Carlton County Marriage License Office
Marriage licenses and certified marriage certificates are handled by the Carlton County Recorder/Vital Records Office, not by District Court Administration. The Recorder is Bryon Blair. The office is in the Historic Courthouse at 301 Walnut Avenue, Carlton, MN 55718, with mail sent to P.O. Box 70, Carlton, MN 55718. The phone number is 218-384-9156, the fax number is 218-384-9157, and public hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The office accepts cash, checks, and credit cards in person only. Checks must be for the exact transaction amount and must show a current phone number, current address, and current driver's license number. This matters for Carlton County marriage records because court administration at the Justice Center does not issue marriage licenses, does not sell certified marriage certificates, and does not receive returned marriage certificates after the ceremony.
The county's Recorder/Vital Records page is the source for the local office split.
The Recorder page confirms that vital records and marriage work sit at the Historic Courthouse, separate from court records at the Justice Center.
Apply for Carlton County Marriage Records
Carlton County uses the Minnesota Official Marriage System, often called MOMS, for the online marriage license application queue. The online part does not finish the license by itself. Both parties must complete the application, submit it, and then appear at a participating county office before the ceremony. Carlton County is a participating county, and the county says both applicants must complete the procedure at the Recorder's Office after the online form is done.
The Carlton County marriage license page states the local fee and points applicants to the online application.
The county license page is the local source for the $125 fee and for the requirement that both applicants finish the process with Recorder staff.
- Start the Minnesota marriage license application online and select a participating county.
- Make sure both parties are 18 or older and able to apply through the online system. Safe at Home participants must apply in person.
- Submit the application and keep track of the 90-day application queue. After 90 days, the application must be redone.
- Both applicants must appear at the Carlton County Recorder/Vital Records Office to obtain the license before the ceremony.
- Use the license anywhere in Minnesota and return the certificate to the county where the license was purchased. The ceremony must occur within six months after the date shown on the completed application.
Note: A person with a felony conviction cannot change a name through the marriage application process and must use the separate process under Minn. Stat. 259.13.
MOMS Marriage Application Fields
The MOMS application start page provides the visible entry points and eligibility notices before the full application opens. It is not a Carlton County court form. It is a statewide marriage licensing queue used by participating Minnesota counties. The public-facing notices are important because they tell applicants which items are hard requirements before a Carlton County marriage license can be issued.
The Minnesota Official Marriage System is the state marriage portal used before the Recorder issues the local license.
MOMS keeps the online application and certificate-search functions in one statewide system, but Carlton County still completes the license at the Recorder counter.
| Field or Notice | Type | Required | Options or Format Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start Application | Button or link | Yes | Begins the online marriage license application. |
| Participating county | County list | Yes later | Carlton is listed as a participating county. |
| Both parties appear | Notice | Yes | Both applicants must appear at the county office. |
| Application queue | Notice | Yes | The application remains in queue for 90 days. |
| Age | Eligibility notice | Yes | Applicants must be 18 or older. |
| Safe at Home | Eligibility notice | Yes | Safe at Home participants must apply in person. |
Carlton County Marriage and Divorce Fees
Marriage fees come from Carlton County Recorder sources. Divorce and court-copy fees come from the Minnesota Judicial Branch district court fee schedule because divorce is a family case in District Court. The two offices use different counters and different record systems, even though both serve Carlton County residents.
| Item | Amount | Office |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage license application | $125 | Carlton County Recorder/Vital Records |
| Certified marriage certificate | $9 each | Carlton County Recorder/Vital Records |
| Dissolution with or without children | $390 | District Court |
| Certified court copy | $14 | District Court Administration |
| Exemplified and certified court copy | $28 | District Court Administration |
Search Carlton County Marriage Certificates
Certified marriage certificates are available from Carlton County only when the marriage license was purchased in Carlton County. The county says copies may be purchased at the Recorder's Office or ordered by mail with the Marriage Certificate Request Form, the required fee, both applicants' full names as shown at the time of application, and the marriage date.
For lookup before ordering, use the MOMS marriage certificate search. The system is statewide, so the county filter is useful when the license county is known. It can also search by both applicants or one applicant. Older records use the pre-August 1, 2013 label where Applicant 1 means Groom and Applicant 2 means Bride.
The MOMS search page shows the statewide certificate search fields used for Carlton County marriage records.
The search page is useful for locating the record, while the certified copy still comes from the county that sold the original license.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Options or Format Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| County | Dropdown | Optional | Use Carlton to narrow a local search. |
| Search By | Dropdown | Yes | Both Applicants, Applicant 1, or Applicant 2. |
| Last Name | Text | Optional | Name search field. |
| First Name | Text | Optional | Name search field. |
| Middle Name | Text | Optional | Name search field. |
| Date Range From | Date | Optional | Marriage date range start. |
| Date Range To | Date | Optional | Marriage date range end. |
| Search Option | Dropdown | Yes | Name Starts With, Name Sounds Like, or Name Exact Match. |
Find Carlton County Divorce Records
Divorce records are not Recorder records. They are District Court family records. A Carlton County divorce case may include the petition, summons, confidential information forms, parenting documents, financial affidavits, orders, judgment and decree, and later motions after the decree. Some family details, child information, addresses, and financial identifiers may be restricted or redacted.
Plain copies of recent divorce records may be found through Minnesota Court Records Online, also called MCRO. To focus the search, choose Name or Case Number, use the family case category when helpful, and select Carlton as the county location. MCRO is not the official certified court record, and remote access is narrower than access at a courthouse terminal. Domestic abuse and harassment restraining-order case types have special remote-access limits.
The Minnesota State Law Library divorce decree page describes how to get divorce decrees from the county where the divorce was granted.
That state law library path matches Carlton County practice: search remotely when possible, then use District Court Administration for certified decree copies.
Carlton County Certified Copies
For certified marriage certificates, contact Carlton County Recorder/Vital Records at the Historic Courthouse. The record must be tied to a license purchased in Carlton County, and the request needs the names used at application, the marriage date, and the copy fee. For certified divorce decrees, contact Carlton County District Court Administration at the Justice Center, 1780 Justice Drive, Carlton, MN 55718, phone 218-673-5065. A decree is certified by the court that granted the divorce.
The county's Marriage Certificates page is the local source for certified marriage-copy ordering.
That certificate page is separate from divorce decree access because Carlton County marriage certificates are Recorder records, not District Court records.
Use the county building split before traveling. Marriage license and certificate work belongs at 301 Walnut Avenue. Divorce decrees, divorce case files, court judgments, and court-certified copies belong at court administration on the second floor of the Justice Center. A public access court-records computer is also on the second floor for records not fully available through remote MCRO search.