New to the idea? Can you get married online? See how it works in all 50 states — then read on for everything specific to Arkansas.

If you're an airman at Little Rock AFB, a couple separated by a deployment or by the long miles between the Ozarks and the Delta, or a rural Arkansan whose nearest county clerk is a real drive away — you can still marry legally without leaving home. You obtain your marriage license and complete the ceremony entirely online through a Utah video ceremony, and Arkansas recognizes the marriage in full under the U.S. Constitution's Full Faith and Credit Clause. The one nuance to know: Arkansas's own license is in-person only. Under Arkansas Code Title 9, Chapter 11, both partners must appear together in person at a county clerk to be issued an Arkansas license, and an authorized officiant — a judge, justice of the peace, mayor, or ordained minister under Ark. Code § 9-11-213 — must solemnize it. So if you want a license online, you use a Utah one, which is valid in Arkansas.

Here is how the fully online route works: a video ceremony on a Utah marriage license. Utah has no residency requirement, so Arkansas couples qualify, and under the U.S. Constitution's Full Faith and Credit Clause the certificate is valid in Arkansas for every purpose. Below, we lay the Arkansas county-clerk route and the Utah video route side by side — fees, waiting periods, witnesses and all — so you can judge which one actually fits your situation.

For the full national picture, see our complete guide to whether online marriage is legal and how the Utah process is recognized in all 50 states under the Full Faith and Credit Clause.

Arkansas geography makes the courthouse trip harder than it sounds. The state spreads from the Ozark and Ouachita mountains in the northwest down to the flat Mississippi Delta in the east, with 75 county clerks each keeping their own hours. Add Little Rock Air Force Base airmen on duty or TDY, University of Arkansas and Arkansas State students whose families live elsewhere, and poultry, trucking and oil-field workers on rotating shifts — and plenty of couples simply cannot both be physically present at a clerk's window during business hours. For them the Utah video route is usually the only practical path to a legal marriage.

How Arkansas Residents Get Married Online

An Arkansas marriage license is issued only in person: both partners visit any of the state's 75 county clerks together with a valid government-issued photo ID, and the license costs $60. There is no waiting period for applicants 18 or older (a 5-business-day wait applies only to underage applicants), and no blood test is required. The license is valid for 60 days and must be returned to the issuing clerk for recordation within that window whether used or not. Arkansas also offers an optional covenant marriage, which requires premarital counseling. None of this can be done online. The online alternative is a Utah license plus a Utah video ceremony, which is valid in Arkansas under the Full Faith and Credit Clause.