News Release
June 19, 2020

Mayor John Tory announced today that the City of Toronto is resuming the issuance of marriage licences on an appointment-only basis beginning Monday, June 22.

Toronto residents who wish to obtain a marriage licence must book an appointment online at toronto.ca/getting-married. They will need to complete an online application three days prior to an appointment. Applicants with appointments will need to travel to the North York Civic Centre. All other civic centre and City Hall service counters remain closed.

The City is taking steps to protect the health and safety of the public and City staff including health screening, physical distancing, sanitization of the workplace and pre-screening of applications before the appointment to reduce transaction time. Only one person will be permitted to attend the appointment, unless otherwise required for accommodation purposes, and a maximum of 10 applicants will be allowed in the building at any time. North York Civic Centre will remain closed to the public except for the issuance of marriage licences. Applicants are asked to wear a cloth mask or face covering when attending their appointment.

The City is required, under the Marriage Act, to process marriage licence applications for people wishing to marry in the Province of Ontario. This must be done in person. The City of Toronto has been issuing urgent marriage licences on compassionate grounds since mid-March. The City will continue to block off appointment times on a priority basis for urgent licence requests. This service will only be offered from the North York Civic Centre and all existing appointment holders originally scheduled at City Hall will be notified of the location change for their appointment.

Last year, some 7,000 marriage licences were issued between the start of March and early June. This year, with the pandemic upon us, that number has dropped to 421 licences issued on compassionate or urgent grounds over the last three months. City staff hope to issue 1,100 to 1,300 marriage licences per week.

Quote:

“The resumption of this service means that couples who wish to get married this year can now plan for their wedding with confidence that they will be able to obtain their marriage licence. To those couples coming in to get their marriage licences I wish you joy and happiness as you begin this new chapter of your lives together.”
– Mayor John Tory

Toronto is home to more than 2.9 million people whose diversity and experiences make this great city Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities. As the fourth largest city in North America, Toronto is a global leader in technology, finance, film, music, culture and innovation, and consistently places at the top of international rankings due to investments championed by its government, residents and businesses. For more information visit toronto.ca or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CityofToronto, on Instagram at instagram.com/cityofto or on Facebook at facebook.com/cityofto.

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