How Long After Divorce Can You Remarry in Mississippi

Mississippi Has No Waiting Period for No-Fault Divorces

Once the Chancellor enters your Final Judgment of Divorce based on irreconcilable differences, the marriage is dissolved immediately. Mississippi does not impose a statutory waiting period before you can apply for a new marriage license and remarry.

This surprises people who confuse the 60-day cooling-off period with a post-decree waiting period. The 60 days applies before the divorce can be granted — it runs from the date the joint complaint is filed or the defendant is served. After the decree is signed and entered, you are legally single.

Fault-Based Divorces: Check the Decree Language

If your divorce was granted on fault grounds — habitual cruel and inhuman treatment, adultery, desertion, or any of Mississippi's other statutory grounds — the decree itself may contain specific language about the parties' rights going forward. In practice, fault-based decrees rarely restrict remarriage, but read your judgment carefully.

The key question is whether the decree has been entered by the Chancery Clerk. The Chancellor signing the judgment and the clerk entering it into the record are two separate acts. Your divorce is not final until entry. If you remarry before entry, the second marriage is legally void.

What You Need for a Mississippi Marriage License

To remarry in Mississippi, you will apply for a marriage license at the Circuit Clerk's office in any Mississippi county. Both parties must appear in person and present:

• A valid government-issued photo ID (driver's license or passport)
• Your Social Security number
• A certified copy of your divorce decree, if either party was previously married
• The marriage license fee (currently $37; verify the current county fee)

Mississippi eliminated the three-day waiting period before issuance of a marriage license in 2012. Confirm the license's current validity period with the issuing Circuit Clerk before scheduling the ceremony.

There is no required blood test for a standard Mississippi marriage license; confirm any other current requirements with the Circuit Clerk.

Update Your Records Before Remarrying

Before walking down the aisle again, make sure the administrative aftermath of your first marriage is fully resolved. An unrecorded quitclaim deed, an unfiled QDRO, or outdated beneficiary designations can create legal and financial complications that multiply when a new spouse enters the picture.

Our Mississippi After-Divorce Checklist walks you through every post-decree task — name changes, property transfers, retirement divisions, and account updates — so you start your next chapter on clean legal footing.

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