Courthouse Wedding in Chicago: Marriage Court Ceremonies, Costs, and What to Expect (2026)

Chicago couples keep searching for “Daley Center wedding,” and the courthouse they’re picturing is actually across the street. Civil ceremonies in Chicago happen at Marriage and Civil Union Court in the County Building, lower level, entrance at 119 W. Randolph St.[1] The Daley Center at 50 W. Washington hosted Marriage Court for six weeks in late 2025 while the permanent space got new paint, lighting, flooring, and multilingual signage, and the court moved back home on December 9, 2025.[2] So if a friend married “at the Daley Center” last November, that was real, and it’s also no longer where you go.

Here’s the whole thing in one breath:

Quick answer: A Chicago courthouse wedding costs $70 in government fees: a $60 Cook County marriage license plus a $10 ceremony fee at Marriage Court, 119 W. Randolph St. (Lower Level). Both partners apply together at the Clerk’s office, wait one day, then walk in Tuesday through Friday (9 a.m. to noon, 2 to 4 p.m.) with your license and photo ID. A judge marries you in about five minutes. Minimum timeline: two consecutive weekdays.[1][3]

We run online weddings through Utah’s remote ceremony system, so we’re not neutral here. But we hear from a lot of Chicago couples after a courthouse plan falls through, and most of those failures were predictable. This guide covers what the courthouse route actually involves, where it’s genuinely the better deal (it’s cheaper, plainly), and where the logistics quietly break.

Step 1: The license, from the Cook County Clerk

The ceremony and the license are two separate stops run by two separate offices, and the license comes first. Both partners appear together at a Cook County Clerk vital records office, fill out the application, show valid ID with proof of age, and pay $60.[3] The downtown office is in the same building as Marriage Court: 118 N. Clark St., Room 120, open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.[4] (One city block, two addresses. The County Building takes up the whole block, so the Clerk is on the Clark Street side and Marriage Court’s entrance is around the corner on Randolph.)

Two details trip people up. If either of you divorced within the last six months, bring a certified copy of the divorce decree, not a photocopy.[3] And under Illinois law the license isn’t valid the day you get it: it becomes effective one day after issuance and expires 60 days later.[5] A judge can order the wait waived, but that’s a court order, not something you should build a plan around.

The Clerk also offers license issuance by online video call for couples who can’t easily appear in person. That’s its own process with its own quirks, and we cover it separately in our Cook County online marriage license guide.[6]

Step 2: The ceremony at Marriage Court

Once the license is effective, the ceremony side is refreshingly simple. No appointment needed on weekdays. In-person ceremonies run Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., first come, first served, and the court asks you to arrive at least 30 minutes before the session closes.[1] Saturday mornings (9 a.m. to noon) exist but are appointment-only. Mondays are reserved for virtual Zoom ceremonies, scheduled by calling (312) 603-5660.[1]

Bring three things: your license, a valid photo ID for each of you, and the $10 administrative fee.[1] The room is only reachable from the building’s north entrance on Randolph Street[7], and like any Cook County government building, you’ll pass through security screening on the way in. Budget for that and for Loop parking, or just take the L; the Clark/Lake station is across the street.

What the ceremony is actually like

A Cook County judge performs every ceremony.[1] That’s a genuinely nice feature of the Chicago route: your officiant is a sitting judge, and the renovated space was redone specifically to feel less like a DMV. The presiding judge called the new room “much more inviting and comfortable for marriages and civil unions.”[2]

Expect the ceremony itself to take about five minutes. Photographers who work the room regularly report that guest space fits roughly 15 people, tightly, and that waits swing from nothing to an hour depending on the day, with Friday afternoons and Saturdays busiest.[8] You can exchange rings, and judges will usually accommodate brief personal vows if you ask beforehand. Illinois doesn’t require witnesses on the license, so two of you plus the judge is a complete wedding. Afterward, couples typically head upstairs for photos under the building’s marble halls and arches, which are honestly better than most rented venues.

The real cost and the real timeline

Government fees total $70: $60 license, $10 ceremony. That’s the cheapest legal wedding in Chicago and it isn’t close.

