Filing free to officiate a wedding will become $20 in 2024

Marriages in Rock County are increasingly being officiated by friends or relatives.
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2024, the currently free ordination filing fee will be raised to $20.
“We were the only region in the state that had no fee,” said land records director Rachel Jacobs. ‘Twenty dollars was the most used fee in the state.”
All Minnesota counties can issue a “certificate of filing,” which allows a civilian to officiate over a wedding and legally sign a couple’s marriage license.
Each county sets its own ordination fee.
The region that includes Rock County adopted the $20 fee beginning Jan. 1.
Jacobs said more of today’s couples are choosing to be married privately by a close relative or a friend rather than by a minister in a church.
This year, 24 ordination certificates have been purchased at the Rock County Courthouse.
That number is up from 19 in 2022 and will more than likely surpass the total of 26 issued in 2021.
Anyone over age 21 with a photo ID can obtain an ordination certificate. Once filed, the certificate does not expire and is only valid for couples marrying in Minnesota.