The licence fee is $135.00, taxes included (cash, debit, Visa or
MasterCard).
Not required in Ontario prior to the issuance of a Marriage Licence
The Marriage Licence Application form must be completed and signed by both
parties to the marriage (the applicant and the joint applicant).
The form will only be accepted by completing and signing the application and
taking it in person to an Ontario Marriage Licence Issuer. The
Marriage Licence application is available as a pdf document as is the
listing of Accepted I.D. for Marriage Licences.
The marriage licence application is the copyrighted property of the Queen's
Printer for Ontario.
One party to the marriage (either the bride or the groom) may submit the
completed application form to the City Clerk's Office in order to obtain the
Marriage Licence, provided that a primary and secondary piece of identification
is submitted. The listing of
Accepted I.D. for Marriage Licences is available as a pdf document.
Applicants between the ages of eighteen (18) and twenty (20) inclusive must
produce a birth certificate as proof of their age or complete and sign an
Affidavit of Age form, available from the City Clerk's Office.
Applicants age 16 and 17 must have the consent of their parents. Further
information with respect to these situations is available from the City Clerk's
Office.
Applicants who are widowed are not required to provide proof of the death of
their spouse.
Within Canada: Applicants who have been divorced within
Canada are required to produce either the original or a certified copy of the
Decree Absolute or Certificate of Divorce. Certification may be obtained through
the Courts.
Outside Canada: Applicants who have been divorced outside of
Canada are required to follow a different process in order to ensure that their
divorce is honoured in this Country. Further information on this divorce process
can be found on the Provincial website at
www.serviceontario.ca.
Once issued, the Marriage Licence is valid for three months and may be used
at any location within the Province of Ontario.
On July 17, 2006 the Ministry of Government Services expanded its on-line
certificate application service to include marriage certificate applications.
Clients can now order certificates on-line by filling out an interactive form
with help features to guide people through the process. As with the existing
on-line birth certificates applications and on-line death applications, payment
for on-line applications must be made by credit card. When completed, the form
is sent electronically to the ORG.
The on-line application is accessible through both the ServiceOntario website
at www.serviceontario.ca
as well as the Ministry of Government Services website at
www.mgs.gov.on.ca.
After the marriage ceremony, there are three options either spouse may
consider in regards to retaining, assuming, or legally changing his/her last
name.
Option 1: Continue to use his/her last name
Under this course of action, the spouse who wishes to keep his/her current
last name needs to take no action. Ontario law does NOT require a spouse to
change his/her last name upon marriage.
Option 2: Assume the use of the Spouse's last name
An assumed name is a name which a person uses or adopts although it is not
their legal name. It is not against the law to simply use another name,
provided it is not for fraudulent purposes. Upon marriage, a person may choose
to "assume" the last name of his/her spouse and use it. Most government
organizations, credit card firms, etc will accept a copy of the marriage
certificate issued by the Office of the Registrar General as proof of
marriage, and issue revised identification. With this option, your birth
certificate remains in your maiden or birth name.
Option 3: Legally change his/her last name
A legal name is the name by which the person is entitled to be recognized
for the purposes of Ontario law. Either spouse can use the spousal elections
provisions to legally change their last name to what his/her spouse's last
name was before marriage or a hyphenated or combined last name incorporating
the last name of both spouses. In this instance, a person will elect the
option under the Change of Name Act, complete the appropriate forms
and submit them to the Office of the Registrar General. The office will amend
the person's birth registration, replacing his/her last name on the record
with his/her new last name, retaining the name at birth in brackets.
If the person is born in Ontario, the birth registration is notated, and a
birth certificate in the new name is issued, as well as a change of name
certificate. If this is done within 90 days of marriage, there is no charge,
otherwise a fee is charged.
If at some time a divorce takes place, or the other spouse dies, and the
spouse wishes to return to the use of his/her former name, he/she must apply
once more for a change of name. If he/she applies within 90 days of the
divorce, the processing fee is $25.00, otherwise the spouse must make a formal
application under Section 4 of the Change of Name Act and pay a fee
of $137.00.
Example:
For example, Margaret Jones married Bob Smith in 2000 but did not make the
spousal election. She now signs all her cheques, letters and other documents
"Margaret Smith". Therefore her legal name is Margaret Jones but her assumed
name is Margaret Smith.
Name change check list:
The following are some suggested agencies or services that you may consider
updating with your new name:
