Sarasota courthouse wedding: what it costs and how it works

A Sarasota courthouse wedding is a ceremony performed by a deputy clerk at the Historic Courthouse in Sarasota or at the Clerk's office in Venice. According to the Sarasota County Clerk, it costs $30 on top of the marriage license, is offered Monday to Friday, and takes place in a courtroom, a courtyard, a marriage parlor or the Venice office.

I'm Nikki Seiler. I photograph courthouse weddings and elopements around Sarasota from my base in Myakka City. This guide sets out how a courthouse wedding here works, using the Clerk's own published figures. Every fee, hour and rule below was checked against the Clerk's website on 1 October 2026. Offices change these, so confirm with the Clerk on (941) 861-7400 before you plan around them.

How much does a Sarasota courthouse wedding cost?

A Sarasota courthouse wedding costs $116 without the premarital course discount: $86 for the marriage license and $30 for the ceremony. With the discount it costs $91.

What you pay for	Cost
Marriage license application	$86
Discount for Florida residents with a 4-hour premarital course certificate from a registered provider	$25 off, so $61
Ceremony performed by a deputy clerk	$30
Certified copy of the marriage license	$3 each

The license fee and the discount come from the Clerk's marriage license FAQs, and the ceremony and copy fees from its wedding ceremonies page.

Photography is separate. My elopement coverage starts at $1,800 for three or more hours, and the details are on the elopements page.

Where do courthouse weddings take place in Sarasota County?

Courthouse weddings in Sarasota County take place at two Clerk locations, with five settings between them. The Clerk's wedding ceremonies page names them and shows a photograph of each.

Sarasota Historic Courthouse

• Sarasota County Historic Courtroom
• Sunken Garden Courtyard
• Vintage-Style Marriage Parlor

Venice

• Garden Courtyard with Trellis
• Romantic Mural (in Office)

The Clerk's marriage license FAQs give the Sarasota office as the Historic Courthouse, 2000 Main Street, and the Venice office as the South County Courthouse, 4004 S. Tamiami Trail. The Clerk's printed pre-wedding checklist gives the Venice office as 4000 S. Tamiami Trail instead, so confirm the Venice building when you call.

Two of the five settings are courtyards. The Clerk's pages do not say how a setting is chosen, so ask about the one you want.

What are the steps for a courthouse wedding in Sarasota?

A courthouse wedding in Sarasota takes four steps: apply for the license, wait three days if the waiting period applies to you, hold the ceremony, and collect your certified copies. The rules for the first three are in the Clerk's marriage license FAQs.

1. Apply for the marriage license. The Clerk's FAQs make its online eMarriage Application the first step. Then both of you appear in person at the Clerk's office, in Sarasota or Venice, each with a photo ID that shows your date of birth, to pay the $86 and finish the application. The Clerk also has you both read its Family Law and Healthy Marriage Handbook and sign a statement that you have.
2. Wait three days, if you are Florida residents. The Clerk states a three-day waiting period for Florida residents, which begins after the day you appear together, and says it is still enforced when only one of you lives in Florida.
3. Hold the ceremony within 60 days. The Clerk says a license is valid for 60 days, and that the ceremony must be held in Florida on or after the license's effective date. Bring the license with you.
4. Buy certified copies. After the ceremony you can buy certified copies of the license for $3 each, according to the Clerk's wedding ceremonies page.

Can you get married at the Sarasota courthouse the same day you apply?

You can get married at the Sarasota courthouse on the day you apply only if the three-day waiting period does not apply to you. The Clerk's marriage license FAQs give two cases:

• Neither of you is a Florida resident. The Clerk states there is no waiting period when neither applicant lives in Florida.
• Both of you are Florida residents and both took a premarital course. The Clerk says the waiting period may be waived when both applicants attend a course from a registered provider, taken no more than one year before applying, and bring a printed certificate of completion.

If one of you lives in Florida and the other does not, the Clerk says the three-day wait is still enforced. Section 741.04 of the Florida Statutes also has the clerk grant exceptions to couples asserting hardship. If you think that applies to you, ask the Clerk's office.

When you are eligible to marry on the day, the Clerk's wedding ceremonies page asks you to allow an extra 30 minutes before the ceremony to complete the application.

Do you need an appointment or witnesses for a Sarasota courthouse wedding?

The Clerk's pre-wedding checklist says no appointment is needed for marriage license services, Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, and to allow 30 minutes. The Clerk's wedding ceremonies page gives the days, the hours and the fee for a ceremony and no step for booking one. Call (941) 861-7400 and ask how the ceremony itself is arranged before you tell anyone a date.

The Clerk's instructions for wedding officiants mark both witness signatures on a Florida marriage license as optional. The statewide rule is in my guide on how to elope in Florida.

What should you know about photos at a Sarasota courthouse wedding?

The Clerk's checklist says to bring a camera. Its pre-wedding checklist tells couples marrying at the courthouse to bring a camera, friends and family. It gives no rules for a hired photographer, so ask about that when you call.

Three things follow from the Clerk's own figures:

• The vows are allotted 10 minutes. Any portraits of the two of you, or of the family who came, need time of their own before or after.
• Two of the five settings are courtyards. If you want the Sunken Garden Courtyard in Sarasota or the Garden Courtyard in Venice, ask the Clerk what happens when it rains.
• Ceremonies are on weekdays. The Clerk lists Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, and no weekend ceremonies.

My elopement coverage is three hours or more, which covers the ceremony and leaves time for portraits afterward.

Courthouse wedding or a ceremony somewhere else?

A Sarasota County marriage license is not tied to the courthouse. The Clerk's pre-wedding checklist says a license may be used anywhere in the State of Florida, and section 741.07 of the Florida Statutes lets clergy, judicial officers and Florida notaries perform a marriage as well as clerks. Who can marry you, and where, is covered in my guide on how to elope in Florida.

At the courthouse the Clerk supplies the officiant and the setting for $30. A ceremony of more than the 10 minutes allotted, or on a weekend, means a ceremony elsewhere with your own officiant. I photograph either one. The elopements page has my prices for elopements and small weddings.