Find Marriage License in Kit Carson County

The Kit Carson County Clerk and Recorder in Burlington handles marriage licenses for all county residents and visitors.

Kit Carson County Clerk and Recorder

The Clerk and Recorder office sits on the second floor of the courthouse at 1650 Donelan Avenue. You need to go there to get a marriage license in Kit Carson County. The staff helps couples from all over the state. They also serve people from other states who want to marry in Colorado.

Both people must show up at the same time to apply. Bring your ID with you. A driver license or passport works best. The clerk will ask for basic facts about you. This includes your birth date and where you were born. If you were married before, they need to know when that ended. The form is not hard to fill out. Most couples finish in less than 20 minutes.

What You Need to Bring

Kit Carson County follows the same rules as all Colorado counties for marriage licenses. You must be at least 18 years old. If you are 16 or 17, a judge must sign a court order first. No one under 16 can get married in Colorado per state law.

Bring a valid photo ID to the clerk office. Your driver license is the best choice. A state ID card works too. A passport is also fine. If you have no photo ID, bring your birth certificate instead. The clerk needs to see proof of your age and identity. Make sure your ID is current and not expired.

You need to know your parents' full names. The form asks for this information. It also asks where they live or lived. If you do not know your father's name or your mother's maiden name, that is okay. Write what you know on the form.

Have your Social Security number ready. The clerk only needs the last four digits. If you do not have a Social Security number, you must sign an affidavit. The clerk will give you this form at the office. It takes just a minute to complete and sign.

• Valid photo ID like a driver license or passport
• Birth certificate if you have no photo ID
• Last four digits of your Social Security number
• Information about previous marriages if you were married before
• $30 fee in cash, check, or card

Getting Your License in Kit Carson County

Walk in to the clerk office during business hours. No appointment is needed in Kit Carson County. The staff will give you a form to fill out. You can also fill it out at home if you get it from the website first. Both ways work fine.

The form asks for your full name and address. It wants your birth date and where you were born. You list your parents too. If you were married before, write when your last marriage ended. This includes the date of divorce or death. The clerk needs this to make sure you can marry again.

After you fill out the form, turn it in with your IDs. The clerk will check everything. They type up your license right there. You get it the same day. The whole visit takes less than half an hour in most cases. Pay the $30 fee before you leave.

Your license is valid for 35 days from the date it is issued under C.R.S. 14-2-107. You can use it anywhere in Colorado during that time. After 35 days it expires and you need to apply again if you did not get married yet.

Marriage Ceremonies in Kit Carson County

Colorado law lets you marry yourself. This is called self-solemnization. You do not need a priest, judge, or other person to sign your license. Just you and your spouse sign it. This option is unique to Colorado and only a few other states allow it. The law is in C.R.S. 14-2-109.

If you want a traditional ceremony, you can have one. Judges, magistrates, and clergy can all perform weddings in Colorado. Retired judges can also do it. Your friend or family member cannot sign your license unless they are ordained clergy or an authorized judge. Self-solemnization is the only way a couple can marry without an officiant.

You do not need witnesses in Colorado. The law does not require them. If you want people to sign as witnesses, that is allowed. There is no age limit for witnesses. Even children can sign if you want them to.

After your ceremony, someone must sign the marriage certificate section of your license. If you self-solemnize, you both sign as the parties to the marriage. If you have an officiant, they sign it. Then you must return the completed license to the Kit Carson County Clerk office within 63 days. You can mail it or drop it off. If you are late, you may owe a late fee of $20 plus $5 per day up to $50 total.

Fees and Certified Copies

The marriage license costs $30 in Kit Carson County. This is the same price in all 64 Colorado counties. The fee is set by state law in C.R.S. 14-2-106. You can pay with cash, check, or credit card. Some counties charge a small fee for using a credit card but Kit Carson County may not. Ask when you visit.

After your license is recorded, you can get a certified copy. The clerk keeps your original license on file. A certified copy costs $1.25 per copy in Kit Carson County. This is much less than the state charges. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment charges $17 for a certified copy from their office in Denver.

You can order copies in person or by mail from the Kit Carson County Clerk. If you mail your request, include a self-addressed stamped envelope. This saves you the handling fee. Write a note with your full names, the date of your marriage, and how many copies you want. Include a check for the copy fee.

Finding Marriage Records in Kit Carson County

Kit Carson County has online record searching available. The system goes back to 1889. This is one of the longest record collections in Colorado. You can search for old marriage records and new ones too. The website is free to use for basic searches.

To find a marriage record, go to the clerk website at kitcarsoncounty.colorado.gov/clerk-recorder/recorder. Look for the online records search link. You can search by name or by date. The system shows when the marriage was recorded and gives you a document number.

If you need a copy of an old marriage record, call the clerk office at (719) 346-8638. Press 2 for the recording division. The staff can make copies of any record in their system. Old records may take a day or two to retrieve if they are in storage. Most recent records are available right away.

The clerk office also handles other recorded documents. This includes property deeds, liens, and civil union records. All of these are searchable online. The system is easy to use and works on any computer or phone.

State-Level Marriage Resources

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment keeps a central database of marriage records. After your license is recorded in Kit Carson County, it gets sent to the state. The state office at 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South in Denver holds the official copy. You can order certified copies from them too.

Call the state vital records office at (303) 692-2000 with questions about your marriage certificate. Their hours are Monday through Friday. They do not issue licenses, only copies of recorded marriages. The fee is $17 for the first copy and $10 for each extra copy in the same order.

You can also order online through VitalChek at vitalchek.com. This is a third-party service with extra fees. It is faster than mail but costs more. Most people just call the state office or visit the county clerk instead.

Nearby Counties

If Kit Carson County is not convenient for you, try a nearby county clerk office. All Colorado marriage licenses work statewide. You can apply in one county and marry in another. The fee is $30 everywhere.

Lincoln County sits to the south of Kit Carson County. The clerk office is in Hugo. Call (719) 743-2444 for information. They are open from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM on weekdays. The office is smaller than Kit Carson County so you may have a shorter wait time.

Yuma County is west of Kit Carson County. Their county seat is Wray. The clerk office there also issues marriage licenses for $30. Cheyenne County is to the north with their office in Cheyenne Wells. All of these counties follow the same state rules for marriage licenses.

If you want more options, larger counties like El Paso County in Colorado Springs have multiple office locations. Larimer County in Fort Collins also has several branches. These bigger offices have more staff and sometimes offer online applications too.