How Much Does It Cost to Become a Wedding Officiant?

Legal & Ordination

If you’ve been asked to officiate a friend’s wedding, one of the first practical questions is usually about cost. The good news: becoming ordained and legally able to officiate is one of the least expensive parts of the entire process.

Ordination itself: usually free

Both Universal Life Church and American Marriage Ministries offer free basic ordination — you fill out a form, submit it, and you’re ordained, at no cost. This is the core requirement to legally officiate in the vast majority of US states.

Optional extras that cost a small fee

Printed ordination certificates. A physical, framable certificate typically costs somewhere in the $10-30 range, depending on the organization and paper quality — entirely optional, mostly for keepsake purposes or peace of mind.

Wallet cards. A small card confirming your ordination, useful mostly for personal reassurance rather than any legal requirement, usually costs a few dollars.

Expedited processing. Some organizations offer paid options to speed up document delivery, though since basic online ordination itself is already instant, this mostly applies to the optional physical documents.

State-specific costs

Marriage license fees (paid by the couple, not the officiant) vary by state and county, typically ranging from $20-$100.

Officiant registration fees, in the small number of states that require a specific local registration step (like New Hampshire) — these are usually modest, often $20-50, and paid once per state/jurisdiction.

What you might choose to spend money on (optional)

Ceremony script resources, if you’d rather use a professionally written template than write entirely from scratch — see our Ceremony Script Bundle for a low-cost option.

Attire, if you don’t already own something appropriate for the wedding’s formality level — see our guide on what to wear as an officiant.

Travel costs, if the wedding is a destination event — see our guide on officiating a destination wedding.

Comparing the cost to hiring a professional officiant

Professional wedding officiants in the US typically charge anywhere from $150 to $600+ depending on location and experience. A friend officiating, by comparison, usually costs the couple nothing beyond an optional thank-you gift (see our guide on whether to charge a friend to officiate) — a meaningful cost savings that’s part of why couples increasingly ask a friend or family member instead of hiring a stranger.

A realistic total-cost estimate for a friend officiant

Putting the pieces together: $0 for ordination, $0-50 for any state-specific registration if required, $0-30 for optional printed credentials, and whatever the officiant personally chooses to spend on attire or ceremony-writing resources. For most first-time officiants, total out-of-pocket spending — beyond anything the couple offers to cover — lands somewhere between $0 and $50, occasionally more if travel is involved for a destination wedding.

Who typically covers what

In most cases, the officiant covers their own ordination cost (which is usually free anyway) and any personal attire, while the couple covers the marriage license fee and often offers to reimburse or cover officiant-specific travel costs for a destination wedding. There’s no universal rule here — a direct conversation about expectations, especially for a destination wedding, prevents any confusion about who’s paying for what.

The bottom line on cost

Becoming a wedding officiant is genuinely one of the most affordable ways to be deeply involved in a friend’s wedding — the core legal requirement (ordination) costs nothing, and any additional spending is entirely optional and driven by personal preference rather than requirement.

For an affordable, complete officiant toolkit covering scripts and planning checklists, see our Checklist & Timeline Kit.