TOPEKA — Kansas courts are telling couples who need a marriage license in September to apply for them now.

The usual advice courts give to couples is to allow two weeks from the time the application is filed for the license to be delivered. But a database courts use to process licenses will be offline for a week in September. Couples can expect some delays as a result.

Courts use a database managed by the Office of Vital Statistics to record marriage license application data. The database will be offline from Sept. 8-13, so no data can be entered.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, if a couple applies for a marriage license by Aug. 31, the couple will have a license in hand by Sept. 7. 

Applications submitted after Aug. 31 will be processed after Sept. 14, when the database comes back online. There is a three-day waiting period required by statute, and courts begin processing the application after the waiting period ends. 

Couples can apply for a marriage license throughout this period, but the applications cannot be processed while the Office of Vital Statistics database is offline.

The online marriage license application is accessible through the Kansas judicial branch website at www.kscourts.org/marriage.