The cost that doesn’t show up on a receipt is scheduling. Count the required appearances: both partners at the Clerk’s counter during business hours, then both partners back at Marriage Court on a later day during a walk-in window. The fastest clean path is license on Monday, ceremony Tuesday after 9 a.m. Two consecutive weekdays where you’re both free, both in the Loop, both with ID in hand.

Where this breaks, in our experience talking to couples afterward:

• The Friday trap. Get your license Friday and it becomes effective Saturday, but Saturday ceremonies need a pre-booked appointment and Monday is virtual-only. Miss both and your earliest walk-in is Tuesday.
• The 60-day clock. The license expires 60 days after it becomes effective.[5] Couples who grab the license early “to be safe” and then have a deployment, a work trip, or a family emergency sometimes watch it lapse. That’s another $60 and another joint trip.
• Two schedules, twice. If one of you travels for work, is stationed elsewhere, or works hospital shifts, finding two matching weekday windows is the whole problem.
• County lines. A Cook County license is for a Cook County ceremony. If you’re in DuPage, Lake, or Will County, Illinois’s same-county rule changes the math, and we break that down in the Chicago suburbs same-county guide.

When the courthouse is the right call

If you both live or work near the Loop, can take two weekday mornings within a couple months of each other, and like the idea of a judge and marble columns, do the courthouse wedding. It’s $70. It’s a Chicago institution. We will not pretend a $370 online ceremony beats that on price, because it doesn’t.

The online route earns its cost when the logistics above don’t fit. Through Utah’s remote ceremony system, there’s no waiting period on the license[9], no county to travel to, and no requirement that you’re even in the same room as each other. Both partners join a video call from wherever they are (your apartment in Logan Square, a base in Georgia, a hotel in Manila), a licensed Utah officiant performs the ceremony, and it can happen as fast as the same day. The price is $299 flat plus the $71 Utah license fee, $370 total, and the result is a legal U.S. marriage with a state-issued certificate that Illinois recognizes under the Full Faith and Credit Clause. (If your marriage connects to a visa or green card case, that’s a question for an immigration attorney, not for us or any ceremony provider.)

So the honest sort:

For the full state-level picture, including how the Utah certificate works for name changes and taxes in Illinois, see our Illinois online marriage page.

The short version

Marriage Court at 119 W. Randolph is one of the best deals in American weddings: $70, a real judge, five minutes, done. Plan around the one-day wait, the Tuesday-to-Friday walk-in windows, and the two joint appearances, and it’ll go smoothly. And if those constraints are exactly your problem (mismatched schedules, distance, a date that can’t wait), that’s the specific gap the online route exists to fill. We’re happy to be your plan A or your plan B.

[1] Marriage and Civil Union | Circuit Court of Cook County

https://www.cookcountycourtil.gov/case-type/marriage-and-civil-union

[2] Marriage Court Reopening at County Building After Renovation (Dec. 3, 2025) | Circuit Court of Cook County

https://www.cookcountycourtil.gov/news/marriage-court-reopening-county-building-after-renovation-1

[3] Marriage Licenses | Cook County Government

https://www.cookcountyil.gov/service/marriage-licenses

[4] Downtown Chicago - Vital Records | Cook County Clerk

https://www.cookcountyclerkil.gov/about/locations/downtown-chicago-vital-records

[5] 750 ILCS 5/207, Effective Date of License | Illinois General Assembly

https://www.ilga.gov/Documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/075000050K207.htm

[6] Virtual Marriage License Issuance via Online Video Call | Cook County Clerk

https://www.cookcountyclerkil.gov/vital-records/virtual-marriage-license-issuance-online-video-call

[7] Marriage Court | Circuit Court of Cook County

https://www.cookcountycourtil.gov/location/marriage-court

[8] Getting Married at Chicago City Hall | Lakeshore in Love

https://lakeshoreinlove.com/getting-married-at-chicago-city-hall/

[9] Marriage Licenses | Utah State Courts

https://www.utcourts.gov/en/self-help/case-categories/family/marriage.html