License to Certificate time
Aug 18, 2011 11:54 PM Back
By Church of Ancient Ways
Hello ladies!
The calls have been coming in recently wanting to know about the turn around time from ceremony to certificate.
There is really no hard and fast rule on this.
Many times my couples have it in a week or two, sometimes they wait for up to six or eight weeks.
Many believe that it has to do with when the officiant returns the license. This is true in part. However legally we only have five days to get it back to the Town Hall that issued it.
The primary factor is simply the volume of licenses that the registrar has to process. New York City issues and processes more marriage licenses than anywhere else in the country with the exception of Las Vegas. During wedding season if you get a City license you will wait a little longer for your certificate.
On July 24th 2010 New York State began issuing same sex marriage licenses. This led to a higher volume of licenses being issued for the end of summer into the early fall. Once the initial rush has passed the regular seasonal volume will resume. End of July & early August couples may see a delay though.
Is there a way to get around this?
Yes! Dropping the license off in person is called 'hand filing'. If you go with your officiant to the Town Hall that issued your license they will sometimes process it while you wait. Sometimes it is better to just ask them not to mail the certificate as the couple will be in later that day to pick it up. They will NOT give it to ANYONE except the bride or groom. ALWAYS call first. If you choose this option the clerk is going out of their way and doing you a favor. See if the day you choose is ok for them and make sure they are willing to help you. Same with your officiant. Where they live and which town hall you went to will make a difference when it comes to the amount of time it will take them and if there will be an additional fee. (as an example I drop off Babylon licenses in person anyway, so there's no charge. A Riverhead license would take me almost an hour each way just to get there so there would be an additional charge.)
Most Town halls require the officiant to mail or file the license themselves. Some - like the City of New York - Worth St office - allow the couple to bring the license back themselves. Ask first, your answers will vary. If you choose to return it yourselves, after making sure that you got it from one of the town halls that allows you to, remember you have 5 days or it goes bad like a piece of fruit.
The calls have been coming in recently wanting to know about the turn around time from ceremony to certificate.
There is really no hard and fast rule on this.
Many times my couples have it in a week or two, sometimes they wait for up to six or eight weeks.
Many believe that it has to do with when the officiant returns the license. This is true in part. However legally we only have five days to get it back to the Town Hall that issued it.
The primary factor is simply the volume of licenses that the registrar has to process. New York City issues and processes more marriage licenses than anywhere else in the country with the exception of Las Vegas. During wedding season if you get a City license you will wait a little longer for your certificate.
On July 24th 2010 New York State began issuing same sex marriage licenses. This led to a higher volume of licenses being issued for the end of summer into the early fall. Once the initial rush has passed the regular seasonal volume will resume. End of July & early August couples may see a delay though.
Is there a way to get around this?
Yes! Dropping the license off in person is called 'hand filing'. If you go with your officiant to the Town Hall that issued your license they will sometimes process it while you wait. Sometimes it is better to just ask them not to mail the certificate as the couple will be in later that day to pick it up. They will NOT give it to ANYONE except the bride or groom. ALWAYS call first. If you choose this option the clerk is going out of their way and doing you a favor. See if the day you choose is ok for them and make sure they are willing to help you. Same with your officiant. Where they live and which town hall you went to will make a difference when it comes to the amount of time it will take them and if there will be an additional fee. (as an example I drop off Babylon licenses in person anyway, so there's no charge. A Riverhead license would take me almost an hour each way just to get there so there would be an additional charge.)
Most Town halls require the officiant to mail or file the license themselves. Some - like the City of New York - Worth St office - allow the couple to bring the license back themselves. Ask first, your answers will vary. If you choose to return it yourselves, after making sure that you got it from one of the town halls that allows you to, remember you have 5 days or it goes bad like a piece of fruit.
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