Getting a Marriage License in Sussex County
Marriage licenses in Sussex County are issued by the Marriage Bureau, which is the local Clerk of the Peace function. The current Clerk of the Peace is Norman A. Jones Jr., known as Jay. The Chief Deputy, Maria Camila Pena Suarez, speaks Spanish. The office issues licenses, officiates Memorable Marriage ceremonies, and provides certified copies of marriage licenses that were issued in Sussex County. It does not hold New Castle or Kent County licenses, so a copy from those counties has to be requested from the issuing county.
The Marriage Bureau is appointment-only. That rule covers licenses, ceremonies, and certified-copy requests. Walk-ins are not the standard channel. Phone calls are answered when staff are free, and callers are told to leave a message if no one picks up. The office is at 2 The Circle, 2nd Floor Room 226, PO Box 29, Georgetown, DE 19947. The phone is 302-853-1717 and the email is marriagebureau@sussexcountyde.gov. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed county holidays. Delaware marriage law is in Title 13 Chapter 1 of the Delaware Code.
Note: Sussex Marriage Bureau staff will not search marriage records by email, so a phone or in-person appointment is the right route for a certified copy.
Inside the Sussex County Marriage Bureau
The Marriage Bureau works under the umbrella of the Clerk of the Peace. The Office of Defense Services in Delaware also handles related defense work for parties tied to family matters. A general look at the Office of Defense Services landing page gives a sense of how legal help is set up statewide.
That overview matters because divorce filings can pull in counsel, and ODS handles indigent defense in criminal matters that may overlap with family court protection orders.
The Marriage Bureau page also links the marriage code itself. Title 13 Chapter 1 sets the basic rules for who can marry, what counts as a valid license, and how the license is returned after a ceremony.
Anyone planning a Sussex marriage should skim the chapter before the appointment. It is short and answers many of the most common questions about age, prior marriages, and waiting periods.
How to Apply for a Marriage License
The process is short, but each step matters. The license is not issued the same day as the call, and the ceremony cannot happen until the license is in hand. Plan the timing with the ceremony date in mind.
- Call the Sussex County Marriage Bureau at 302-853-1717. Leave a message if no one picks up. Email marriagebureau@sussexcountyde.gov is the backup.
- Schedule the license appointment. The same call can set up a ceremony at the Bureau or a certified-copy pickup.
- Bring required photo ID and any documents Delaware Title 13 calls for, such as proof of prior marriage ending if either party was married before.
- Both parties go to the Bureau together at the appointment time. The clerk reviews the documents and prepares the license.
- Pay the current Marriage Bureau fee at the counter. The Bureau lists fees on its official page; the figure was not captured in published source pages during research, so verify the amount when scheduling.
- After the ceremony, the officiant returns the signed license under Title 13 rules. The Bureau then records the marriage and can issue certified copies after processing.
Marriage License Application Fields
The Bureau does not post the full form online, so the field list below comes from the standard Delaware application steps the office uses. Bring the data ready, and bring the documents that back it up.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Appointment request | Yes in practice | Phone or email; license, ceremony, and certified-copy slots all need an appointment. |
| Applicant full legal names | Yes | Both parties; legal names must match the photo ID. |
| Identification | Yes | In-person ID review. Verify current Marriage Bureau ID list before the appointment. |
| Date of birth, place of birth | Yes | Standard Title 13 marriage data points. |
| Prior marriage history | Yes | Bring divorce decree or death certificate if either party was previously married. |
| Ceremony request | Optional | Bureau officiates Memorable Marriage ceremonies by appointment. |
| Certified copy request | Optional | Sussex-issued licenses only; other Delaware counties hold their own copies. |
Sussex County Marriage and Divorce Fees
Fees come from two different offices. Marriage Bureau fees are set by the county. Divorce filing fees are set by Delaware Family Court. Research did not capture the exact published figures in this pass, so the table below is honest about that gap. Confirm the current amount with the relevant office before sending payment.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Marriage license (Sussex Marriage Bureau) | Fee not posted in captured sources; call 302-853-1717. |
| Memorable Marriage ceremony | Fee not posted in captured sources; ask at appointment. |
| Certified marriage copy (Sussex-issued license) | Fee not posted in captured sources; verify with Bureau. |
| Divorce petition filing (Sussex Family Court) | Fee not posted in captured sources; call 302-855-7400. |
| Certified Family Court divorce decree copy | Fee not posted in captured sources; verify at records room. |
Note: The county and the courts do not always update fee pages on the same schedule, so confirm fees the same week the payment is sent.
