Collin County Courthouse Wedding Guide

Collin County Courthouse Weddings, Start to Finish

A Collin County courthouse wedding comes down to three things: a marriage license from the County Clerk, a ceremony with an authorized officiant, and the photographs around it. The county's courts sit on Bloomdale Road in McKinney and in Plano, Lavon, and Frisco, not on the downtown square, so a courthouse wedding here usually means a ceremony at a court and portraits in historic downtown McKinney afterward. Each step below links to the official page it came from.

Step 1: Get Your Collin County Marriage License

The County Clerk's marriage license page sets out the requirements:

• Both of you appear together, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at either clerk office: the Administration Building, 2300 Bloomdale Rd., McKinney, or the Plano Sub-Courthouse, 900 E. Park Blvd., Plano.
• Bring valid government-issued photo ID, such as a driver's license, passport, military ID, or identification card, and know your Social Security numbers. The names on your application must match your IDs.
• You can fill in the application online or at the office. After an online application, both of you must appear within 10 calendar days.
• The fee is $80, or $20 with a premarital education certificate, which you must present when you apply to get the reduced rate.
• If one of you cannot come in, the absent applicant signs a notarized affidavit, which the clerk must receive within 90 days of signing.

The 72-Hour Wait and the 90-Day Window

Texas bars the ceremony during the 72 hours after the license is issued, and the license expires if you have not married within 90 days (Family Code §§2.201 and 2.204). The wait does not apply to active-duty military, Department of Defense employees and contractors, couples with a judge's written waiver, or couples who completed a premarital education course in the year before applying. Collin County waives it when you bring that course certificate. Our DFW courthouse wedding cost guide covers the exceptions and the Twogether in Texas course in detail.

Step 2: Find Someone to Marry You

Texas lets licensed or ordained Christian ministers and priests, rabbis, authorized officers of religious organizations, and current, former, or retired federal and state judges conduct a ceremony (Family Code §2.202). For a courthouse ceremony, that means a justice of the peace. Collin County has four justice of the peace courts, and as of September 22, 2026, only Precinct 3 said on its page that it performs weddings. No precinct posts a ceremony fee, so ask when you book.

• Precinct 3

  Plano Sub-Courthouse, 920 E. Park Blvd., Plano

  Hours:

  Weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  Weddings:

  Performs weddings on request. Walk-ins are welcome, but the judge is not always in, so the court asks couples to schedule ahead. No fee is posted.

  Precinct 3 page

• Precinct 1

  Administration Building, 2300 Bloomdale Rd., McKinney

  Hours:

  Weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  Weddings:

  Its page does not mention weddings. Call before you count on one.

  Precinct 1 page

• Precinct 2

  1025 S. State Highway 78, Lavon

  Hours:

  Weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  Weddings:

  Its page does not mention weddings. Call before you count on one.

  Precinct 2 page

• Precinct 4

  8585 John Wesley Dr., Frisco

  Hours:

  Weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  Weddings:

  Its page does not mention weddings. Call before you count on one.

  Precinct 4 page

Can You Marry at the Historic McKinney Courthouse?

Not right now. According to the City of McKinney, commissioners voted in 1874 to build a courthouse on the present square, and it was dedicated in 1876 in the French Second Empire style. A 1927 remodel added a third floor and a basement and wrapped it in buff brick. The county moved out in 1979, and the building reopened on March 30, 2006, as the McKinney Performing Arts Center at 111 N. Tennessee St. It is the centerpiece of the Downtown McKinney Commercial Historic District, listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

The center rents rooms for weddings, but it closed for renovation in February 2026. Construction began on February 2, and the city estimates completion in December 2026. Its rental page says it is not accepting requests for any dates in 2026 or later, and during construction public access to the building is restricted and parking on Tennessee Street is affected. For now, the old courthouse is a backdrop for portraits from outside, not a ceremony room. Check the rental page again once the city reopens it.

Portraits in Historic Downtown McKinney

A 3-Hour Collin County Courthouse Day

A realistic plan for The Vow around a Precinct 3 ceremony in Plano, with portraits on the McKinney square afterward. We adjust the blocks on your planning call once your court and appointment time are set.

1. 0:00–0:30

   Arrive in Plano and start outside

   Meet outside the Plano sub-courthouse on East Park Boulevard for details and a few quiet frames of the two of you, then check in with the Precinct 3 court.

2. 0:30–1:15

   Check in and say your vows

   Justice courts put their own dockets first, so this block carries a buffer. Photography inside follows the judge's rules, and coverage keeps running through the wait.

3. 1:15–1:30

   Family photographs

   Right outside, while everyone is together. A short list agreed on the planning call keeps this moving.

4. 1:30–2:00

   Drive to downtown McKinney

   The clock keeps running on the drive north, which is why it gets its own block.

5. 2:00–2:45

   Portraits on the historic square

   Storefronts and side streets around the old courthouse. Anything on city property waits for the city's approval, and public access to the courthouse itself is restricted while it is renovated.

6. 2:45–3:00

   A toast and the last frames

   Lunch or a glass of champagne on the square, or a walk back to the car. Coverage ends here.

After the Ceremony: Returning Your License

Your officiant signs the license and returns it to the County Clerk within 30 days of the ceremony (Family Code §2.206).

Fees, hours, and rules above were checked against the official Collin County, State of Texas, City of McKinney, and Chestnut Square pages on September 22, 2026. Confirm them with the clerk, your court, or the property before you plan around them.

Frequently Asked Questions