Denver County Marriage Licenses
Marriage records and licenses are held by the Denver Clerk and Recorder, not the court clerk. The office is located at 200 W. 14th Ave., Denver, CO 80204, and operates Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed city holidays. General contact is 311 or 720-913-1311 outside Denver, with TTY at 720-913-8497. Marriage and recording questions use 720-865-8699, marriages@denvergov.org, recording@denvergov.org, or clerkandrecorder@denvergov.org.
The Denver marriages and civil unions page says in-person and virtual marriage services are available by appointment only. Denver also notes that parties may satisfy certain appearance requirements without appearing in person under C.R.S. 14-2-106.5(3) and 14-15-110.5(3), and the office has completed the human-trafficking training required by those sections.
The manifest source for marriage license services is the official Denver marriages and civil unions page.
That source is the main local channel for appointment rules, civil-union notes, and license-return instructions.
Apply for Denver Marriage License
Denver marriage license work is appointment driven. Arrivals more than 10 minutes late require rescheduling, so couples should prepare names, ID, contact details, payment method, and ceremony plans before the appointment. After the ceremony, the signed and completed license must be returned so the record can be entered and later searched or certified.
- Schedule an appointment with Denver Clerk and Recorder for in-person or virtual marriage service.
- Arrive on time or join the virtual process as instructed by the office.
- Complete the license or civil union requirements and provide the requested identifying information.
- After the ceremony, return the signed and completed license by USPS or drop box.
- Request certified copies through the online records search or the Clerk and Recorder mail or office process.
The red Clerk and Recorder drop box outside DCR headquarters at 14th Avenue and Bannock Street can receive signed licenses. Denver says items in the drop box are picked up within four hours during city business hours, and the original license is returned by USPS.
Denver Marriage Search Fields
Denver's public recording search supports marriage records and other recorded documents. The inspected search screen offers a search-scope choice and a text search. Certified copy requests are handled as a workflow after a record is found. The field table below reflects the official marriage records search inventory.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Options / Format Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search scope | Radio or toggle | Optional | Official public search offers Search Index Only or Search Index & Full Text OCR. |
| Search terms | Text | Optional or required to search | Index-only searches indexed information; OCR searches contents of every document. |
| Reset Search | Button | No | Clears search entries. |
| Certified copy request prompts | Workflow | Conditional | Follow prompts in the online records search for certified copies. |
The official search source is the Denver Clerk and Recorder public records search.
Because Denver marriage records are kept by the county that issued the license, the county database is the correct starting point for a Denver-issued license.
Denver Marriage Copy Fees
Denver's current web page states that certified copies of marriage licenses or other recorded documents are requested through the self-service online records search. The marriage records page lists $1 per document plus $0.25 per page. A related FAQ or name-change PDF references certified copies at $1.25 each, which matches a one-page certified copy. The current web page fee is the safest fee source for record requests.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Certified recorded document or marriage license copy | $1 per document plus $0.25 per page |
| One-page certified copy reference in FAQ/PDF | $1.25 each |
| Clerk and Recorder CORA staff time | $41.37 per hour after first free hour |
| Citywide CORA paper copies | $0.25 per page |
| Divorce decree or order copy | Use Denver District Court fee process for the requested court record |
For marriage records, do not send cash through remote channels. Denver remote recording notes say items submitted by email cannot be recorded, and the office cannot accept cash payments, temporary checks, or credit-card information by phone. Personal checks and money orders are accepted for many mail or drop-box transactions.
Search Denver County Marriage Records
The Denver Clerk and Recorder find records page is the public route for recorded documents and certified copy requests. Search by names, document terms, or other indexed data. If OCR is selected, the search may scan document text as well as index fields, which can help when a reception number is unknown.
The Clerk and Recorder has a local notice that some recording images from 1989 through 1999 were affected by a technological issue. Death certificates, judgments, liens, lis pendens, releases, satisfactions of judgment, and tax liens are named in that notice. Indexing remains available, and staff can assist by reception number. Marriage searches should still start in the official system, but older-record problems may require staff help.
The official source for Denver recorded-document lookup is the Clerk and Recorder find records page.
That source separates marriage and recorded-document searches from court case records.
Certified Denver Marriage Copies
Certified copies are used when an agency, employer, benefits office, name-change process, or foreign authority needs proof of the recorded marriage. Denver directs users to the self-service online records search for certified copies of marriage licenses and other recorded documents. Mail and office processes may also be used when the online workflow is not enough.
The Denver marriage FAQ supplies appointment, name-change, certified-copy, and civil-union notes.
The FAQ is useful when a record search becomes a certified-copy request or a post-marriage name-change issue.
Note: Marriage records are kept only by the county that issued the license, so a license issued outside Denver must be requested from that issuing county.
Denver County Divorce Records
Divorce records are Denver District Court domestic-relations records, not Clerk and Recorder records. A divorce decree, order, motion, financial filing, parenting document, or domestic-relations case file should be requested through the District Court records counter in Room 256 of the City and County Building or by email to denverdcrecordsrequest@judicial.state.co.us. Mail requests go to Attn: Records Dept., 1437 Bannock St., Room 256, Denver, CO 80202.
Certified copies of divorce decrees and orders should be requested from the District Court clerk. Divorce filings and forms are handled through Colorado Judicial Branch family case resources. Some divorce file content may be public, but records involving minors, financial identifiers, protected addresses, safety issues, confidential evaluations, or sealed filings may be restricted or redacted. A docket entry can help identify a case, but it is not the same as a certified decree.
For a broader court-file search route, Denver domestic-relations records fit within the local Denver County court records process.
Denver Clerk CORA Requests
If a marriage or recording question is not solved by the public search and certified-copy workflow, the Clerk and Recorder can receive CORA requests for records it maintains. Denver says requests must go to the custodian agency because there is no central citywide repository. Include contact information, a clear description of records, reception number or names when known, date range, and cost approval details if the office needs more work to process the request.
Remote recording and request channels need careful payment handling. Denver notes that emailed items cannot be recorded, and credit-card information should not be given by phone. Include phone or email with mail or drop-box submissions so staff can contact the requester about a cost issue, missing data, or pickup and return steps.