Can You Remarry After Divorce in New Jersey

No Waiting Period in New Jersey

New Jersey imposes no mandatory waiting period after a divorce before you can remarry. Once the Final Judgment of Divorce is entered, you're legally free to apply for a new marriage license. Some states require a 30-day, 60-day, or even six-month wait — New Jersey isn't one of them.

The one exception: if contested issues in the divorce are being appealed, the appeal does not undo the divorce itself. The marriage is dissolved when the JOD is entered. An appeal might change support terms or property distribution, but your legal status as unmarried stands unless the appellate court vacates the entire judgment (which is rare).

What You Need for a New Marriage License

To apply for a marriage license in New Jersey, you'll need:

• A certified copy of the Final Judgment of Divorce (not a photocopy — the version with the court seal) available if the local registrar asks for proof that your prior marriage ended. If you don't have one yet, order it from the county courthouse or the Superior Court Clerk's Office.
• Valid government-issued photo ID (driver's license or passport)
• Social Security number
• A witness who is 18 or older

Apply at the registrar's office in the municipality where either party lives. New Jersey has a 72-hour waiting period before a new marriage license is issued. This is different from the state's separate remarriage procedure for reaffirming an existing marriage.

The marriage license application fee is $28.

Finish These Tasks Before You Remarry

Remarrying before completing your post-divorce administrative tasks creates complications:

Name changes get messier. If you planned to restore your maiden name and haven't done it yet, remarrying under your married name and then trying to change to your maiden name (or your new spouse's name) involves extra steps. Complete the name change process before the remarriage if you're restoring a prior name.

Social Security spousal benefits have a 10-year rule. If your first marriage lasted at least 10 years, you may be eligible for Social Security benefits based on your ex-spouse's record — but only if you're currently unmarried (with an exception for remarriages after age 60 for survivor benefits). Remarrying before claiming could affect your eligibility.

Beneficiary designations need a final pass. Before you remarry, make sure all beneficiary updates from the divorce are complete. Once you're married again, you'll want to update them again for your new spouse — but don't carry your ex-spouse's name into the new marriage on any account.

The property settlement agreement should be fully executed. Outstanding obligations from the PSA — deed transfers, mortgage refinances, retirement account divisions — don't go away because you remarried. But they do get more complicated if your new spouse's finances are now intermingled with obligations from the prior marriage.

The Bigger Picture

Remarriage is one of many decisions that becomes simpler once the post-divorce administrative transition is complete. The New Jersey After-Divorce Checklist helps you systematically close out every obligation from the prior marriage so you can start clean.

See more New Jersey guides →