What You’ll Need To Officiate In New York City
Once you’ve confirmed what is required to perform a wedding in New York City, head over to our online catalog to order any documentation or supplies you might need to officiate. For ministers in New York City, we typically suggest the Ordination Package. However, this decision will ultimately depend on what you learn from speaking with local officials.
Join The Officiant Association
If youre serious about building a sustainable career as a professional wedding officiant, then joining the International Association of Professional Wedding Officiants may be the single smartest decision you can make. The IAPWO offers educational content, networking opportunities, and member discounts for many products and services your business needs, as well as producing an annual wedding officiant conference. We are proud to be an official partner of the IAPWO, and WeddingOfficiants.com offers discounted advertising packages and upgraded directory placement to IAPWO members. For more information about IAPWO benefits or to become a member, visit IAPWO.ORG.
How Do You Get Ordained In New York
Getting ordained online with the Universal Life Church Ministries is as easy as filling out a quick form on our website. Just input a few basic details to create your account, then press submit thats it! Once your ordination has been processed, youll receive a confirmation email with a link to view your official digital ordination certificate on our website. To begin, hit the button below!
Our ordination process is straightforward, fast, and entirely free. Why? Because we believe everyone has the right to captain their own spiritual ship and chart their own course through the expansive waters of the universe. Your faith is your own, and we think its important that you be given the ability to pursue your beliefs however is most appropriate for you not according to some arbitrary set of rules laid out by some distant body.
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Learn New York City Marriage Requirements
Your next action item is to contact the office in charge of issuing marriage licenses in New York City. Politely explain that you’re an ordained minister planning to perform a wedding ceremony in their jurisdiction, and you’d like to know what credentials or official documents you need to show prior to officiating. Below you’ll see contact information for this office in New York City.
- Office Address:
- 141 Worth St, New York, NY 10007 Manhattan, NY 10007
- New York City Office Website
Getting Married In New York
- Minister Required to be Present:
- Yes
- Pronouncement Required:
- Yes
Both members of the couple, the officiating minister, and at least one witness must be present at the wedding ceremony. All four individuals will be asked to sign and complete the marriage license, as well as note the date and time of the ceremony.
The state of New York is very flexible regarding the style, content, length, and spirit of the ceremony. Couples can customize the service as they see fit as long as each individual verbally accepts the other as his or her spouse.
N.Y. Dom. Law § 11
N.Y. Dom. Law § 12
No particular form or ceremony is required when a marriage is solemnized as herein provided by a clergyman or magistrate, but the parties must solemnly declare in the presence of a clergyman or magistrate and the attending witness or witnesses that they take each other as husband and wife. In every case, at least one witness beside the clergyman or magistrate must be present at the ceremony.
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Is Universal Life Church Legal In New York State
Weddings performed by ministers ordained in the Universal Life Church Monastery found to be legally binding by the Appellate Court of New York. On April 25, 2013, a court decision upheld the legal rights of ministers of the Universal Life Church Monastery to solemnize marriages in the state of New York.
Honor A Spontaneous Witness
In any public place where a Wedding is being performed, passersby will be delighted they will stop respectfully and become onlookers and then, even participants when the Couple kiss and the Officiant announces to the worldI present to you these newly minted Partners Forever! There is always enthusiastic applause! Folks are always eager to sign as witnesses, when asked. If you are in a hotel or a restaurant, there is always a Concierge or a maître d to assist with the signing.
As far as the Witness requirement goes, as a true New Yorker will say, No prahblem.
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The Universal Life Church Blog
The Universal Life Church Monastery is the only interfaith ministry worldwide that opens its doors to all who seek to become an ordained minister or wedding officiant. We enable all faiths Christian, Jew, Mormon, Pagan, Wiccan, Baptists, and Atheists to join our Church. We are a non-denominational congregation of children from the same universe.
New York State Marriage Licenses And Certificates
In New York, theres only one way to legally wedwith a marriage license.
You might wonder, how else can you legally get married? Well, certain other states recognize common law marriages or marriages-by-proxy . However, neither is legal in New York. To make your New York wedding official, youll need to get your hands on a state marriage license.
