Vital records are among the oldest and most enduring instruments of civil governance: official documents created and preserved by lawful authority to bear permanent witness to the most consequential moments of human life. Dating back to ecclesiastical registers of medieval Europe and formalized through successive centuries of civil law, vital records chronicle important events that mark an individual’s passage through the world: birth, marriage, and death.
These documents, including birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses and certificates, and divorce decrees, constitute the legal memory of a community, establishing identity, tracing lineage, and conferring rights of citizenship and inheritance that may echo across generations. In the United States, the stewardship of vital records has long been entrusted to local government, with the town or city clerk serving as the keeper of this living archive.
Marriage Licenses
To apply for a marriage license, fill out this form.
Please write as clearly as possible when filling out the form.
Make an appointment to come to the Town Office in person. One person can sign the license the day of the appointment, stating that the information is correct and truthful.
The license fee is $80.00 for a marriage certificate plus $10.00 for the certified copy.
32 V.S.A. Sect. 1712 (1) For issuing and recording a civil marriage or civil union license, $80.00 to be paid by the applicant, $15.00 of which sum shall be retained by the town clerk as a fee, $50.00 of which shall be deposited in the Domestic and Sexual Violence Special Fund created by 13 V.S.A. § 5360, and $15.00 of which sum shall be paid by the town clerk to the State Treasurer in a return filed quarterly upon forms furnished by the State Treasurer and specifying all fees received by him or her during the quarter.
Check or money order only, payable to the Town of Calais, or pay online with a credit card on this website.
Read “Getting Married in Vermont” here for more information.
Copies of Birth, Death, and Marriage Certificates
How do I get a copy of my marriage certificate?
Contact the town clerk and provide your names and date of marriage. Marriage certificates are only available if the marriage application was as the Calais Town Office.
The fee is $10.00 for a certified copy of a marriage certificate.
How to request an additional Certified Copy of a Vermont Marriage License
Certified copies of marriage licenses are still issued from the town office where the couple applied for the marriage license. Contact the town clerk where the marriage application was originally filled out and request a certified copy. The fee is $10.00.
How to Request a Certified Copy of a Birth or Death Certificate in VT
You can request certified copies of birth and death certificates by downloading and saving the application form below.
Download, fill out, and return the form to townclerk@calaisvermont.gov or mail to 3120 Pekin Brook Rd, East Calais VT 05650
There is a $10 fee for a certified copy.
Birth and death certificates are generated from the Vermont Vital Statistics Department at the Department of Health. As of July 1, 2019, most town clerks in Vermont towns can issue certified copies of birth and death for any Vermont-based birth or death Statewide.