Look:
Believe it or not, our little rock is pretty experienced at weddings. We host around 5,000 weddings and vow renewals each year between St. Thomas and St. John.
So trust me when I tell you that you are in good hands. 
(You may also want to check out: 13 Things You Must Know Before Having a Wedding in St. Thomas after you finish this post.)
In this step-by-step guide for 2022, I’ll answer all of your questions about the marriage license process in St. Thomas and St. John but I’m going to read your mind and answer a few questions that you may be thinking right now:
- As mentioned earlier, St. Thomas and St. John are part of the Virgin Islands, which is a US territory. So your marriage license will be recognized in every jurisdiction of the United States.
- There are no residency requirements to get a marriage license.
- There is no waiting period to get your marriage license after you file the application. The marriage application must be received by the courthouse 8 days prior to your arrival.
- There are no blood tests required.
- Same-sex marriages are legal in the Virgin Islands.
- Most foreign countries also recognize a marriage performed in the Virgin Islands through an additional document called an Apostille (see below under “Additional Items”).
- And lastly…the process is actually very simple, so don’t worry this post is so long. I just want to give you every possible bit of information you’ll need.
Steps for How to Get Married in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
(I explain in detail each step below):
- Prepare Marriage Application and License & Certificate documents
- If applicable, include a certified death certificate and/or Certified Divorce Decree
- Prepare Cover Letter with Date of Arrival on St. Thomas
- Include a certified check or money order for $200 made out to “Virgin Islands Superior Court”
- Mail documents to:
Alexander A. Farrelly Justice Center
Family Division – Marriage Licenses
Post Office Box 70
St. Thomas, VI 00804
- Pick up marriage license at Virgin Islands Superior Court when you arrive on St. Thomas
- Get married by license officiant or minister
- Return signed marriage license to Virgin Islands Superior Court
Step 1 – Preparing your marriage license application
There are 2 separate forms to fill out for your marriage application:
1. The 2020 Marriage License Application and
2. License and Certificate.
Here it is the marriage license application in all its glory:
Marriage License Application
And the license and certificate:
License and Certificate of Marriage
*The two forms above have fields to fill in so you can print and sign. If you are old-school and want to fill them in by hand please write legibly! Use black ink and write in print, not cursive.
**The forms can be buggy so if for some reason you aren’t able to type in the requested information, you can handwrite it in.
Admittedly, the forms have a few confusing parts:
1. On the License & Certificate please put your mailing address on lines 3a and 10a. It should look something like this:
359 Lover’s Lane, Sexytown
2. You’ll both want to sign on line 15 & 16. Leave lines 17 -26 blank.
3. You must fill in 27-30 at the bottom of the page.
4. On the Marriage Application, you must fill in the section on Parents/Guardians. For the line “Parents:”, it should look like this:
Present Name: Benjamin Affleck (this is your father’s name)
Maiden Name: Jennifer Garner (this is your mother’s maiden name)
Place of Birth: Massachusetts(Father)/New York(Mother) – put the state of birth for each parent (if USA) or country (if foreign born).
The court requires this information for identification purposes. So you’ll need to enter the information even if one or both of your parents are deceased. Or, even if you are estranged from one or both of your parents. If you don’t know one or both of your parents or guardians, put “Unknown”.
5. “Previous Marital Status” refers to you and your groom/bride. So if you were never married, enter “Single”. If you’ve been married previously, enter “Divorced”. If your husband or wife is deceased, you would enter “Widowed”.
6. “Related to Other Applicant” is asking whether you and your bride/groom are related by blood or marriage. If so, enter the degree of relation such as, “3rd Cousin, once removed”. If you are not related, enter “None” or “Not Applicable”.
7. “Permanent Residence” at the top of the form is your Mailing Address. “Usual Residence” is your state.
FINAL NOTE: Don’t abbreviate on either form. So write out Street, Road, North, South, Ohio, New York etc. Also, don’t use initials for first or middle names, instead write out the full name.
FINAL FINAL NOTE: If a particular line calls for information that doesn’t apply to you, enter “N/A”. You don’t want to leave any of the lines blank.
