Rice County Marriage License Office
Marriage licenses in Rice County are handled by the Rice County Recorder's Office, not by District Court. The Recorder is in the Rice County Government Services Building, 320 Third St. NW, Faribault, MN 55021. The office phone is 1-507-332-6114, the fax number is 1-507-332-6092, and County Recorder Mike Fangman is listed in county records. The Recorder also handles vital statistic records, real estate recording, notary filings, wedding officiant filings, and birth and death requisitions through the Minnesota Department of Health.
Both applicants must apply through the Recorder for a Rice County marriage license. Applicants do not have to live in Rice County, and a license issued there may be used anywhere in Minnesota. The license must be used within six months or it becomes void. Rice County does not accept marriage license requests by phone or internet, so applicants should plan for an in-person application and bring the information needed for both people. The Recorder's page also makes a clear boundary: staff do not give legal advice or prepare documents for applicants.
The Rice County marriage license application page is the local source for the license process and fee rule.
The county page is important because it separates license application rules from certified-copy requests after a marriage has already been recorded.
Apply for Rice County Marriage Records
A marriage license application is a current request for permission to marry. It is different from a marriage record, which is the recorded proof after the ceremony and return of the license. Rice County requires both applicants to apply at the Recorder's Office, and the county provides an Application for Marriage License form for the required details. The reduced fee is tied to an original premarital educator's statement that is signed, dated, notarized, and on the educator's letterhead under Minn. Stat. section 517.08.
- Confirm that both applicants can appear through the Rice County Recorder's Office and have the personal details needed for the application.
- Prepare names before and after marriage, addresses, birth dates, counties of residence, and prior marriage termination details if either applicant was previously married.
- Bring the original premarital educator's statement if claiming the reduced license fee.
- Pay the Rice County marriage license fee by an accepted payment method at the time of application.
- Use the license for a Minnesota ceremony within six months, then make sure it is returned and recorded so certified copies can be ordered later.
The Minnesota marriage license statute supports the application and premarital education statement requirements used by the Recorder.
The statute source helps explain why the reduced Rice County marriage license fee requires more than a simple statement from the applicants.
Rice County Marriage Application Fields
The marriage license application asks for identifying and eligibility information for both applicants. Rice County's sample application includes details needed to create a record that can later be searched and certified. The most useful search facts later are the applicants' full legal names before marriage and the date of marriage, because those fields also appear on the certified marriage copy request.
| Field or item | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full names before marriage | Text | Yes | Both applicants provide prior legal names. |
| Full names after marriage | Text | Yes | Used to create the final license record. |
| Addresses before and after marriage | Text | Yes | Both applicants list address information. |
| Age and date of birth | Number/date | Yes | Each applicant provides age and birth date. |
| County of residence | Text | Yes | Each applicant lists a county of residence. |
| Prior marriage termination | Text/date | Conditional | Includes date, city, state, and court type when divorce ended a prior marriage. |
| Social Security number | Text | Yes unless no-SSN box applies | The sample application includes a no-SSN checkbox. |
| Premarital educator statement | Attachment | Optional | Needed only for the reduced fee. |
Rice County Marriage Divorce Fees
Rice County marriage and divorce fees depend on which office holds the record. Marriage license and certified marriage copy charges are Recorder items. Divorce filing, family motions, and divorce decree copies are District Court items. For court files, Minnesota's fee page lists copy categories, while the Rice County fee schedule in the research gives local totals for dissolution and related family filings.
| Item | Amount | Office |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage license without premarital education statement | $125 | Rice County Recorder |
| Marriage license with qualified premarital education statement | $50 | Rice County Recorder |
| Certified marriage copy | $9 | Rice County Recorder |
| Dissolution with or without children | $405 | Rice County District Court |
| Legal separation or annulment | $375 | Rice County District Court |
| Custody, paternity, parenting time, registrations | $325 | Rice County District Court |
| Motion or response to motion | $100 | Rice County District Court |
| Certified divorce decree copy | $14 | Rice County Court Administration |
| Exemplified and certified court copy | $28 | Rice County Court Administration |
| Uncertified court copy | $0 | Rice County Court Administration |
Note: Certified marriage copies and certified divorce decrees are issued by different offices, so send each request to the office that holds that record.
Search Rice County Marriage Records
Rice County has marriage records from 1856 to present for applicants who applied in Rice County. Most marriage records are open for public research. The local certified-copy path is in person or by mail through the Recorder. In person, provide the names of both applicants and the date of marriage. By mail, complete the Rice County Request for Certified Copy of Marriage Record and include payment payable to Rice County Recorder.
The statewide index path is the Minnesota Official Marriage System. That system can help identify where a Minnesota marriage application was made, which matters because certified local copies come from the county that accepted the application. If the Rice County Recorder issued the license, the local office is the right certified-copy source. If another county issued the license, the request should go to that county instead.
The Rice County Licensing and Records page gives the certified marriage copy route and fee.
This local licensing page is the source to use when the search goal is an official certified copy rather than a broad statewide index check.
Search Rice County Divorce Records
Divorce records are not Recorder records. A divorce, called dissolution in Minnesota court filings, is a District Court family case. Rice County District Court is in the Rice County Courthouse at 218 Third St. NW, Faribault, MN 55021, and Court Administration can be reached at 507-497-7134. Plain copies of recent public divorce records may be found through MCRO Case Search, but certified divorce decrees must be obtained from the courthouse where the divorce was granted.
MCRO family-document access is limited. For post-July 1, 2015 family documents, online access is generally limited to court-prepared orders, appellate opinions, and notices. That means a Rice County divorce case may have a visible Register of Actions while some documents are not viewable remotely. Courthouse terminals and the Court Administration counter are the fallback for public family records that do not appear online.
- Open MCRO Case Search and accept the terms if prompted.
- Search by party name or case number.
- Select Rice County as the court location.
- Use the Family case category when it helps narrow the results.
- Review Case Details, the Register of Actions, and any available public documents.
- Call Rice County Court Administration for a certified decree copy or an older file not available remotely.
Certified Rice County Copies
A certified copy is an official copy authenticated by the office that holds the record. For a marriage record, that office is the Rice County Recorder when the marriage application was made in Rice County. For a divorce decree, that office is Rice County Court Administration when the dissolution was granted in Rice County. A printout from an online search may be useful for review, but it is not the same as a certified record for legal use.
The Rice County certified marriage record request asks for both applicants' full legal names before marriage, the date of marriage, the number of certified copies, requester name, mailing address, phone, email, and payment by check or money order for mail requests. Divorce decree requests should include the case number if known, party names, the document requested, and whether certification or exemplification is needed. Court Administration is also the office for certified civil judgment search results, because MCRO search results are not certified by the Minnesota Judicial Branch.