Shelby County Marriage License
Shelby County marriage licenses are issued by the Shelby County Clerk, not by the Shelby County Circuit Court Clerk. The clerk's marriage information is part of the county clerk's public service work, along with legal records, motor vehicles, elections, and other county-clerk functions. Both applicants must apply together. The Shelby County Clerk lists accepted identification examples such as a driver's license, government-issued photo ID, original birth certificate, passport, or Social Security card.
The Shelby County Clerk marriage license page states that Kentucky has no waiting period and no blood-test requirement. A birth certificate is not required unless an applicant is under 18. A divorce decree and Social Security card are not required for ordinary adult applicants. A license issued in Shelby County may be used for a ceremony anywhere in Kentucky, and a license issued by another Kentucky county may be used for a Shelby County ceremony. The license is valid for 30 days, including the date it is issued.
The manifest source for the County Clerk home page is the Shelby County Clerk website, which is the local starting point for license and county-clerk service information.
The clerk site matters because a marriage license is a county clerk record before it becomes a state vital-record certificate.
Apply for Shelby County Marriage Records
The license process is practical and local. Applicants should use the Shelby County Clerk, bring ID, pay the posted fee, and complete the license before the ceremony. The officiant then returns the signed marriage application to the clerk, where it is filed. After filing, the clerk can issue the couple's local marriage license or copy. People who need a certified state certificate for benefits, name changes, travel, or other formal uses may also need the Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics route.
- Contact or visit the Shelby County Clerk before applying if age, ID, or timing is uncertain.
- Both applicants appear together with acceptable ID and the information needed for the license.
- Pay the marriage license fee using a payment method accepted by the clerk.
- Use the license within the 30-day Kentucky validity period, including the issue date.
- After the ceremony, make sure the officiant returns the signed marriage application to the Shelby County Clerk.
- Request a local certified copy from the clerk or a state certificate from Vital Statistics, depending on the use.
The Shelby County Clerk printable forms page is a useful local route for certificate paperwork. Its manifest source is the Shelby County Clerk printable forms page.
That page connects the local clerk workflow with the state marriage and divorce certificate application.
Shelby County Marriage Fees
Fees depend on whether the request is for a local marriage license, a local certified marriage copy, a state vital certificate, or a divorce court filing. The Shelby County Clerk posts the marriage license fee and local certified-copy prices. Kentucky Vital Statistics charges a nonrefundable search fee for marriage and divorce certificates. Circuit Court divorce filing fees follow statewide court fee orders and may include service or other court costs.
| Item | Amount / Rule | Office |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage license | $60.00 | Shelby County Clerk |
| Certified marriage copy by mail | $6.00 | Shelby County Clerk |
| Certified marriage copy in person | $5.00 | Shelby County Clerk |
| OVS marriage certificate | $6.00 nonrefundable search fee per certificate | Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics |
| OVS divorce certificate | $6.00 nonrefundable search fee per certificate | Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics |
| Circuit civil filing fee for divorce | $188.00 effective July 1, 2026, with possible added technology, facility, library, or service fees | Circuit Court Clerk |
| Court copy | $0.25 per page effective July 1, 2026 | Circuit Court Clerk |
| Court certification | $5.00 effective July 1, 2026 | Circuit Court Clerk |
| Certified mail service | $35.00 effective July 1, 2026 | Kentucky courts |
Note: Vital Statistics fees are search fees, so the fee is charged even when the requested certificate is not located.