Unsure where to start? Lets break down the New York state marriage license steps and requirements.
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Using Get Ordained To Perform Wedding Ceremonies Across The Us
U.S. wedding laws vary significantly from state-to-state, and even between individual counties. To help you navigate these complexities, we have created a comprehensive database that includes all the essential information about wedding laws around the country.
Using the interactive map or dropdown below, simply click on any state to learn about its specific marriage rules and regulations. As opposed to clunky government websites, these pages offer clear and concise explanations as well as helpful tutorials for officiating wedding ceremonies in each state.
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How To Get Ordained As A Minister In New York City
First up: you’ll want to get ordained as a minister of the Universal Life Church . ULC ordination is available online, free of charge, and gives the recipient the power to perform legal wedding ceremonies! Best of all, the process takes only moments to complete. You can begin by tapping the button below!
How To Become A Wedding Officiant In New York
If the process of planning, scripting, and performing a wedding is daunting, then you need our Wedding Helper suite of tools.We have distilled years of experience into an easy-to-use platform with training materials, quizzes, a personalized ceremony script generator, and tips to prepare you for performing marriage, all accessible through your minister profile.That’s only the beginning. After the wedding, you can share your wedding on the AMM Wedding Wall with our nationwide network of ministers.
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Make The Marriage Official
After you finish the wedding ceremony itself, the final step is to fill out and sign the marriage license with the couple, then make sure it gets returned to the office that issued it. To learn more about how a marriage license works and the other legal requirements to finalize a union, please check out our
After the marriage license has been signed and submitted, the wedding will be officially in the books!
How To Officiate A Wedding In New York City
Your next move will be to contact the government office that handles marriages and marriage licenses in New York City. Let them know youre an ordained minister planning to perform a wedding in their district and want to understand what documents or information they will need from you before the ceremony.
Information for how to get in touch with this office in New York City can be found below.
- Office Address:
- 141 Worth St, New York, NY 10007 Manhattan, NY 10007
- New York City Office Website
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How To Perform A Wedding In New York
Congratulations! If youve found yourself at this page it is likely that you are either planning to be married or have been asked to perform a wedding ceremony in New York. Ordained ministers of the Universal Life Church have successfully performed thousands of legal marriages in New York. The information provided below will walk you through the steps one must follow to become a minister and perform a valid wedding ceremony in the state of New York.
- Marriage License Waiting Period: 1 Day
- Marriage License Valid For: 60 Days
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How Do You Officiate A Wedding
Now you’re finally ready to perform the wedding! Please feel free to utilize the resources linked below. They contain helpful tips and information on every aspect of performing a wedding. Constructed with our wedding officiants in mind, they’ll show you everything you’ll need to plan the perfect ceremony.
Many professional ULC ministers use these resources on a regular basis!
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S To Getting Ordained
The timeline and procedure will vary depending on the organization. Your ordination could take one day to register online, or it could be longer if your ordination service requires training or coursework before theyll ordain you. Look for a reputable one that offers basic, fast, and free ordination online but has additional offerings and support staff to answer your questions.
How To Perform A Wedding In Your State
Performing a wedding is an incredible honor! But its also a great responsibility, and the process is slightly more complicated than walking up to the altar and pronouncing the couple married. If youve been asked to officiate a wedding, its important to understand the full scope of your task from getting ordained to getting the marriage license signed. Thats why weve put together this comprehensive guide to performing weddings!
The steps for officiating a wedding can vary depending on where the ceremony will take place, as each state has its own way of doing things. Using the interactive interactive mapdropdown below, simply click on any state to read a detailed step-by-step guide to officiating wedding ceremonies there.
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Officiant Registration In New York
Before officiating weddings in New York you need to get ordained online through a reputable online ministry. This process is as easy as finding a website that offers online ordinations that reflects your values.
A quick Google search will provide plenty of candidates. Most of them are free though some charge exorbitant fees. We will be openly biased in recommending that you get ordained with American Marriage Ministries.
