As a follow up to their memo sent on February 8, 2021, the Ontario Registrar General (ORG) sent a memo on March 17, 2021 to Ontario Marriage Licence Issuers.

Validity Period

The second province-wide emergency under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act declared on January 12, 2021 ended at 11:59 pm on February 9, 2021. As such the first day following the end of the emergency is February 10, 2021.

The following are the extended validity periods:

• Licences issued between December 1, 2019 and July 24, 2020 are still valid and can be used until July 24, 2022; and
• Licences issued between October 1, 2020 and February 10, 2021 are still valid and can be used until February 10, 2023.

The ORG also notes that the validity period for foreign divorce authorizations issued by the ORG has been extended for the same duration as the extended marriage licence validity periods noted above.

Replacement Licences

The ORG enclosed the latest version of the Marriage Licence Replacement Process. Replacement licences are only necessary in the rare instances where couples may have lost or destroyed their unused marriage licence or critical information on the licence is no longer accurate.

Municipalities may direct couples who either purchased a licence that has expired or who may require a replacement licence to ServiceOntario.ca/GettingMarried for further details.

Memo from the ORG re: Update on Marriage Licence Services
Marriage Licence Replacement Process