How to Look Up Sussex County Marriage Records
A Sussex marriage record is held by the office that issued the license. For a license issued in Sussex County, that is the Marriage Bureau. The Bureau will not search by email. Use the phone or set an appointment in person. Bring the names of both parties and the marriage date, or the date range if the exact day is unknown.
Older marriage data and statewide vital records can also be requested through the Delaware Division of Public Health Office of Vital Statistics, but the local copy stays with the Bureau. Some genealogy researchers also use Delaware Public Archives for older records. For ceremonies that happened in Kent or New Castle County, do not call Sussex; contact the issuing county Clerk of the Peace.
How to Find Sussex County Divorce Records
Divorce in Delaware is a Family Court matter, not a Marriage Bureau matter. Delaware divorce and annulment law is in Title 13 Chapter 15 of the Delaware Code. Sussex Family Court is at 100 East Market Street, Georgetown, DE 19947, in the new Family Court building. The main court phone is 302-855-7400. Filings, hearings, decrees, and case-file review for Sussex divorces are handled there.
A Sussex divorce file can be reviewed under Family Court's records-room rule. The Family Court records page says a person may review a Family Court file at the location where the file is kept, and that all review must occur in the presence of Family Court staff to prevent tampering. The records room is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed legal holidays and scheduled closures. That supervised-access rule applies to divorce, custody, support, juvenile, and protection-from-abuse files.
The official Family Court Sussex page lists contact details, hours, and records-room access information.
That page is the right starting point for anyone trying to file a divorce, schedule a hearing, or review a Sussex Family Court divorce file in person.
Delaware Divorce Rules at a Glance
Title 13 Chapter 15 sets the divorce framework. It covers residency, grounds, separation, mediation, custody, support, and decree entry. A Sussex resident generally files in Sussex Family Court when the venue rules under Title 13 apply. The court can require a mediation step, a parenting plan, or a financial disclosure depending on whether the case involves minor children or contested property.
A reading of Chapter 15 before filing is useful. The chapter explains no-fault grounds, the separation period, and what the court can order at decree.
Most divorce filers will not need every section of the chapter, but the structure is short enough to skim before the first hearing.
Getting Certified Copies
A certified marriage copy is the one with the raised seal or official certification from the Marriage Bureau. Banks, insurance carriers, name-change processes, immigration filings, and Social Security all ask for a certified copy. Uncertified plain copies are not accepted for those uses. Order the certified version through a Bureau appointment for a Sussex-issued license.
A certified Family Court divorce decree comes from the Family Court records room in Georgetown. Bring the case name and case number if known. The court will not hand over a sealed file or a portion of a file restricted by privacy rule. For divorces decided in another Delaware county, the certified decree comes from the Family Court branch that handled the case, not from Sussex Family Court.
Related Offices and Records
Marriage and divorce cross a few different offices in Sussex County. Estate matters that follow a divorce or death sit with the Sussex County Register of Wills and Court of Chancery. Public-records routes for county administrative files run through Sussex County FOIA. The Clerk of the Peace page covers Marriage Bureau detail in depth, and the Sussex Family Court page covers divorce, custody, and protection-from-abuse processes. The Prothonotary page is the right entry point for Superior Court civil matters that might overlap, such as a separate property action.
Delaware family-related expungement for juvenile records is handled under Title 10 Chapter 9 Subchapter III, which sits under the Family Court statutory authority.
That statute matters for parties who had juvenile records tied to a domestic case and want them cleared before the divorce decree is final.