Why American Marriage Ministries? Well, their ordination is free. They are set up specifically to help people officiate wedding ceremonies. And they are the only IRS Certified 501c3 Charitable Organization that offers online ordinations.
That being said, if you decide to seek ordination through another organization, that is your right.
Once you are ordained you will then need to check with the city or town clerk in New York. You may or may not be required to register depending on which city or town the wedding will take place.
We can tell you from experience that most places do not impose any minister registration requirements. If you plan on officiating weddings in New York City you will need to register with the City Clerks Marriage Bureau.
Officiant Registration Outside New York City
If you plan on performing a marriage in New York State but outside of New York City, then you need to contact the office responsible for issuing the marriage license to the couple.That office will be able to inform you if they require ministers to register with their office before performing marriage. That being said, most jurisdictions outside NYC do not have registration requirements for ministers.
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Online Ordinations Are They Legal On Long Island
The short answer is no. If it were already legal, there wouldnt be legislation before our state legislature in Albany trying to make it legal, or at least expand on who can legally perform marriage ceremonies in New York State.
Here is a link to State Senate Bill S430, which is the 2019 proposal.
The 4 previous bills that tries to give online officiants the ability to legally marry in New York are also listed in the above link to New York States website. If a new bill passes, that makes online officiants legally able to sign a marriage license, this is where you will find that information as well.
For more documentation of the couples disenfranchised and wills contested, scroll down to the article from the Nassau County Bar Associations Law Journal or follow along for a recap.
In 2017, the Towns of Smithtown and Islip limited their officiants list to only those with Civil Authority. This is because of the liability issues created by recommending someone to perform a service that may or may not be legal. Smithtown and Islip now only give information for sitting Judges, acting Mayors, appointed Marriage Officers and Clerks currently in office.
Not only is he a real Basset Hound, but he also passed away in 2008.
For more cases and information from other states see Wikipedia.
For more New York State Laws and cases there is a New York Times Article that notes cases and problems that are still ongoing.
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Where To Get A Marriage License On Long Island And In The City Of New York
While NYC accepts a single form of ID, being a Passport or Drivers License, please remember that Nassau and Suffolk Counties require 2 forms of ID. First category is a Birth or Baptismal Certificate, Second is a Passport or Drivers License. And of course if either of you has ever been married before, proof of termination of the previous marriage .
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How New York City Marriage Licenses Work
Now youre ready to officiate the wedding! If this is your first time performing a wedding we’d encourage you to take a moment to check out our wedding training center, which has tons of helpful tips and tools to prepare for the big day.
Once the ceremony is over, the last key box to check is completing the marriage license. In New York City, this license is valid for 60 days, there is a mandatory one-day waiting period, and the completed license must be returned before its listed expiration date. To learn more about how to fill out this document, please visit our
Get Legally Ordained To Perform Weddings
Everyday Universal Life Church ministers perform thousands of legal weddings, baptisms, funerals, and even operate their own churches! If you are wondering how to become an ordained minister, you’ve come to the right place. Utilizing the ULC’s instant online ordination platform, anyone who feels so-called can become a minister within seconds.
- Ordination is Fast, Free, & Easy
- Perform Weddings Legally
- Gain Free Access to ULC Training Center
- Utilize our Wedding Ceremony Script Generator
Over 20 million people around the world have already chosen to get ordained online with the Universal Life Church over the last few decades it has become one of Earth’s largest and most active religious organizations. The Monastery has only two tenets: 1. Do only that which is right, and 2. All should be free to worship as they see fit. Get ordained online today and join the Universal Life Church’s global family!
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Does It Cost Money To Be Ordained
Again, this depends on the organization you go through. Some, like the Universal Life Church, ordain for free but charge a small fee for certificates of credentials. Others, like the American Fellowship Church, do charge varying prices for the ordination, based on what type of package or certificate youd like to have. A quick tip: Before getting ordained, find out whether the ordination will be for life or for a limited time. If its for a limited time, find out if it costs anything to renew the ordination.