STEP 2 – If you were married before…
If you have been divorced, you must include a certified copy (must have raised seal or other indications of being a certified original) of the divorce decree. The vast majority of courts issue certified copies with a raised seal. So somewhere on the document you should feel where they stamped it as certified. This document must be obtained from the Clerk of Courts where your divorce was finalized because they are the only office that can issue a certified copy.
A few courts use a wet signature (meaning the court clerk actually certified the document by signing his or her name in ink). They will almost assuredly use blue or some color ink other than black so that you can tell it’s a wet signature and not a copy.
If the divorce decree you have does not have a raised seal or wet signature, you’ll need to contact the clerk of courts where the divorce was finalized. If you still live close to the courthouse you may want to go to the clerk of courts to get the copy. It’s the quickest route.
Otherwise, you can call the clerk of courts and request a certified copy. They will be happy to mail one to you.
Been divorced multiple times? You only need to provide a divorce decree from your most recent divorce.
If your spouse is deceased, you’ll need to provide a certified copy of the death certificate.
NOTE – The Virgin Islands Superior Court will retain the copy of your divorce decree or death certificate along with your marriage application.
ANOTHER NOTE – As far as I know, my team has a perfect track record here in the islands, so a happy marriage is virtually guaranteed. 
Step 3 – Write a Cover Letter
With your application, include a short cover letter with your contact information along with the date of your anticipated appearance at the courthouse (I’ll further explain the courthouse visit below).
In the cover letter, it can be handwritten or typed, address it to the Clerk and include the following information:
Anticipated arrival at courthouse
If divorced, let them know you’ve included a certified copy of your divorce decree
Your minister’s contact information: Name – Michael Motylinski, Phone Number – 340-201-6069
Your address, emails and cell phone numbers
If you plan on visiting the courthouse on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, you must mention this in your cover letter.
By putting my information on the document, the court will contact me if they have any questions instead of bothering you!
Step 4 – St. Thomas Superior Court Filing Fee
The 2020 filing fee for the marriage application and license is $200. They accept a certified check or money order. Make the check payable to “Virgin Islands Superior Court”.
BONUS MATERIAL: If you are planning on picking up the license on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, you want to make the check out for $350. The courthouse is only open from 9:30 am – 11:30 am on Saturdays, Sundays and most holidays. They require the additional fee of $150 for the weekend/holiday appointment.
INTERESTING FACT: If you live in the great state of Texas, you can actually bring a marriage license from your local courthouse and I can perform the ceremony. (Please confirm this with your local Texas County Courthouse before coming down as laws do change.)
SCARY FACT: If you’re already booked with a cruise ship or resort, make sure they aren’t trying to tack on any extra fees for the marriage license. I won’t name names but many of the ships like to tack on a “processing fee” just by them giving you the application forms. It’s an absolute scam.
If you want to see how the big cruise companies are charging insane amounts just because they can, check out How to Save on a Cruise Ship Wedding.
Step 5 – Filing the marriage license application in St. Thomas
(for weddings on St. Thomas, St. John and Water Island)
After completing Steps 1 – 4, you’ll need to mail the documents to (if you are getting married on St. John or Water Island, you still send your application to the address below):
Alexander A. Farrelly Justice Center
Family Division – Marriage Licenses
Post Office Box 70
St. Thomas, VI 00804
So a quick review of what to include in your application package:
-marriage license application
-license and certificate of marriage
–certified check or money order in the amount of $200 made payable to “Virgin Islands Superior Court”
-divorce decree(s) and/or death certificate(s) if applicable
-cover letter with your contact information and expected date of arrival at the courthouse
I suggest mailing the application at least 14 days prior to your wedding date to allow for mail delivery, processing, etc. I further strongly suggest using USPS Priority Mail. You can track your package and confirm it’s arrived.
Also, USPS is much cheaper than FedEx, DHL or UPS.
Once you’ve confirmed the courthouse received your application package via tracking, and if you are OCD, you can call the courthouse to be doubly, extra, super-duper sure everything was received. But please wait 3-4 days after they’ve received it before calling.
The court number is (340) 774-6680, ask for “Family Division”. It is not an international call, so feel free to chat it up with the courthouse personnel. 
And please don’t be discouraged if the courthouse doesn’t answer on your first, second or third call. They can get pretty busy over there.