Marion County Marriage License Office
Marriage licenses in Marion County are issued by the Marion County Clerk, Chad G. Mattingly. The office is at 223 North Spalding Avenue, Suite 102, Lebanon, KY 40033, and the listed phone number is 270-692-2651. The County Clerk is separate from Tammy Morris Edlin's Circuit Court Clerk office, which handles court case records. That split matters. A couple applying for a license, or a person looking for a county marriage-license record, should start with the County Clerk rather than the Judicial Center court clerk.
The Marion County Clerk marriage license page says both parties must appear together, the application is signed and sworn before the County Clerk, and the Kentucky license must be used within Kentucky. The license is valid for 30 days from issuance. The same official page states that no waiting period and no blood test are required. Because the page still carries older under-18 wording, current eligibility questions should be confirmed directly with the clerk before travel or payment.
The official Marion County Clerk county page is the starting point for local license records.
That office connection is why Marion County marriage records use the County Clerk path, while divorce files use the court-record path.
Marion County Marriage Application Steps
A Marion County marriage license is an in-person county clerk transaction. Applicants should prepare names, dates, prior-marriage details, and parent information before going to the clerk's office. The official research did not confirm an online Marion County marriage-license application that replaces the in-person oath, so the practical route is to use the clerk's instructions, call if timing is tight, and bring payment and identification that the office will accept.
- Contact or visit the Marion County Clerk at 223 North Spalding Avenue, Suite 102, Lebanon, to confirm current license procedure and office timing.
- Have both applicants appear together because the official Marion County page requires both parties for the license application.
- Provide the application details requested by the clerk, including birth, residence, parent, prior-marriage, occupation, and planned-marriage information.
- Sign and swear to the application before the County Clerk, then pay the non-refundable license fee required by the office.
- Use the Kentucky license within 30 days and make sure the completed license is returned for recording after the ceremony.
Note: Kentucky license rules can change, so age and consent issues should be checked with the clerk under current law.
Marion County Marriage Record Fields
The marriage application field list is useful for both applicants and searchers. Applicants need the data to complete the sworn license application. Searchers need the same data to identify the right Marion County marriage record, especially when names have changed or a family has repeated surnames. The official Marion County page lists the following marriage license information.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Party names | Yes | Both applicants are listed. |
| Addresses | Yes | Current residence details for both parties. |
| Date of birth / current age | Yes | Used to identify the applicants and confirm eligibility. |
| Place of birth | Yes | Requested for both applicants. |
| Parents' names | Yes | Helpful for record matching and genealogy searches. |
| Current marital status | Yes | Used with prior-marriage information. |
| Number of prior marriages | Yes | Both applicants provide the count. |
| Occupation, race, and relationship status | Yes as listed | Fields appear in the official Marion County inventory. |
| Date of marriage | Yes | The planned ceremony date helps tie the license to the event. |
| Signature / oath | Yes | The application is signed and sworn before the clerk. |
Look Up Marion County Marriage Records
Local marriage records can be requested through the Marion County Clerk. The County Clerk's record channels include in-person service, written request, email, mail, fax, and the office's open-records process for county records. Written requests should name the applicant, provide phone and address, identify the precise documents requested, state the applicant's residency, and include other facts that help locate the record. Fees must be paid in advance before copies are obtained.
The Marion County Clerk open records page lists delivery to 223 North Spalding Avenue, Suite 102, email to Chad.Mattingly@ky.gov, mail to the same address, and fax to 270-692-9811. The clerk page says the office responds within five business days. For older family-history searches, give both spouses' names, the approximate license date, and any known place-of-birth or parent-name details from the application fields.
The Marion County Clerk open-records page is one official route for county marriage records.
That written-request channel is most useful when a certificate portal cannot identify the local license record.
Find Marion County Divorce Records
Divorce records are court records. A Marion County divorce decree or full divorce case file should be requested from the Marion County Circuit Court Clerk if the decree was granted in Marion County. The local court office is at the Marion County Judicial Center, 121 North Spalding Avenue, Lebanon, KY 40033, with phone 270-692-2681. Divorce cases are Circuit Court matters in Kentucky, and the file can include the petition, summons, service papers, financial disclosures, custody material, settlement terms, court orders, and the final decree.
A state divorce certificate is not the same thing as the full court file. The certificate proves that a divorce was recorded in Kentucky's vital-record system. The court file shows the case history and decree terms that the court entered. Access can be limited for records involving children, domestic violence, sealed material, confidential identifiers, or other restricted court content. If a divorce is old or transferred, the Circuit Court Clerk is the first office to ask because the clerk may need to identify case and file locator numbers before a State Records Center request can work.
Kentucky Marriage and Divorce Certificates
The Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics marriage and divorce certificate page covers marriage and divorce records from June 1958 to the present. OVS tells users to contact the county clerk for pre-June 1958 marriage records and the circuit court clerk for pre-June 1958 divorce records. That date line is one of the most important distinctions for Marion County searches because older records stay local instead of moving through the state certificate route.
OVS certificate requests require the full names of both parties, the month, day, and year of the marriage or divorce, the Kentucky county where the license or decree was issued, the requester's name and address, a daytime phone number, and the number of copies. The Kentucky OVS purchase page lists online, phone, fax, mail, in-person, and drop-box options. VitalChek is used for online, phone, and fax certificate ordering. The OVS office address is 275 East Main Street, 1E-A, Frankfort, KY 40621, and office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern.
The Kentucky OVS certificate page is the state source for post-June 1958 marriage and divorce certificates.
The state certificate route helps when proof of the event is enough and a full court or clerk file is not needed.
The Kentucky OVS purchase page explains certificate ordering choices and service limits.
Those ordering choices do not replace local access for pre-1958 records or complete divorce case files.
Marion County Marriage and Divorce Fees
Fee questions depend on the record path. The Marion County Clerk handles marriage-license and county-record copy requests. The Circuit Court Clerk handles divorce case copies and certified court copies. OVS charges a certificate search fee for state marriage and divorce certificates. Filing fees for new divorce cases should be confirmed with the Circuit Court Clerk or current Kentucky Court of Justice fee orders because the research notes a court-fee change effective July 1, 2026.
| Item | Amount / Source |
|---|---|
| OVS marriage or divorce certificate search | $6 non-refundable search fee per certificate |
| Court document copy | $0.25 per page through the Circuit Court Clerk fee order |
| Certified court copy / preparing certification | $5 through the Circuit Court Clerk fee order |
| Divorce filing | Confirm current filing fee with the Circuit Court Clerk |
| County Clerk copies | Fees paid in advance before copies are obtained |
Pre-1958 Marion County Records
Pre-June 1958 marriage and divorce records use a local search path. For Marion County marriage licenses, contact the County Clerk where the license was issued. For Marion County divorce decrees before June 1958, contact the Circuit Court Clerk where the decree was granted. OVS may help with later certificates, but it is not the local archive for those older marriage licenses or divorce case files.
If a court file has moved off site, the Circuit Court Clerk should identify whether the State Records Center or the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives is the next stop. State Records Center requests cannot be searched by name or Social Security number, so case and file locator numbers from the local clerk are important. Historical searches work best when the requester gives names, approximate dates, the county, and the type of record needed.
The Marion County Clerk marriage license page remains the local source for license instructions.
That local clerk role is why older Marion County marriage searches should not start with a statewide certificate-only request.