US Virgin Islands Legal Marriage Forms

Making it official in the US Virgin Islands

Making it Official

Your marriage license will cost a total of $200 to be paid directly to the court house.
Getting married in the US Virgin Islands is easy with minimal paperwork.  You will not need a blood test or a physical.

The license you receive is a legally binding US marriage license.
However, you do not need to be a US citizen to get married here.

Before you fill this out make sure you completed steps #1 through #3 on the steps page.

If you are coming in on a cruise ship and would like to avoid court house stops then you can get married by a Justice of the Peace back home and have a symbolic island ceremony here. Ask for details.

For the official court house paperwork follow these steps:

STEP ONE -
Download, fill out, marriage license and application for marriage license. Mail the forms (2 of them) along with $200 certified check or money order to the court (no personal checks accepted) made out to the "Superior Court of the Virgin Islands". Add an extra $150 for picking up your license on island on holidays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

You will need to have this paperwork in the court house at least 8 business days before your wedding date (you do not need to be on island 8 days before hand - just your paperwork). If you are cutting it close and do not think you can get the paperwork to the court house in time then you may ask for this rule to be waived.

Download the Marriage License and Application forms and fill them out (below).

Forms in Adobe Acrobat .... Application for marriage license License & certificate of marriage Instructions on filling out your marriage license & application. download acrobat reader

They must be typed or in extremely legible neat print (no cursive). Can be typed on our on line form.

Put N/A on anything on the form does not apply to you ( ie you are from a foreign country and do not have a social security number ).
If you do not know who one or both of your birth parents are then you can put "unknown".
It is also a good idea to enclose a letter stating when you would like to get married, when you would like to stop by the court house, along with your contact information (phone number and email address).

If you are divorced you need to send your most recent Court House Certified Divorce Decree in English (with a raised seal or stamped certified copy) signed by the judge from the court in which you were divorced (not just a notarized copy). Please include the entire divorce decree (all pages no matter how long it is). Your divorce must be final and dated thirty days  prior to your wedding date if contested or by default.  No exceptions.  If either spouse is widowed, you will  need a certified, stamped copy of your spouse's death certificate. If you have questions regarding the divorce decrees call the court house. 

After completion mail them, along with a $200 certified check or money order made out to the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands. If you are from Canada make sure your money order is from a bank and not the post office or it will be sent back.

Send by Priority Mail - get tracking but not signature confirmation (no one will be there to sign and it will come back to you).  

Superior Court of the Virgin Islands P.O. Box 70 St. Thomas, USVI 00804

If you are cutting it close to the date and want to send it Express or Fed Express then use the address below. You can get tracking and/or signature confirmation.

STEP TWO: Call Court House
After you mail your forms to the court house then keep an eye on the tracking to see when it arrives. Once you see that it did arrive then call the court house at 340-774-6680 ( ext 6207 or ask for marriage license department) to verify that your paperwork has arrived and that everything is in order. It is best to call in the afternoon when they are less busy.

To get better service always start your phone conversation with "good morning" or "good afternoon" - this is a local custom that you will find useful in the Virgin Islands before handling any business (ie talking to a local sales clerk, ordering a burger, getting into a taxi).

Also verify if your wedding date falls on a government holiday or a Virgin Island holiday. If it does ask for special instructions.
Ask them if you need to call them back to get a reference number or if everything is set.

After the completed Marriage license and application is received via mail in the island courts, there is a  required eight-day waiting period before you are allowed to get married.  If you are cutting it close to the time then this rule can be waived if you ask.

STEP THREE: On St. Thomas go to court house before wedding
Once you arrive on St. Thomas a quick trip to the courthouse is required to pick up your marriage license in person.  You will need to bring your photo ID for your appearance before the Clerk of the Court (Driver's License or passport). Both bride and groom are required to appear. Again, remember to say "good morning" or "good afternoon" before getting into business.

The courts are open 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday
Saturday 10am to noon.
Sunday 9:30am to 11am.
Holidays - varies - to call to verify.

STEP FOUR: After your wedding return signed papers back to court house.
After your stop to the court house then you can get married! After your ceremony your minister & witnesses will sign your papers. One of the signed papers needs to be returned to the court house. You can go back to the court house after the ceremony to get your final paperwork. Your minister can do this for you for an extra $35 to include 2 copies of your license and mailed to you priority with tracking but you will have to wait a few weeks for it to arrive in the mail. Add $10 for non-US addresses.

If you go to the court house on a weekend or after 3pm on weekdays then they will require a money order or cashier's check made out to the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands for your copies ( recommend getting that before coming to St. Thomas). A money order for $9 will get you 3 copies of your license.


Non US Citizens: Apostille  

If one or both of you are a not a US citizen then you will most likely need to get an Apostille. This is an extra certificate that authenticates the marriage license for your country. When you get home mail a certified copy of your marriage license with a raised seal along with a cashiers check made out for $25 US dollars to:

Lt. Governors Office
#18 Kongens Gade
St. Thomas, VI 00802

If you have time while on St. Thomas then you can go the Lt. Governors Office directly after the court house. They will require a copy of your license and $25 ( can be cash ). They will mail it to you via first class mail. If you are on St. Thomas for an extra week then you might be able to pick it up before you leave island.


STEP 5: Live happily ever after - the beginning.