J and I went to pick up our marriage license today and it was a breeze! We hopped down to the North York Civic Centre (by Mel Lastman Square) and contrary to prior warning, there was no line and the whole process took no longer than 15 minutes.

A marriage license is required in Ontario if you want to get married, so you don’t want to forget to do this little thing before your big day. It’s the thing you sign during your ceremony, along with 2 witnesses (usually best man and maid of honour) and the person who performed the ceremony. It’s pretty easy, download this form and fill it out with your fiancé. One thing to note is that you must bring ID to the office that shows the full name that you put on your application. For example, if your name is John Michael Smith, but all your ID says “John M Smith”, then you can only apply as John M Smith on your marriage license.

Only one of you needs to go (but you both can if you want); just make sure to bring the other’s ID with you.

The cost in Toronto is $130 flat, in Markham $129.50 and in Richmond Hill $125. Best place to go? Pickering, where it’s only $100. Don’t ask me why the prices are different, but I wish I knew this before we went. We could have saved on lots of time and a bit of money (including parking). Grrrr! At least Toronto is better than Mississauga, where it’s a whopping $140.

City of Toronto marriage licenses
Town of Markham marriage licenses
Town of Richmond Hill marriage licenses
City of Pickering marriage licenses