Marriage

IDPH requires marriage applications to be picked up in person or a personal request be made to the County Recorder for the application form to be mailed out.

Any County Recorder in Iowa can receive and process an application for marriage license as long as the ceremony is to be performed in Iowa.

For questions and assistance, call 563-326-8650 between 8am to 4:30pm.

Application Instructions

  • Please submit your completed marriage application at least two weeks before your anticipated ceremony date.
  • When completing the application, you must fill in all boxes unless it is specified as "optional".
  • Each party (couple getting married and one witness) needs to sign the application in presence of a Notary. Valid photo identification (drivers license or state ID) is required.
  • Ensure you have the completed Application for License to Marry, Marriage Address form and a local check** or money order for $35 made payable to the Scott County Recorder, before submiting. Incomplete applications may cause significant delays in processing times.
  • The marriage application can be completed in office. For same day processing, the completed marriage application must be recieved by 4:00pm. You can mail the completed forms to Scott County Recorder's Office at 600 W. 4th St., Davenport, IA 52801, or deposit in the county drop box (west side of Admin. Bldg.).

** Check number must be equal to or greater than 500.

Attachment:

PDF icon State of Iowa Marriage Instructions

Common Errors

  • #1 error, in the Notary Public section on the line for “Write name exactly as appears on I.D.”, the Notary needs to put the applicant name, NOT the notary name.
  • #2 error, in the Party A and Party B sections, when asked for Last Name Prior to ANY Marriage, put in your childhood/maiden name before ANY marriages. This applies to all parties, male and female.
  • #3 error, your witness must be over the age of 18 and can not officiate the ceremony.

When Application Is Received by the Recorders Office

  • In Scott County, the Marriage License is issued when the application is received. However, there is a four (4) day waiting period before the actual marriage may occur.
  • The date marriage license is valid appears on the license.
  • Once the Certificate of Marriage has been returned to the Recorder's office and placed on record, a certified copy will be mailed to the newlyweds.