An Ontario marriage licence is issued by a municipality, is valid anywhere in Ontario for 3 months, and needs two pieces of government ID per person, one with a photo. Each municipality sets its own fee; Toronto charges $180, and the $75 provincial fee can be waived in one case.
Applies in: Ontario
Written November 13, 2026
Apply to a municipality, online through ServiceOntario where your municipality takes part, or on the municipality's own online or paper route, then pick the licence up in person. The Government of Ontario states the core rules in one place: a licence is valid for 3 months from the date it was issued, each person needs two pieces of government-issued identification with one photo piece, and the fee varies by municipality. Toronto's $180 fee is carried in this guide as one city example, not as an Ontario price. This guide covers the licence only. The certificate you order after the marriage is registered is a separate document.
An Ontario licence may be used anywhere in Ontario. You do not have to get it in the municipality where the wedding will take place. You do have to get it before the ceremony. A licence cannot do its work after the fact.
The provincial page lists who may marry in Ontario. You need to be at least 18 years of age or, if you are 16 or 17 years old, have written consent from your parents or legal guardians or a court order, unless you are widowed or divorced. You must not already be married or, if you were previously married, have had the marriage dissolved or annulled. And you must be able to freely and willingly consent.
Both applicants must be 16 years of age or older on the date the licence is issued. No licence is issued below that floor.
If one or both of you are under 18, the Consent of Parents or Guardians to Marriage form must be completed. The provincial page gives two ways to finish it: have all parents or legal guardians swear or affirm the form before a commissioner for taking affidavits and attach or bring the sworn form, or bring all parents or legal guardians with you when you pick up the licence so the form can be sworn or affirmed in person.
In limited and specific circumstances, the publication of banns may be used as an alternative to a marriage licence. Ask your officiant about that route if it fits your ceremony. For everyone else, the licence is the document to get.
The online application page and the getting-married page give the same two starting routes:
Before you start the online application, the province asks you to make sure of four things: your wedding date is within 3 months from the day you apply, you have identified a participating municipality, there is at least 1 business day between your application and your wedding date, and your documents are saved in JPEG, PDF, or PNG format to speed up the application. The online application takes about 25 to 30 minutes. If you need a licence in the next 24 hours, the page directs you to contact your local municipality instead.
One of you must still come in person to the municipality, with photo identification, to pick up the licence and pay the fee. Starting online shortens the counter visit. It does not remove it.
The documents rule is two pieces of government-issued identification per person, one with a photo, plus supporting documents where they apply. That is four pieces of identification for a couple.
The provincial list of acceptable documents includes a birth certificate (Canadian or foreign), a passport (Canadian or foreign), a driver's licence (Canadian or foreign), an Ontario Photo Card, a photo identity card from another Canadian province or territory or a foreign country, a Canadian citizenship card or certificate, a Canadian permanent resident card, a Canadian record of landing, a Canadian government refugee travel document, a Nexus card, and a United States Green Card, among other listed federal documents. Health cards cannot be used for the online service.
Documents that are not in English or French must be translated by a professional translator and include a written declaration from the translator. Sort translations before you submit. A document the issuer cannot read does not count as a document presented.
Divorced in Canada. Bring official proof of the divorce when you apply: a copy of the final decree, the final judgment, or a certificate of divorce. The provincial page warns that a divorce order issued by a judge is not the same as a certificate of divorce, which is the proof of a divorce.
Divorced outside Canada. This case takes time, so start it first. The documents must be validated by the government and may take up to 4 weeks to process. You send ServiceOntario a completed and signed Marriage Licence Application form, a Statement of Sole Responsibility for each divorce signed by both of you and a witness, a legal opinion letter from an Ontario lawyer addressed to both of you giving reasons why the divorce or annulment should be recognized in Ontario, and a copy of the divorce decree or annulment in English or French — or, in another language, a translated copy with an affidavit sworn by a certified translator. Completed Foreign Divorce Authorizations are sent back by courier, so the full mailing address, with suite, unit, apartment, or buzzer number, must be on the application. Mail the package to ServiceOntario, Marriage Office, PO Box 4600, 189 Red River Road, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 6L8, as the provincial page directs.
Widowed. For each applicant remarrying after the death of a spouse, upload or submit in person one of the following: a death certificate of the spouse, a funeral director's statement of death, or a court order declaring that the spouse has died.
There is no Ontario-wide price to quote, because municipalities set the total. Every total includes the $75 provincial portion the waiver rule below refers to. The rest is the municipality's own charge, and it changes from one town hall to the next.
