Havasu Vows › Mohave County marriage license guide

How to get a marriage license in Mohave County, Arizona

Updated October 18, 2026 · By Melisa Mahoney, Lake Havasu City wedding officiant

Step by step

1. Choose an office and go together. Both of you must appear in person (or apply by mail, below).
2. Bring ID. A current government photo ID for each of you: driver’s license, state or military ID, passport, or another government-issued photo ID.
3. Pay $98. In person, the clerk accepts cash and credit or debit cards.
4. Hold your ceremony within one year, in Arizona, with an authorized officiant and two witnesses aged 18 or older.
5. Sign the license after the ceremony. You, both witnesses and the officiant sign. Check every name and date first.
6. The officiant files it. Arizona law gives the officiant 30 days to return the signed license to the clerk (A.R.S. § 25-123).
7. Order a certified copy ($35) once it’s recorded. You’ll need it to change your name.

Where to apply

The Lake Havasu City office closes for lunch. Kingman stays open through midday if that suits your schedule better.

Fees at a glance

Applying by mail (great for out-of-town couples)

If you’re traveling to Lake Havasu to get married, you don’t have to make a trip to the clerk first.

• Fill in the county’s Marriage License by Mail application.
• Send it by email to clerkofcourt@mohavecourts.com, by fax to (928) 718-4930, or by mail to Clerk of Superior Court, Attn: Marriage License Department, P.O. Box 7000, Kingman, AZ 86402.
• Include copies of both photo IDs. Names must match your IDs, including full middle names.
• The clerk sends you an affidavit. Both of you sign it in front of a notary and return the original with the fee (cashier’s check, money order or personal check; personal checks are held 10 business days).
• Allow up to 6 weeks. Licenses are not mailed outside the United States.

Mail applications aren’t available for covenant marriages, anyone under 18, or applicants who are related.

Witnesses and the ceremony

• Witnesses aren’t needed to apply, but at least two witnesses aged 18 or older must attend and sign at the ceremony.
• You, your witnesses and the officiant must all be physically present. Arizona doesn’t allow marriage by proxy or video.
• Your officiant must be authorized under A.R.S. § 25-124, which includes ordained ministers and judges.
• The only legally required words are your declaration that you take each other in marriage and the officiant’s pronouncement. Everything else is yours to shape.

Special situations

Covenant marriage

Covenant marriage licenses (and conversions of an existing marriage) must be applied for in person, with the county’s premarital counseling forms.

Under 18

No one under 16 may marry. At 16 or 17 you need a certified emancipation order or a parent’s or guardian’s notarized consent (or the parent signs in person at the clerk), plus a birth certificate and photo ID, and your spouse can be no more than 3 years older.

Previously married

You don’t need to bring proof of a divorce or a spouse’s death, but any divorce must be final before your wedding.

Same-sex couples

Arizona has recognized same-sex marriage since October 17, 2014. The process is exactly the same.

Getting married on the California side of the lake

Lake Havasu sits on the Arizona–California line, so it matters which side your ceremony is on, especially on a boat.

If you’d like a California ceremony, ask me when you inquire. California rules come from the state and San Bernardino County; confirm them with the county clerk before you apply.

After the wedding: changing your name

1. Order a certified copy of your recorded license from the Clerk of the Superior Court ($35).
2. Update Social Security first.
3. Then the Arizona MVD (driver’s license), your bank, employer, passport and accounts.

Quick answers