This page is general information, not legal advice; for your own situation, ask the county clerk or a Colorado family law attorney.
Colorado’s marriage law lives in Title 14, Article 2 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, the Uniform Marriage Act. It is short and readable, and most of it exists to make getting married easy. Below are the rules couples ask about, each with the section that sets it. We quote from the official 2024 printout published by the Colorado General Assembly and note where a later law has changed things.
The license and its deadlines
A county clerk issues a license once both parties have completed and signed the application, at least one has appeared, the fees are paid, and the clerk has proof of age and proof that the marriage is not prohibited (C.R.S. 14-2-106). The statute builds the price from three parts, a $7 license fee, a $20 contribution to the state’s domestic abuse program fund and a vital records amount, which is why counties charge $30.
Under C.R.S. 14-2-107 a license is valid only in Colorado and only for 35 days from issue. An unused license is void. Under C.R.S. 14-2-109 the signed certificate goes back to the clerk within 63 days of the ceremony, with a late fee of at least $20 that can grow by $5 a day to $50.
Colorado has no waiting period and no blood test. You do not need to live in Colorado or be a U.S. citizen to marry here.
Clerks may let couples complete parts of the process by video under C.R.S. 14-2-106.5, but not if either party is under 18, and both must appear together on screen. Denver uses this for its virtual appointments.
Age and consent
The default age is 18. Under C.R.S. 14-2-106 a clerk issues a license on proof that each party will be 18 when the license takes effect, or that a party aged 16 or 17 has judicial approval.
Judicial approval is set out in C.R.S. 14-2-108. Only the juvenile court can give it, after trying to notify the parents or guardians, appointing a guardian ad litem, and finding that the young person can assume the responsibilities of marriage and that the marriage serves their best interests. The statute says pregnancy alone does not establish best interests. Parental consent on its own is not enough. No one under 16 may marry in Colorado, as Jefferson County’s requirements page confirms. A marriage that violates the age rule is voidable.
Prohibited marriages
C.R.S. 14-2-110 prohibits a marriage entered into before an earlier marriage or civil union of either party is dissolved, unless it is with the same partner. It also prohibits marriage between an ancestor and descendant, a brother and sister, an uncle and niece, or an aunt and nephew, by half or whole blood. First cousins may marry in Colorado; Summit and Jefferson counties both say so on their pages.
Who may solemnize a marriage
C.R.S. 14-2-109(1) lists them: a judge, a court magistrate, a retired judge, a public official whose powers include solemnizing marriages, the parties themselves, or anyone acting under a mode of solemnization recognized by a religious denomination or an Indian nation or tribe.
The phrase “the parties to the marriage” is the legal basis of self solemnization. You may marry yourselves, with no officiant and no witnesses, and sign the certificate as the parties who solemnized it. Our self solemnization guide covers the form. A friend who is not ordained or recognized by a religious body cannot sign as officiant.
Proxy marriage
Colorado is one of the few states that allows marriage by proxy, but only in narrow cases. Under C.R.S. 14-2-109(2), applying for a proxy marriage license requires that one party is a Colorado resident, one party appears in person and pays the fee, the present party brings a notarized absentee affidavit and ID for the absent party, and both parties are at least 18.
The absent party may name a proxy for the ceremony only if they are a member of the U.S. armed forces stationed in another country or state in support of combat or another military operation, or a government contractor or contractor employee supporting those operations. If the person solemnizing is not satisfied, the parties may petition the district court. Denver notes that proxy marriages may not be self solemnized.
Do not confuse proxy marriage with the absentee affidavit most couples use. The affidavit lets one partner pick up the license alone; both partners still attend the ceremony.
Common law marriage
Colorado recognizes common law marriage. There is no license; a couple becomes married by mutually agreeing to be married and living in a way that shows it. The Colorado Supreme Court restated the test in 2021 in Hogsett v. Neale, focusing on whether the couple mutually intended to enter a marital relationship, shown by their conduct.
The statute sets limits. Under C.R.S. 14-2-109.5 a common law marriage formed on or after September 1, 2006 is valid only if both parties were at least 18 and the marriage was not otherwise prohibited. Some clerks record a notarized common law marriage affidavit, as Summit County describes, but recording an affidavit is evidence, not a ceremony. A common law marriage ends only by divorce.
Same sex marriage
Same sex couples marry in Colorado on exactly the same terms as anyone else. The older statute, C.R.S. 14-2-104, limited marriage to one man and one woman, and the 2024 printout still shows that text, but it has been unenforceable since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. In November 2024 Colorado voters removed the same sex marriage ban from the state constitution, and on April 7, 2025 the governor signed SB25-014, Protecting the Freedom to Marry, repealing the ban in statute. Colorado also offers civil unions under Title 14, Article 15, and couples in a civil union may marry each other without dissolving it first.
Changing your name
Colorado does not change your name through the marriage license. The license records the names on your IDs, and you change your name afterward using a certified copy of the recorded marriage record. Jefferson County advises waiting until the license is recorded and starting with Social Security, which issues a replacement card in the new name. Then update your driver’s license and passport.
Where to go next
For the practical steps, read how to get married in Colorado. Bringing children or a dog? Our page on eloping with kids and dogs covers group caps and pet rules by land type. Flying in? See eloping in Colorado from out of state. For the offices, see the Denver, Jefferson County and Summit County pages and the statewide license guide.