One city figure is stated on that city's own official pages and is carried here as an example only. The City of Toronto charges $180 for a marriage licence, HST does not apply, payment is by debit or credit card only, and the fee is non-refundable. Toronto also states its licence is valid for use anywhere within Ontario. Do not carry Toronto's $180 to another municipality. Ask the office that will issue your licence for its current fee before you attend.
The waiver is narrow and provincial. You may be eligible to have the $75 provincial marriage licence fee waived if both of you are registered or entitled to be registered under Canada's Indian Act and reside in Ontario on reserve or Crown lands. Municipal administrative fees may still apply. To claim it, one of you completes the Affidavit to Waive Provincial Fee for a Marriage Licence form and swears or affirms it in person before a commissioner for taking affidavits, submitting it online or in person when the licence is picked up.
The licence is valid for 3 months from the date it was issued. Have the ceremony inside that window, anywhere in Ontario, with an officiant authorized under Ontario's Marriage Act. The province divides officiants into registered marriage officiants — persons recognized by their religious body, or by a band, First Nation, Métis or Inuit organization, community, or Indigenous entity in Ontario, as entitled to perform marriages — and civil marriage officiants, who include a municipal clerk or delegate, a judge, an Ontario associate judge, an Ontario justice of the peace, and a Member of Provincial Parliament who has given the required written notice.
Right after the ceremony, you, your spouse, your witnesses, and the person who performed the marriage sign the licence or banns. Once the marriage is registered, the next documents are the marriage certificate and, if you choose it, a last name change. Both sit outside the licence this guide covers.
The provincial pages state the 3-month validity, the identification rule, the remarriage documents, and the $75 provincial fee waiver, but they do not state a single Ontario licence price, a same-day issue time at every municipality, or a fee for replacing a lost licence, so this guide gives none of those. Only Toronto's fee is stated, because Toronto's own official pages state it. Every other municipality's current fee must be taken from that municipality.
| Provincial portion included in every fee | $75 — waivable where both applicants qualify for the reduced-fee rule below |
|---|---|
| City of Toronto, as one municipal example | $180 total, no HST, non-refundable, debit or credit card only |
| Every other municipality | Sets its own total on top of the provincial portion; confirm with the issuing office before you go |
There is no single Ontario price. Municipalities set the total, the licence is valid for 3 months from issue, and it may be used anywhere in Ontario.
3 months from the date it was issued. Both the Government of Ontario getting-married page and the online application page state that validity period, and the online page adds that your wedding date must fall within 3 months of the day you apply, with at least 1 business day between the application and the wedding date.
Each municipality sets its own total, and that total includes a $75 provincial portion. Toronto, as one municipal example, charges $180 with no HST, payable by debit or credit card only, and the fee is non-refundable. Check the fee with the municipality that will issue your licence before you attend, because no other city's figure is stated in this guide.
Two pieces of government-issued identification per person, one with a photo. The provincial list includes a birth certificate, passport, or driver's licence (Canadian or foreign), an Ontario Photo Card, a photo identity card from another province, territory, or country, a citizenship card or certificate, a permanent resident card, a record of landing, a Nexus card, and a United States Green Card. Health cards cannot be used for the online service. Documents not in English or French must be translated by a professional translator with a written declaration from the translator.
You must be at least 18, or 16 or 17 with written consent from your parents or legal guardians or a court order, unless you are widowed or divorced. Both applicants must be 16 or older on the date the licence is issued. You must not already be married unless that marriage was dissolved or annulled, and you must be able to freely and willingly consent.
If you were divorced in Canada, bring official proof of the divorce: a final decree, a final judgment, or a certificate of divorce. A divorce order alone is not that proof. If you were divorced outside Canada, ServiceOntario must validate the divorce first, which may take up to 4 weeks, using a completed application form, a Statement of Sole Responsibility, a legal opinion letter from an Ontario lawyer, and the divorce decree or annulment in English or French or with a certified translation. If a spouse died, bring a death certificate, a funeral director's statement of death, or a court order declaring the death.
The $75 provincial fee may be waived if both of you are registered or entitled to be registered under Canada's Indian Act and reside in Ontario on reserve or Crown lands. Municipal administrative fees may still apply. One of you completes the Affidavit to Waive Provincial Fee for a Marriage Licence form and swears or affirms it in person before a commissioner for taking affidavits when the licence is picked up or submitted.