Shelby County Certificate Fields
The Kentucky VS-230 application is for marriage and divorce certificates, not for applying for a new marriage license. The application asks the requester to identify which certificate is needed and to provide enough event detail for a state search. The Shelby County Clerk uses the same state form link from its printable forms area, and Kentucky Vital Statistics uses it for mail and in-person certificate requests.
| VS-230 Field | Used For | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Type of certificate | Marriage or divorce | The requester marks which certificate is being ordered. |
| First party current legal name | Marriage certificate | Current name helps identify the record. |
| First party previous legal name to marriage | Marriage certificate | Used for prior or maiden-name matching. |
| Second party current legal name | Marriage certificate | Identifies the other spouse or partner. |
| Second party previous legal name to marriage | Marriage certificate | Useful when names changed after marriage. |
| County marriage license issued | Marriage certificate | Use Shelby County if the license was issued here. |
| Date of marriage | Marriage certificate | Approximate details may slow the search. |
| County divorce decree granted | Divorce certificate | Use Shelby County only if the decree was granted here. |
| Date of divorce | Divorce certificate | Needed for the certificate search. |
| Requester name, phone, mailing address, signature | Both certificate types | Used to process and mail the certificate. |
| Quantity and total fee | Both certificate types | Marriage and divorce certificates are listed at $6 each. |
The official source for this field inventory is the Kentucky VS-230 marriage/divorce certificate application.
Kentucky Marriage Divorce Certificates
The Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics marriage and divorce page holds state certificate records for marriages and divorces from June 1958 to the present. OVS cannot, by law, provide information from records, verify whether a certificate is on file, or perform a genealogy search without a completed application and required fee. Once OVS receives the application and fee, it searches for the record and mails a certified copy if the record is found.
The OVS certificate page is included in the manifest as the state certificate source for Shelby County marriage and divorce records.
That state source is separate from the Shelby County Clerk license record and from the Circuit Court divorce case file.
The Kentucky Vital Statistics purchase page lists certificate purchase routes and the current certificate search fees. Online, phone, and fax orders route through VitalChek, with extra vendor charges. A lobby route exists in Frankfort, and the VS-230 form states lobby applications are accepted during the posted weekday window. Mail and in-person routes remain useful when a requester wants to avoid third-party order charges.
The manifest source for certificate purchase options is the official Vital Statistics purchase page.
The certificate purchase rules help explain why a courthouse copy, a county clerk copy, and an OVS certificate may carry different fees.
Find Shelby County Divorce Records
Divorce records have two access tracks. The divorce case file, including pleadings, orders, and the decree, is a Circuit Court or Family Court record. Public case information may appear through KYeCourts, but copies and certified court documents start with the Shelby County Circuit Court Clerk. A divorce certificate is a state vital record ordered from Kentucky Vital Statistics. The certificate proves that the divorce or annulment was recorded, while the court file shows the case activity and decree terms.
Kentucky Circuit Court handles divorces, and Family Court is a Circuit Court division for family and child-related matters. Some divorce case material may be restricted, especially where child custody, support, adoption, juvenile, abuse or neglect, financial account data, or protected identifiers appear. A person needing the case decree should request the court record. A person needing a vital certificate should use VS-230.
Divorce filing uses court forms and the Circuit Court Clerk, not the County Clerk. KCOJ's legal forms and self-help routes include divorce without children interviews and the VS-300 Divorce Certificate Generator. The VS-300 web form asks for party names, residence, birth, marriage, divorce county, number of minor children, attorney or pro se contact, and related certificate details before generating the document for filing.
Certified Shelby County Copies
For local certified marriage copies by mail, the supplemental Shelby research gives the Shelby County Clerk's Office mailing route at 501 Washington Street, Shelbyville, KY 40065. For marriages before June 26, 2020, requesters should include bride's maiden name, groom's name, and year of marriage. For marriages after June 25, 2020, requesters should include partner 1 or partner 2 maiden name and year of marriage. The clerk's mailing address is P.O. Box 819, Shelbyville, KY 40066-0819, and the office phone is 502-633-4410.
Older record dates matter. Shelby County Clerk legal records are maintained from 1792 to the present, but marriage licenses are available back to 1897. Kentucky Vital Statistics holds marriage and divorce records from June 1958 forward. For pre-June 1958 marriage records, the county clerk where the license was issued is the key office. For pre-June 1958 divorce records, the circuit clerk where the decree was granted is the key office.
The Clerk's marriage license details are documented in the manifest source for the Shelby County Clerk other services page.
Those local instructions are the best source for Shelby County marriage-license fee, ID, validity, and return-of-license details.