REQUIREMENTS FOR A FORMAL MARRIAGE
Both applicants must be present, be 18 years or older and:
*Provide current identification issued by this state or another state, the U.S. or a foreign government.
(Drivers license, military ID or passport are acceptable forms of identification.) Expired documents are not accepted.
*Know social security number, if applicant has one.
*Provide all information as required on the application and as requested by the Clerk.
*Take the oath printed on the application and sign the application in the presence of the Clerk.
*Pay an $80 fee (or $20 with a Twogether in Texas healthy marriage program certificate.)

NOTES
Underage Applicants
If an applicant is under the age of 18, Texas law states that the County Clerk shall issue the license if that
person presents an applicable court order, or if the person is 16 years of age or older but under 18 and provides
prescribed documentation establishing parental consent and that any prior marriage of the person has been dissolved.

PROXY MARRIAGE OR ABSENT APPLICANT
*Texas law does allow certain exceptions to the requirement that both applicants appear before the
County Clerk to apply for a marriage license. In such situations, another adult may apply on behalf of the absent applicant.
The adult present needs to provide some form of ID for the absent applicant.
*A person who is incarcerated may apply for a marriage license using an ABSENT APPLICATION form.
However, they MUST be present for the marriage ceremony.
*There is a 72-hour waiting period to get married. The period may be waived by court order.
Active duty military are exempt from the waiting period.

Requirements for Declaration and Registration of Informal Marriage

*Both applicants must be present, no exceptions.

*Provide proof of identity and age must be presented.

*Both parties must be 18 years or older. A person under 18 may not be party to an informal marriage. The declared date of marriage must be a date in the past that both parties agreed to be married and after that lived together as a married couple and in this state represented to others that they were married. The date can be any prior date the couple could legally marry.

*Both parties must supply all information and take the oath as required on the form prescribed by the Bureau of Vital Statistics and provided by the County Clerk.

*Each party will sign the declaration in the Clerk's presence.

*The Clerk may not issue or record the declaration if either party checks "false" in response to the statement of relationship to the other party.

*Pay a fee of $45.00. (There is no provision to waive the fee.)

Fee for a certified copy of a marriage License: $5.00.

Jim Plummer, District and County Clerk james.plummer@co.garza.tx.us

Mailing Address: PO Box 366, Post, TX 79356

Physical Address: Courthouse, 1st Floor, 300 West Main Street, Post, TX 79356

Phone: 806-495-4430

Fax: 806-495-4431

Open to the Public: 8:00 AM - 12:noon, 1:00 PM - 4:30 PM, Monday – Friday