A recent analysis by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) reveals a stark “digital marriage divide” across the United States. While couples can find their perfect match through an app in seconds, the legal steps to “tie the knot” often require multiple in-person visits to a county clerk, hand-signed paper forms and weeks of waiting for a physical certificate to arrive in the mail.
THE CURRENT LANDSCAPE
The ITIF report evaluated how digitally accessible the marriage process is across three key stages: applying for a marriage license, recording the marriage and obtaining a certified marriage certificate. We categorized states into three groups: “E-Lopers” (the leaders), “Paper Trailers” (the mid-tier) and “In-Personals” (the laggards).
Because marriage practices can vary significantly within a single state, our analysis focused on the largest city or county in each jurisdiction to represent the most likely experience for the greatest number of residents. The findings show a nation deeply divided by its digital infrastructure:
- The E-Lopers (10 states): Leading the way are states like Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, New Mexico, New York and Utah. These jurisdictions generally allow couples to complete and submit marriage license applications online and request certified marriage certificates online. More importantly, they have modernized the workflow to eliminate in-person appearances or allow for electronic signatures by officiants.
- The Paper Trailers (22 states): Nearly half the country falls into this middle tier. While these states might offer basic online forms or let individuals order a marriage certificate through a website, they typically hit a “paper wall.” At some point, the digital workflow breaks, requiring a physical visit to a government agency or the submission of paper documents.
- The In-Personals (18 states): These states have few, if any, processes online. In many of these jurisdictions, the process is entirely manual. For example, in states like Georgia, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, obtaining a certified marriage certificate can be a cumbersome, mail-in ordeal involving money orders and self-addressed stamped envelopes.
The disparity in efficiency is also financial. Fees for a marriage license in the jurisdictions we examined ranged from a modest $24 in Rhode Island to a staggering $169 in King County, Wash.
MODELS OF DIGITAL INNOVATION
The technology to digitize marriage services already exists and is being proven in a few pioneering jurisdictions:
Utah County, Utah: This is arguably the nation’s digital leader. Couples can apply for a license using a phone to scan government IDs and complete a facial verification check. They receive a digital license immediately. Most impressively, Utah County issues certified marriage certificates as PDFs with a digital signature and a cryptographic hash recorded on the blockchain, allowing anyone to verify the document’s authenticity instantly.
New York City: In response to the pandemic, NYC launched “Project Cupid.” It allows couples to upload documents and schedule a virtual video appointment with the city clerk. This effectively replaced the routine in-person appearance with a secure video call.
Alabama: Alabama streamlined the process through legal reform. By changing the law so that marriage licenses were no longer required, the state moved to a system where couples simply generate, sign and notarize a “marriage certificate” form online and mail it to the court. This eliminated the need for a courthouse visit entirely.
THE PATH FORWARD
For CIOs and state administrators, modernizing marriage services is a high-impact, achievable goal. The barriers are rarely technological; they are primarily outdated laws requiring “wet-ink” signatures and fragmented local processes.
To close the divide, states should prioritize updating laws to permit electronic signatures for family legal documents — an area often excluded from the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. Furthermore, local governments should look to partner with established vendors to build secure, end-to-end digital portals if in-house development isn’t feasible.
Getting married is a major milestone. Government service delivery should reflect that by being as accessible and efficient as the digital world our residents already live in.
Daniel Castro is vice president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and director of ITIF’s Center for Data Innovation.
