UPDATED: December 20, 2021
Due to government restrictions and changes in DC government policies and operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic response, the availability and/or delivery timeline of some of our services have been affected. We have compiled the most up-to-date information on this page, and will be updating this page as new information becomes available. If you have any questions regarding these updates or how our services have been affected, please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to assist you. Thank you!
For the most up to date information on COVID-19 travel and gathering restrictions from the DC Mayor’s office, please visit CORONAVIRUS.DC.GOV for further information.
LEGAL MARRIAGE & ELOPEMENT PACKAGES
DC Elopements® is still able to perform all services included in our DC Legal Marriage and Washington DC Elopement Packages, and our customers are still getting married every week despite the restrictions and ongoing delays. Some services included in our packages are experiencing delays or modified processing (especially obtaining DC marriage licenses and certified copies from the DC Marriage Bureau), but rest assured that we are still able to help you get married as quickly and efficiently as possible.
IMPORTANT NOTE
Please read the below updates on how specific services are currently affected, and don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or to book a package today!
MARRIAGE LICENSES
Due to limited operations at the DC Superior Court, the DC Marriage Bureau is experiencing severe delays in processing time and our customers have reported wait times of up to 8 weeks or more to process new online applications for DC marriage licenses.
The DC Marriage Bureau has reopened for in-person service at a limited capacity, but the DC Marriage Bureau waiting room is closed until further notice. Applicants may still sign in and wait in the hallway for their name to be called, but our customers have reported wait times of up to 3 hours during peak times.
Please be advised that we are doing everything we possibly can to assist our customers with submitting marriage license applications and obtaining DC marriage licenses as quickly as possible, but we are limited in our ability to help couples expedite the process. That said, we communicate with the staff at the DC Marriage Bureau on a regular basis, and have been successful at resolving issues that our clients had not been capable of handling on their own.
If you have questions about obtaining a DC Marriage License, or are a current customer needing an update on the status of your submitted application, please contact us as soon as possible.
CERTIFIED COPIES
We are still able to obtain regular certified copies and “triple seal” copies of marriage licenses, but the process takes longer than usual and no “expedited” service is presently available due to ongoing delays in logging return copies at the DC Marriage Bureau. If you are ordering a service which includes DC certified copies, we will process the request with the court immediately following your marriage. As soon as we receive the certified copies back from the court, they will be mailed directly to you.
Apostille Marriage License authentication services are currently taking approximately three weeks to obtain once we receive triple seal certified copies from the DC Marriage Bureau and submit them to the the Office of Authentications at the Department of State.
Customers who are not yet married and need to obtain certified or apostille copies of their marriage license are strongly encouraged to use our Legal Online Marriage Package rather than attempting to get married using a DC marriage license. Our current turnaround time for online legal marriages is three business days, with Apostille copies arriving via FedEx in as little as two days, as opposed to 2-3 months using a DC marriage license.
If you have any questions regarding the information on this page, or to report outdated or inaccurate information, please contact us and we will be happy to assist you!
