There is no statutory forty dollar fee, and knowing that explains everything else
Every Long Island clerk that publishes a figure publishes forty dollars, which reads like a state price. It is not. The statute sets thirty dollars for the licence, most of which the clerk forwards to the state, and then allows a separate certificate fee that each town board fixes up to a ceiling.
“Before issuing any licenses herein provided for, the town or city clerk shall be entitled to a fee of thirty dollars, which sum shall be paid by the applicants before or at the time the license is issued; provided, however, that when either of the parties applying for such license is a member of...” Domestic Relations Law § 15(4)
“Such town and city clerks shall be entitled to a fee for such certificate, payable at the time of issuance of the marriage license, in a sum not exceeding ten dollars, to be fixed in the case of town clerks by the town board, and in the...” Domestic Relations Law § 14-a(2)(a)
So forty dollars is a ceiling that every Long Island town board has chosen to sit at, not a mandate. There is no cheaper clerk to drive to, and now you know why: the variation the statute allows has been used the same way everywhere on the Island.
What varies is what it costs to pay, and two offices take no cards at all
This is the practical finding. 5 clerks publish a card charge and they come in two shapes, a flat amount or a percentage: Hempstead prints “$1.55 credit card processing fee, for a total of $41.55”, Smithtown two dollars, Huntington two dollars fifty, North Hempstead 2.95 percent, and Brookhaven 2.35 percent with a minimum of a dollar fifty.
Two offices will turn you away if a card is all you have. Town of Babylon and Town of East Hampton publish that plainly, Babylon as “no cards accepted, so no surcharge” and East Hampton as cash or check, in English and Spanish. Glen Cove publishes no payment method at all, so a card cannot be confirmed either way. Bring a cheque book to the East End.
Every Long Island clerk, and what each one publishes
2 offices publish no fee we could read. Southold's application is an image scan with no text layer, so the figure may be in there and no machine or screen reader can get it out. Glen Cove publishes none on its clerk pages. Riverhead publishes the fee in a PDF only: its Town Clerk page names the ten dollar certified copy fee three times and never the licence fee.
4 offices require an appointment and two say plainly that you do not need one. That is worth checking the week of, because an office that normally takes walk ins can change its mind in a busy season and the licence has a clock on it.
The sixty day window, and why several clerk pages read differently from the statute
The statute is precise about both clocks.
“A marriage shall not be solemnized within twenty-four hours after the issuance of the marriage license, unless authorized by an order of a court of record as hereinafter provided, nor shall it be solemnized after sixty days from the date of the issuance of the marriage license unless authorized pursuant to section ten of the veterans'...” Domestic Relations Law § 13-b
Read carefully, the sixty days run from issuance, and the twenty four hour bar is a separate rule. Ten Long Island clerk pages describe it differently, usually as sixty days beginning after the waiting period or beginning the day after issuance. Before treating that as sloppiness, note where it comes from: the state's own Publication 4210 says sixty calendar days beginning the day after it is issued. The clerks are copying the state.
The practical effect is small but it runs the wrong way, giving you the impression of about a day more than the statute allows. If your date sits at the far edge of the window, count from the date of issuance and not from the day after.
Two clerk pages still publish age rules the statute has overtaken
New York ended marriage under eighteen, without exception.
“Marriages of minors under eighteen years of age. Any marriage in which either party is under the age of eighteen years is hereby prohibited. Any town or city clerk who shall knowingly issue a marriage license to any persons, one or both...” Domestic Relations Law § 15-a
The Town of Hempstead still publishes a consent route at seventeen, and the City of Long Beach publishes a seventeen year old consent procedure whose own text also contradicts itself. We are not guessing at what either office would do today. The statute is above, and if this touches you, ask the clerk to point at the provision they are relying on.
One more page to correct while you are reading. Southampton publishes a thirty dollar figure for a New York City licence, which is the bare statutory fee without the certificate fee. The state's own publication has stopped naming a figure for the city at all.
A village clerk cannot issue your licence, though a village mayor can marry you
This is the distinction competing pages get wrong most often, and it matters if you are marrying in Greenport, Sag Harbor, Westhampton Beach, Garden City or Freeport.
“A marriage shall not be solemnized within twenty-four hours after the issuance of the marriage license, unless authorized by an order of a court of record as hereinafter provided, nor shall it be solemnized after sixty days from the date of the issuance of...” Domestic Relations Law § 13
So the licence comes from a town or city clerk, which may be a different office from the town your venue sits in only if the venue is in a city. The person who marries you is a separate question with a separate list, including a village mayor: who can legally marry you on Long Island.
If you want a friend or relative to officiate, the one day officiant licence is issued by the same clerk that issued your marriage licence, and the twenty five dollar fee is set by statute. Several Long Island clerks publish it on the same page as the licence.
What to bring, and what we could not read
- Both of you, in person, to any town or city clerk in the state. The licence is valid anywhere in New York, so it does not have to be the town of your venue.
- Photo identification for each of you, and the paperwork for any prior marriage that ended. Ask the office for its own list, because it varies.
- Cash or a cheque if you are going to Babylon or East Hampton. A card plus a surcharge everywhere that publishes one.
- Your dates. Count sixty days from issuance, and remember the ceremony cannot happen inside the first twenty four hours without a court order.
3 sources could not be read cleanly and are listed in our notes rather than written up as publishing nothing. Southold's scanned application is the one worth flagging to the town: a document no machine can read is a document a blind applicant cannot read either.
Sources: the fifteen clerk pages and PDFs linked in the table above · DRL § 15(4) · DRL § 14-a · DRL § 13-b · DRL § 15-a · DRL § 13 · NYSDOH Publication 4210, revised May 2022
Clerk pages and statutes read on 28 September 2026. Fees and office practice change; the clerk outranks this page.
Short answers, with the source for each
How much is a marriage licence on Long Island?
Thirteen of the fifteen town and city clerks publish forty dollars. There is no statutory forty dollar fee: the statute sets thirty for the licence and allows a separate certificate fee up to ten, which every Long Island town board has set at the maximum. Southold and Glen Cove publish no figure we could read.
Which Long Island clerks do not take credit cards?
Babylon states that it does not accept debit or credit cards, and East Hampton states cash or check. Glen Cove publishes no payment method at all. Where cards are taken, published surcharges run from a dollar fifty five to two dollars fifty as flat amounts, or 2.35 percent to 2.95 percent.
How long is a New York marriage licence valid?
The statute says a marriage may not be solemnised after sixty days from the date of issuance, with a separate rule that it cannot happen within the first twenty four hours. Several clerk pages, and the state's own publication, describe the sixty days as beginning the day after issuance, which reads about a day longer than the statute.
Can we get our licence from a village clerk?
No. Domestic Relations Law section 13 runs the authority to a town or city clerk. A village mayor or village justice may perform the ceremony, but a village clerk cannot issue the licence.
Do we have to get the licence in the town where we are marrying?
No. The licence is issued by any town or city clerk in the state and is valid anywhere in New York.
