Congratulations! If you've 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 Florida. Ordained ministers of the Universal Life Church have successfully performed thousands of legal marriages in Florida. 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 Florida.
- ULC Ordination Accepted: Yes
- Minister Registration Required: No
- Minister's Residency: Irrelevant
- Minister's Minimum Age: 18
- Marriage License Waiting Period: 3 Days for residents, 0 Days for non-residents
- Marriage License Valid For: 60 Days
- Marriage License Return Within: 10 Days
1 How to Become an Ordained Minister in Florida
If you haven't already, you should get ordained online with the Universal Life Church. Ordination is free and can be completed in just a matter of minutes. Thousands of legally valid marriages are performed by ULC ministers around the world every year. Begin the process by clicking the big blue button below!
2 Officiating a Wedding in Florida
Next, you should contact the office of your local marriage authority (typically your county clerk). Let them know that you are a minister of the Universal Life Church in Seattle, and ask what they will require of you to officiate a legal marriage.
Select your County Clerk to quickly generate the contact information for your local marriage authority.
Select a county contact
Florida's Top Wedding Spot
A sandside ceremony at Smathers Beach, Key West's longest strand
3 License to Marry in Florida
After you've contacted your marriage authority, you should visit our online store to purchase whatever documentation will be required. We typically advise ministers in Florida to get an Ordination Package. While Minister registration is not technically required in Florida you may be asked to display proof of your ordination to the county clerks before they will accept the marriage as having been legally solemnized. Having this proof of your ordination will also provide peace-of-mind to any couple that you intend to marry. Additionally, please attempt to leave at least 3 weeks between the date of the wedding ceremony and your order, to ensure that you receive all of your materials in advance.
Aside from wedding ceremonies taking place wholly within Quaker doctrine (which are afforded an additional level of privacy, as discussed earlier), the state of Florida does not have any specific requirements for how the wedding ceremony be conducted. For any minister, including those who are ordained online, it would be prudent to note that under Florida law, couples who participate in a state-sanctioned marriage preparation course are eligible to receive a discount on their marriage application fees.
4 How to get Married in Florida
Now that you've done all of the above, you are ready to perform the wedding! Be sure that the couple has picked up their Florida marriage license from the appropriate office. This license is valid for 60 days, and there is a mandatory 3-day waiting period between when the couple receives the marriage license in Florida and when the ceremony may be legally performed for residents. Non-residents are not subject to the waiting period. Please be aware that the signed license must be returned to the issuing office within 10 days of the ceremony.
At the Universal Life Church we receive several calls from wedding officiants in Florida, after they've received their license to marry by getting ordained online, asking for guidance on how to perform a wedding ceremony. Once the legal matters have been taken care of, officiating a wedding (while a sometimes-daunting task) can be a great deal of fun. We would suggest that new Florida wedding ministers concerned about the ceremony peruse one of our helpful wedding guides. The minister training section of our website should offer a helpful refresher for more experienced ministers.
5 Important Florida Wedding Planning Tips
When planning to officiate a wedding in Florida, there are several specific things to consider. Florida is known for warm weather and miles of coastline, with a good majority of ceremonies taking place outside and around 25% at Florida beach wedding venues. During the late summer and fall, tropical storms are something to contend with as well. Don't forget to check the weather report and plan your attire accordingly! Florida is also a common location for destination weddings, so keep in mind that demand for certain regions or venues may be higher than expected. Are you wondering how much an officiant should charge for weddings in Florida? That is dependent on several factors, including how experienced the officiant is, how much involvement the officiant will have in preparations, and the distance of travel that will be required.
Florida Marriage Code
Marriage in Florida is governed by Title 43 of Florida's Codified Statutes. Ministers who got ordained online with the Universal Life Church have successfully solemnized thousands of weddings in the state. Below, you will find that we have reproduced a relevant excerpt of this code.741.07"Persons authorized to solemnize matrimony." (1)"All regularly ordained ministers of the gospel or elders in communion with some church, or other ordained clergy, and all judicial officers, including retired judicial officers, clerks of the circuit courts, and notaries public of this state may solemnize the rights of matrimonial contract, under the regulations prescribed by law. Nothing in this section shall make invalid a marriage which was solemnized by any member of the clergy, or as otherwise provided by law prior to July 1, 1978. View the Florida Statutes on the official state site.
To view the in-depth wedding laws for Florida state:
Florida Marriage Laws⇓ Show the rest
