Created and reviewed for accuracy by researchers at the Universal Life Church Ministries
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 Oklahoma. Ordained ministers of the Universal Life Church have successfully performed thousands of legal marriages in Oklahoma. 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 Oklahoma.
- ULC Ordination Accepted: Yes
- Minister Registration Required: Yes
- Minister's Residency: Irrelevant
- Minister's Minimum Age: 18
- Marriage License Waiting Period: 0 Days
- Marriage License Valid For: 10 Days
- Marriage License Return Within: 5 Days
1 How to Become an Ordained Minister in Oklahoma
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 Oklahoma
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
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3 License to Marry in Oklahoma
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 Oklahoma to get an Ordination Package and to add a Letter of Good Standing to their order. Minister registration is required in the state of Oklahoma; you must register with your local marriage authority before the marriages you perform will be accepted as having been legally solemnized. While registration requirements seem to vary from one county to another, our ULC ministers in the area have reported to us that the most commonly requested documents of them are their Ordination Credentials and their Letter of Good Standing. 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.
Please note that the State of Oklahoma requires the presence of at least two valid witnesses apart from the officiant at the wedding ceremony. Additionally, note that while the local marriage authority does offer temporary officiant licenses these tend to be more limited and more expensive than getting ordained online with the Universal Life Church.
4 How to get Married in Oklahoma
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 Oklahoma marriage license from the appropriate office. This license will expire 10 days after it is issued, however there is a no mandatory waiting period between when the couple picks up the marriage license in Oklahoma and when the ceremony may legally be conducted. The signed license must be returned to the issuing office within 5 days of the ceremony. Please communicate with the couple to ensure that these deadlines are met, the state of Oklahoma has a more stringent timeline for the processing of marriage licenses than other states do.
At the Universal Life Church we receive several calls from wedding officiants in Oklahoma, 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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma Wedding Need-To-Knows
Wedding officiants should keep a few things in mind when preparing to perform a ceremony in Oklahoma. Firstly, the heat can get quite oppressive during the summer months, so the minister will definitely want to consider a short-sleeve clergy shirt if the couple has decided upon an outdoor wedding venue, such as a wedding barn. However, most couples choose late spring or early fall for their wedding date in the Sooner State, whether they are looking to have it in a chapel or outdoors. Sturdy shoes for before and after the ceremony are also advised if any portion of the event will require walking on uneven terrain. Weddings in Oklahoma tend to be more affordable than in other states, and it should not be that difficult for the couple to have a wedding on the cheaper end of the spectrum if they so choose. Ministers often wonder how much a wedding officiant should charge in Oklahoma, but the truth is there's no simple answer. Fees can vary widely based on experience, involvement, and relationship with the couple. Most officiants will charge at least $100, unless they know the couple well and would be at the ceremony even if they were not officiating, in which case they may choose to perform the ceremony as a gift to the couple.
Oklahoma Marriage Code
Marriage in Oklahoma is governed by Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes. Ministers ordained online by the Universal Life Church have successfully performed thousands of weddings in the state. Below, you will find that we have reproduced the relevant excerpts of this code.43-7. Solemnization of marriages. A. All marriages must be contracted by a formal ceremony performed or solemnized in the presence of at least two adult, competent persons as witnesses, by a judge or retired judge of any court in this state, or an ordained or authorized preacher or minister of the Gospel, priest or other ecclesiastical dignitary of any denomination who has been duly ordained or authorized by the church to which he or she belongs to preach the Gospel, or a rabbi and who is at least eighteen (18) years of age. View the Oklahoma Statutes on the official state site.
To view the in-depth wedding laws for Oklahoma state:
Oklahoma Marriage Laws⇓ Show the rest
