriage
• Other people who have a:
  • documented judicial or other proper purpose
  • New York State Court Order

The Town of Ulysses marriage records begin with 1908. If you are looking for historic or genealogic information, you can view Ulysses census information from 1850-1912  through our public portal here.