How to Get Married in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico, with its lush white sandy beaches and warm sun, provides a unique spot for couples to get married. Find out what is required for your wedding in Puerto Rico.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. If you want to get married in Puerto Rico, there is nothing legal or technical stopping you, but you'll need to plan ahead and get a few documents together, fill in a few forms and pay a few fees.
   
   Puerto Rico has two types of marriage ceremonies, civil and religious. The civil ceremony is the only one that has any legal standing. The civil ceremony requires that the couple have positive identification, such as a passport or birth certificate, a blood test, and wait three days from the filing of the paperwork to the ceremony itself.
2. Get your marriage certificate as soon as possible. It can be acquired in advance from the Puerto Rico Department of Health. Visit the Demographic Registry to obtain the license, and purchase two license stamps (total stamp cost is US $30). You can expect to receive your marriage license within 10 days of your wedding date.
3. Remember: You'll need certain identification for a Puerto Rico Marriage License--Valid photo identification or passports and proof of divorce or a death certificate (if applicable).
4. Make sure you get your blood tests from a federally certified laboratory (in the U.S. or Puerto Rico) within 10 days of the wedding date. A doctor will need to sign and certify marriage certificate and blood tests in Puerto Rico.
5. Those are the technical basics. After you get all of the above steps out of the way, you can either have a fancy formal wedding in a church or you can just have a civil ceremony performed.